CAC Name Reservation Failed — The Five Refusal Categories

A refused CAC name reservation almost always falls into one of five categories. Each category has its own diagnostic, and each carries its own recovery. The point of the catalogue is to stop applicants treating every refusal as a personal setback when in practice three of the five categories are routine clerical fixes.

The categories are not mutually exclusive — a single name can fail on more than one ground (a near-identical match that also carries a restricted word, for example). The diagnostic walks the categories in order; the first ground identified is usually enough to direct the recovery.

The most mechanical of the refusals. The CAC register holds millions of entries across Part A, Part B, Part C, and Part F. A proposed name that is character-identical to an existing record is refused at the automated check, before any human reviewer sees the file.

What this looks like in practice: an applicant picks "XYZ Ventures" and discovers that "XYZ Ventures" already exists as a business name in Lagos. The portal returns "Name already in use" or an equivalent message at the public-search step. The reservation submission, if it has already happened, also returns a refusal.

The recovery sequence:

• Run the free public search at publicsearch.cac.gov.ng before paying any reservation fee on a fresh name. The search is unauthenticated and returns the registration status of any name that is on the register.
• Where the original name carried personal weight (a founder's surname, an inherited brand), consider adding a genuinely distinctive descriptor. "XYZ Ventures" is already taken; "XYZ Botanicals" or "XYZ Ironworks" may be free.
• Avoid the temptation to swap one letter or add a punctuation mark. CAC's similarity logic treats these as effectively identical; the refusal returns on substantive grounds instead of the literal-identity ground.

This category is almost always avoidable by running the free public search first. The reservation fee is consumed at submission, so a paid attempt against a name that the free search would have caught is money that bought nothing.

This is the category that catches applicants who already ran the public search. The proposed name is not character-identical to anything on the register but shares enough structure or root with an existing name that the CAC reviewer applies the confusing-similarity test under Section 852(1) and refuses on substantive grounds.

The CAC's threshold has been described in the Nigerian case law on company names as whether the public, or a counterparty acting with ordinary care, would be likely to confuse the two entities. The test is not literal identity but commercial confusion. Recent CAC guidance and the AI-powered name-check system have tightened the threshold further: a single shared distinctive word can be enough to trigger the similarity refusal, particularly where the existing entity operates in the same sector.

Common forms this refusal takes:

• Same words in a different order. "Apex Solutions Limited" and "Solutions Apex Limited" will usually be treated as confusingly similar.
• Generic word added or removed. "Maple Ventures" and "Maple Ventures Group" will usually be treated as confusingly similar. "Group", "Holdings", "Ventures", and "Limited" rarely add enough distinguishing weight.
• Minor spelling variant. "Kakao Limited" against "Cacao Limited", "Tek Solutions" against "Tech Solutions". The portal's similarity logic catches these.
• Same root, different suffix entity type. "Apex Ventures" as a business name and "Apex Ventures Limited" as a private company can clash where the existing registration is recent or actively trading.

The recovery is to introduce a genuinely distinctive root word. Brand-sensitive applicants who feel they have already invested in the original name often resist this step; the alternative is to consume reservation fees on names that will not clear. A short brainstorm against a thesaurus, followed by a fresh public search on each candidate, usually surfaces a registrable variant within an hour.

Section 852(1) of CAMA 2020 lists seven categories of name that cannot be registered as a company, a limited liability partnership, a limited partnership, or a business name. These are absolute refusals. No consent route exists for a Section 852(1) refusal; the only recovery is to drop the prohibited word entirely.

The Section 852(1) categories include:

• Names identical to or so nearly resembling an existing registration as to be calculated to deceive.
• Names containing any word or expression which, in the opinion of the Commission, is likely to mislead the public as to the nature, character, or purpose of the business.
• Names suggesting an association with a Nigerian state, federal body, or international organisation where no such association exists.
• Names violating public policy, decency, or order.
• Names suggesting a body or activity that is unlawful under Nigerian law.

The practical examples that surface most often: names containing 'Nigeria Police', 'Central Bank', 'NIMASA', 'NDIC', 'NDLEA', 'EFCC', and similar agency names. Names suggesting United Nations affiliation or other international-body patronage. Names that read as obscene or politically inflammatory at the reviewer's discretion.

The recovery is to choose a different root. Applicants attached to a sector-evocative original name (a fintech wanting 'Central' in the name, a security service wanting 'Federal' in the name) often find that the prohibited word is itself the problem. A descriptive sector word that does not invoke a state body or international organisation usually works: 'Capital', 'Vault', 'Sentinel', 'Patrol' against the originals above.

Section 852(2) of CAMA 2020 lists words that can appear in a registered name but only with the Commission's specific consent or the relevant sector regulator's consent. Unlike Category 3 this is not an absolute refusal — the name is registrable, but the registration runs through a longer consent timeline.

The two consent routes:

• CAC's specific consent under Section 852(2). Words including 'Federal', 'National', 'Regional', 'State', 'Government' (and any term suggesting governmental patronage), 'Municipal', 'Chartered', 'Cooperative', 'Building Society', 'Group', and 'Holding' need CAC's specific consent. The applicant submits a justification to the Commission alongside the reservation; CAC either grants or refuses the consent on substantive grounds. Timeline: typically a few weeks where the justification is clear.
• Sector-regulator consent for banking, insurance, and capital-markets terms. Words suggesting banking (CBN consent), insurance (NAICOM consent), or capital-markets activity (SEC consent). A company intending to use 'Bank' in its name must hold (or be applying for) a CBN banking licence; the same applies to 'Insurance' and NAICOM, 'Securities' and SEC. Timeline: months for a routine application; longer for a complex one.

A separate consent route applies to every company limited by guarantee, irrespective of the name itself: the Attorney-General of the Federation's consent under Section 26 of CAMA 2020. This is not a name-restriction consent but an entity-type consent; it routes through the Federal Ministry of Justice and typically adds 4 to 12 weeks to the registration. See how to register a company limited by guarantee for the full timeline.

The recovery decision at Category 4 is binary: pursue the consent route, or abandon the restricted word. Where the restricted word is core to the brand (a chartered-accountant firm that genuinely needs 'Chartered' in the name, a sector-specialist insurance broker that genuinely needs 'Insurance' in the name), the consent route is the right call and the timeline is part of the cost. Where the restricted word is decorative rather than substantive, swapping it out is faster.

The most mechanical refusal and the fastest fix. Each entity type under CAMA 2020 carries its own corporate suffix; a reservation submitted with the wrong suffix for the chosen entity type is refused at the format-validation step. The fix is to match the suffix to the entity type and re-submit, without changing the name itself.

The suffix rules:

• Part C business name (sole proprietorship or partnership). No corporate suffix. A name carrying 'Ltd', 'Limited', or 'Plc' will fail validation as a business name.
• Part A private company limited by shares. 'Limited' or 'Ltd' is required. The name does not register without it.
• Part A public company limited by shares. 'Plc' or 'Public Limited Company' is required.
• Part A company limited by guarantee. 'GTE', '(LBG)', or 'Limited by Guarantee' is required. The choice is conventional; CAC accepts any of the three.
• Part A unlimited company. No suffix is required, but 'Unlimited' or 'ULC' is often used voluntarily.
• Part B limited liability partnership. 'LLP' is required.
• Part B limited partnership. 'LP' is required.
• Part F incorporated trustees. No corporate suffix in the registered name itself; the body is registered under its declared name with the implicit Incorporated Trustees status.

Applicants who switched entity type mid-application (a planned business name that pivoted to a private limited company, or an incorporated-trustees plan that pivoted to a company limited by guarantee) most often hit this category. The fix is to re-submit with the correct suffix; the underlying name does not need to change.

A practical hint: where the entity-type decision is not yet final, run the public search against the root name without any suffix. The CAC register is suffix-aware but the root word is what carries the distinctiveness check. A root word that is free across business-name, Part A, and Part F can be confidently used once the entity type is settled.

A refused reservation is rarely the moment to upgrade from DIY to an accredited agent. Three of the five categories (identical, similar, wrong-suffix) are clerical fixes the applicant can run themselves at pre.cac.gov.ng inside the original iCRP account. Category 4 (restricted-word consent) is the only category where an accredited lawyer or chartered secretary familiar with the consent route at CAC or the relevant sector regulator adds material value.

For a routine re-submission after a Category 1, 2, 3, or 5 refusal:

• Sign back in to the same iCRP account at pre.cac.gov.ng.
• Re-run the free public search on the new candidate name.
• Submit the fresh reservation with the corrected suffix and the new name. A fresh reservation fee applies.
• The new reservation number replaces the failed one against the same applicant.

For a Category 4 re-submission where the applicant has decided to pursue the consent route:

• The accredited agent (NBA-admitted lawyer, ICSAN-chartered secretary, or ICAN/ANAN-chartered accountant) drafts the consent justification.
• The reservation submission is run alongside the consent application; the name is held during the consent process.
• The agent corresponds with the CAC consent unit or the sector regulator on the applicant's behalf.

The choice between DIY and agent at the re-submission step is not a question of capability; it is a question of which consent route is being pursued and whether the agent's specialist knowledge of that route earns the agent's fee. See CAC accreditation for the architecture of accredited agents versus the DIY portal route.

• Do NOT re-submit the same name in a marginally different format expecting a different outcome. The CAC similarity logic treats minor variants as identical; the refusal returns on substantive grounds with another reservation fee consumed.
• Do NOT pay an informal agent on social media to 'guarantee' a name that has already been refused. The CAC name framework is automated and reviewer-supervised; no informal channel can override a Section 852(1) refusal or a sector-regulator consent requirement.
• Do NOT skip the free public search before paying a fresh reservation fee. Most Category 1 and Category 2 refusals are catchable at the unpaid step; the reservation fee is consumed at submission, not at outcome.
• Do NOT confuse a name-availability refusal with a name-change refusal. The five categories apply to both, but a name change under Sections 30-32 also requires a special resolution and a board minute. See [how to change your business name](/cac/change-business-name/) for the modification flow.
• Do NOT pursue a restricted-word consent route on speculation. CBN, NAICOM, and SEC consents are substantive; they require a real licence application or a credible licence pathway. A 'Bank' in a name without an actual banking licence application will not clear consent.