How to Change Your Business Name on CAC (2026)

A reader arriving at this article often arrives with a specific new name in mind, a board meeting already scheduled, and a sense that the next move is to pass the resolution. That sequence is wrong by one step.

The CAC name-availability check at https://publicsearch.cac.gov.ng/ is step zero. It runs before any board action.

The check is free. It takes seconds. It returns one of three outcomes — available, refused on similarity grounds, or available subject to consent (the Attorney-General's consent, a sector regulator's consent, or the Commission's own consent for a Section 852 restricted word). The three-outcomes taxonomy of the name-availability check is identical to the taxonomy at initial incorporation; the same logic that decides whether a name can be registered for the first time decides whether an existing company can change to that name.

A board resolution to change to an unavailable name is wasted paperwork. The general meeting has to be reconvened, the special resolution has to be re-passed against a different name, the supporting documents have to be re-prepared. Running the publicsearch.cac.gov.ng check first costs the company nothing and removes the risk of the wasted resolution.

The step-zero discipline applies whether the company is a Part A limited company changing its registered name, or a Part C business name changing the registered trading identity. The procedural weight of the rest of the steps differs — Part A needs a special resolution, Part C does not — but the name-availability question is the gateway in both cases.

Why a name that previously cleared a search can fail at the change-of-name stage. A name reserved years ago for the original incorporation does not carry forward to the new application. A company changing its name today is treated as a fresh applicant against the current CAC register — every entity registered since the original incorporation is in the comparison pool. A name that was unique in 2015 may collide with a 2024 registration. The check has to run fresh.

For the underlying mechanics of the name-availability check (the search interface, the three outcomes, the consent routes) see CAC name reservation.

Once the name has cleared the publicsearch.cac.gov.ng check, the next step is to reserve it through the same pre-incorporation portal used for initial registrations.

1. 1
   Sign in to pre.cac.gov.ng with the company's existing iCRP account
2. 2
   Open the Name Reservation service
3. 3
   Reserve the cleared name and pay the ₦500 reservation fee
4. 4
   Note the reservation reference for the change-of-name filing

The 60-day reservation window is the hard deadline for the rest of the change-of-name procedure. The general meeting, the special resolution, the supporting documents, and the change-of-name filing at post.cac.gov.ng must all be completed within the 60 days. A reservation that lapses without a completed filing can be renewed for a single further 60-day window, or re-reserved against a fresh ₦500 fee. The two-window cap is a practical signal that the company should treat the 60-day clock as the active timetable for the wider process.

For a Part A limited company under CAMA 2020, the change of name requires a special resolution passed at a general meeting of the shareholders. The procedural elements are tightly defined.

The notice of meeting. The notice convening the general meeting (annual or extraordinary) must specify the proposed change of name as one of the items of special business and must be served on every member entitled to receive notice. The standard notice period under CAMA 2020 is 21 clear days for a special resolution; the notice can be shorter only with the unanimous consent of every member entitled to attend and vote.

The resolution wording. The resolution states that the company's name be changed from [old name] to [new name], with effect from the date of the new certificate of incorporation issued by the Corporate Affairs Commission. The resolution is moved by a director, seconded by another member, and put to the vote.

The voting threshold. A special resolution requires the assent of at least three-quarters (75%) of the members entitled to vote in person or by proxy at the meeting. A simple majority is not enough — the 75% threshold is the structural distinction between an ordinary resolution and a special resolution under CAMA 2020.

The post-meeting filing. The signed copy of the special resolution must be delivered to the Corporate Affairs Commission within 15 days of the meeting under CAMA 2020. The resolution is signed by a director and the company secretary, or by two directors where the company has no separately-appointed secretary. The resolution forms part of the supporting documentation bundle at the change-of-name submission.

For a Part C business name the procedure is lighter. A sole proprietor authorises the change directly through a written statement signed by the proprietor. A partnership trading name records the change through a partners' written authorisation signed by all partners. There is no special-resolution mechanism because there are no shareholders; the proprietor or partners are the principals.

For an incorporated trustees body under Part F the procedure follows the body's constitution — typically a resolution of the trustees, sometimes ratified by a members' meeting where the constitution requires it. The supporting documentation at CAC includes the trustees' resolution and any constitutional notice required by the body's own rules.

With the name reserved and the special resolution passed, the change-of-name filing at the post-incorporation portal pulls the documentary chain together.

1. 1
   Confirm annual returns are current and sign in to post.cac.gov.ng
2. 2
   Open the Change of Name service
3. 3
   Complete the Form CAC 5 fields and the supporting fields
4. 4
   Upload the supporting documents
5. 5
   Pay the change-of-name modification fee through Remita
6. 6
   Submit and track to certificate re-issuance

The re-issued certificate of incorporation arrives on the iCRP dashboard as a PDF carrying the new name, the same RC number, the same TIN, and the same date-of-incorporation as the original. The old certificate is superseded; the legal personality of the company is unaffected.

The CAC re-issued certificate is the public-register event, but the change-of-name job extends well beyond the CAC line into every record and asset that carries the company's name.

Banking. The corporate bank account record carries the company's registered name as the account name. The bank requires the re-issued certificate and a customer information update to change the account name on the bank-side records. Most banks complete the change within a working week of receiving the documents; cheques and standing orders in the old name continue to be honoured for a transition period (typically 30 to 90 days, bank-specific) while the new account name takes effect. Many companies carry both the old and the new certificate during the transition.

The Nigeria Revenue Service. The NRS-side records (formerly FIRS) update through the CAC-NRS integration that handles the TIN-on-certificate flow. The TIN does not change, but the name against the TIN updates automatically. The company should confirm via https://selfservice.nrs.gov.ng/ that the propagation has happened; a manual update at the local NRS office is the fallback where the propagation lags.

Trademark register. A registered trademark held in the old company name does not automatically transfer to the new name — the trademark is a separate asset registered at the Nigerian Trademarks Registry under the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment. A change-of-proprietor filing at the trademarks registry transfers the trademark to the new name. The change is administrative (no fresh substantive examination) but it has to be initiated separately from the CAC filing.

Branded assets. Letterheads, invoices, websites, signage, social-media accounts, vehicle livery, business cards — every asset carrying the old name needs updating. The cost is operational rather than statutory; the timing depends on the company's branding inventory. Companies often issue a transition-period statement to customers and counterparties explaining that the old and the new name refer to the same legal entity.

Contracts. Existing contracts in the old name remain valid against the new entity because CAMA 2020 preserves the company's legal personality across the name change. Where a contract identifies the company by name in the operative clauses, a notice of name change to the counterparty is the courteous (and contractually safer) step. New contracts use the new name.

Sector regulators. Where the company is regulated by a sector authority — SCUML, NAFDAC, CBN, NCC, SEC, NAICOM — each regulator's records carry the company name independently of CAC. Each requires its own change-of-name update, typically light, with the re-issued CAC certificate as the supporting document.

The downstream updates run in parallel once the CAC re-issued certificate is in hand. The cleanest sequence is CAC first (so the authoritative public record reflects the change), then banking and NRS within a week, then trademark and sector-regulator updates within the following month, then branded-asset updates on the company's own operational timeline.

The change-of-name service at post.cac.gov.ng is DIY-capable for a company in good standing with clear shareholder approval. The portal walks the user through every step, the documentary chain is standard, and the procedural elements (special resolution, supporting documents, modification fee) are familiar enough that a director or proprietor with the documents in hand can complete the filing in a single sitting.

The accredited-agent route earns its fee genuinely in two cases for a name change. First, where the change interacts with trademark or brand-protection considerations — a name change that is part of a wider rebranding affecting trademark portfolios benefits from a lawyer or chartered secretary who can coordinate the CAC filing with the parallel trademarks-registry change-of-proprietor filing. Second, where the change is part of a wider restructuring bundling multiple amendments (a name change paired with a director change, a share-capital change, or a constitutional amendment) — the agent coordinates the bundle as a single workstream rather than four sequential filings.

For a standalone name change with clear shareholder approval and no parallel trademark or restructuring considerations, the agent fee is a convenience charge sitting on top of the CAC statutory line.

Informal "CAC consultants" with no accreditation under the Section 332 framework can help with form-filling but cannot submit under accreditation privileges. The iCRP account creation route at the portal is open to every registrant.

• Do NOT pass the special resolution before running the publicsearch.cac.gov.ng name-availability check. A resolution authorising a change to an unavailable name has to be re-passed once the company picks a name that clears the search; the meeting and the paperwork are wasted. The name check is free and takes seconds.
• Do NOT assume the old certificate is no longer valid after the re-issue. The legal personality persists across the name change — the old certificate identifies the same company, now operating under the new name. Some banks ask for both during the transition; carrying both PDFs is the practical arrangement.
• Do NOT use a special resolution wording that omits the effective date or the proposed new name verbatim. CAC reviews the resolution wording at the substantive review stage; a defective resolution (wrong name spelling, missing effective date clause, missing 75% threshold language) is a query that pauses the filing.
• Do NOT skip the trademark register update. A registered trademark held in the old company name does not automatically transfer to the new name; it has to be amended at the Nigerian Trademarks Registry through a separate change-of-proprietor filing. The CAC change of name does not flow through to the trademarks registry automatically.
• Do NOT submit the change-of-name filing while annual returns are outstanding. The post.cac.gov.ng portal blocks every modification until the backlog clears. File the outstanding returns first, then submit the name change.
• Do NOT assume the TIN, RC number, or BVN-keyed director records change with the name. None of those identifiers update; only the registered name updates. The TIN persists, the RC number persists, every director's BVN-keyed record persists. Counterparties who key records to those identifiers see continuity.
• Do NOT allow the 60-day name reservation to lapse without completing the change-of-name filing. The reservation expires and the name becomes available to other applicants; a competitor (or even a typo in someone else's application) can take the name in the interval. Treat the 60 days as the working timetable for the rest of the procedure.