How to Check Your CAC Status (2026)

A check at the CAC portal returns a label. The label looks single-word, but it carries different consequences depending on which state the entity sits in. Four states matter in practice — two that the portal displays directly, one that is a long-stretch precursor to striking off, and one that means the entity is no longer on the register at all.

Each row in the table changes what the bank counter, the tender desk, and the supplier procurement team will accept from the entity. A reader who only knows "my CAC status is bad" without knowing which of these states applies cannot route the recovery correctly.

The CAC status of any registered entity in Nigeria can be checked through three channels. Each returns a different depth of information, and the right channel depends on who is asking and what they need to do with the answer.

The public search portal — unauthenticated, free

CAC's public-search route is the simplest channel and the one most readers should use first. The portal at search.cac.gov.ng (also reachable at icrp.cac.gov.ng/public-search/) returns the entity's basic record against a name search or an RC or BN number search.

What the public search returns:

• The registered name of the entity (exact spelling as in the register)
• The RC number (for companies under Part A) or BN number (for business names under Part C)
• The date of registration
• The current status — Active or Inactive
• The entity type (private company, public company, business name, incorporated trustees, and so on)

What it does not return:

• The directors and shareholders list
• The filing history (which annual returns have been filed and which are outstanding)
• The registered office address (in some search views)
• Detailed share-capital and MEMART information

The public search is what a journalist, a counterparty doing first-pass due diligence, or a supplier checking that the entity is real will use. It is unauthenticated by design — CAMA 2020 treats the register of companies as a public record, and any reader can run a public search on any entity at any time.

The iCRP authenticated dashboard — your own entity, full filing history

If the entity is your own, the iCRP authenticated dashboard at icrp.cac.gov.ng returns the full record. The dashboard shows every filing the entity has made, every outstanding obligation, every modification submitted, and the application history.

Two reader scenarios need this channel:

• You registered the entity yourself through your own iCRP account. Logging into the same account brings the entity up on the dashboard.
• An accredited agent registered the entity for you and the entity is linked to the agent's iCRP account, not yours. You can open your own iCRP account at icrp.cac.gov.ng/auth/new-account/ using the email and director details on the registration. Linking the entity to your own account uses the entity reference and the email on the original filing.

After the April 2026 CAC cybersecurity incident the iCRP portal now requires every user to reset their password and enable two-factor authentication through an authenticator app. If your iCRP login has not been touched since before April 2026, the first thing the portal will do is push you through the reset flow before granting access.

The accredited-agent enquiry route — for complex due diligence

For routine status checks neither party needs an accredited agent — the public search is enough. The agent route is used in two scenarios:

• Complex due diligence on a counterparty. A buyer running due diligence on a target company, a lender underwriting a corporate facility, or an investor doing a transaction-grade review will instruct an accredited agent (a chartered secretary, qualified lawyer, or chartered accountant) to pull the paid Status Report and to cross-check it against the CAC register's deeper filings.
• Status check from outside Nigeria where iCRP account opening is impractical. A diaspora reader who cannot easily satisfy the BVN-and-iCRP-account requirement may route the request through an accredited agent who already holds an iCRP account.

The accredited-agent route is optional, not mandatory. The DIY route at the CAC portals — public search for the unauthenticated view, iCRP login for the authenticated view — is a first-class path. Naming the agent route is honest about who else offers status checks at scale; it is not a recommendation that every reader should use one.

The public search at search.cac.gov.ng is the quickest route to a status answer. The walkthrough below uses an RC or BN number as the input because name searches return multiple hits where the entity name is common.

1. 1
   Open the CAC search portal
2. 2
   Enter the RC or BN number
3. 3
   Read the status label
4. 4
   If you need the paid Status Report, click through
5. 5
   If the entity does not return

The single most useful field to keep handy is the RC or BN number itself. A name search works but returns near-matches, especially where the entity's name contains common Nigerian words. The number is unique.

The status label is a piece of metadata. What matters is what it lets the entity do.

Banking — corporate accounts and product upgrades

A routine debit on an existing current account with an Inactive CAC status will usually clear; the bank does not re-check status on every transaction. What changes with status is the bank's appetite for new operations:

• New corporate account opening. Banks routinely refuse to open a new corporate account where the CAC status reads Inactive. The bank's KYC team requires a Status Report dated within the last three months showing Active, alongside the certificate of registration, the TIN (now on the certificate since the June 2020 CAC-FIRS integration), the SCUML certificate where applicable, and the directors' BVN and NIN bundles.
• High-value debits and new banking products. A corporate-bond facility, a USD account upgrade, a trade-finance line, or a Tier 3 cash limit upgrade typically triggers a status re-check. An Inactive label sends the request back to the bank's compliance desk pending a fresh Status Report.
• Tiered account limit. The Tier 3 tier (highest daily transaction limit, full feature set) requires the entity to be current at CAC. See {"value":"The Central Bank of Nigeria operates a three-tier KYC framework for individual bank accounts and wallets. Tier 1 (low-KYC) requires either a BVN or a NIN (per the CBN circular of 1 December 2023), with typical limits of ₦50,000 single transaction, ₦300,000 maximum balance, and a daily debit cap commonly cited at ₦50,000 — figures vary slightly by bank and tier-1 product. Tier 2 (intermediate) requires both BVN and NIN linkage plus a valid means of identification, with typical limits of ₦200,000 daily and ₦500,000 maximum balance. Tier 3 (full) requires BVN, NIN, valid ID, and a verified residential address, and has no statutory transaction cap (banks set their own internal limits). From 1 March 2024 the CBN mandated BVN and NIN compliance for all individual Tier-2 and Tier-3 accounts under the threat of post-deadline account freezing.","lastVerified":"2026-05-22","source":"CBN tiered KYC framework (cbn.gov.ng/Out/2013/CCD/3%20TIERED%20KYC%20REQUIREMENTS.PDF) and CBN 2023 circular on Tier-1 wallets and accounts; CBN BVN-NIN compliance circular (March 2024) covered by Businessday, Guardian Nigeria, and The Nigeria Lawyer; tier-figure variance noted across SRJ Legal, UIDC, Kuda, Legit.ng and Moniepoint summaries"} for the cross-cluster tier-three logic that governs the wider Nigerian banking tier system, including the corporate side.

Government tenders and contracts

The Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and most ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs) require bidders to attach a CAC Status Report dated within the last three months. An Inactive entity is excluded from the tender at the pre-qualification stage. For an entity that bids on government contracts, status currency is operational — the Status Report is part of the standing bid bundle.

Counterparty and supplier procurement

Large suppliers, multinational counterparties, and any party doing transaction-grade due diligence will run a status check on the entity before signing a material contract. An Inactive label does not necessarily kill the deal but routes it through the counterparty's compliance team for clarification, often delaying the transaction by one to four weeks.

Post-incorporation modifications at CAC

Most CAC post-incorporation operations — change of registered office, change of directors, change of shareholders, change of company secretary, share allotment — require the entity to be current with annual returns before the modification can be processed. CAC's portal will accept the application but route it to a query asking for the outstanding returns to be filed first. See the modifications cluster (currently in preparation) for per-operation routing.

Each non-active state has a different path back to the register's good books.

From Inactive to Active. File the outstanding annual returns through the post-incorporation portal at post.cac.gov.ng. The fees are in the CAC New Schedule of Fees gazetted 29 May 2025 — see CAC registration fees for the per-entity figures. The late-filing penalty (a one-off charge plus a daily default penalty) accrues until the filing clears; the catch-up is heavier the longer the delay. After CAC reconciles the submission, the status label flips from Inactive to Active within one to three working days. See the annual returns guide for the per-entity walkthrough.

From dormant (precursor) to Active. Same route as from Inactive — file all outstanding returns and clear the accrued penalty. The earlier the catch-up the lighter the penalty. If CAC has already published a ninety-day notice of intention to strike off the entity, the entity must respond to the notice (file all outstanding returns within the grace period, and submit the activation email CAC requires) to avoid the formal striking-off step.

From struck off, back to the register. Relisting is the heaviest route. Section 693 of CAMA 2020 provides for restoration of a struck-off company's name to the register through application to the Federal High Court. The application names the Commission as the respondent and is supported by an affidavit explaining the failure to file and the entity's intention to continue trading. All outstanding annual returns and the accrued penalty must be paid as a condition of restoration. Once the court orders restoration, CAC reinstates the entity's name on the register and the active status returns. Relisting is the strongest reason to file annual returns on time — the cost of restoration through the Federal High Court materially exceeds the cost of staying current.

The CAC status check is one of four adjacent post-incorporation operations every business operator runs at different moments in the entity's life:

• How to download your CAC certificate — retrieve the e-certificate PDF from the iCRP dashboard. The TIN has been on the certificate since the June 2020 CAC-FIRS integration; downloading the certificate is also the route to the entity's tax identifier in most cases.
• How to get a TIN after CAC registration — for the small set of entities whose TIN is not on the certificate (pre-June-2020 registrations, certificate-damaged cases, and certain Part F trustees), the manual route through the Nigeria Revenue Service portal.
• CAC annual returns — the compliance filing that determines whether the status reads Active or Inactive in the first place. The deadline stack is 42 days from AGM for companies under Section 421 of CAMA 2020, 30 June yearly for business names under Section 822, and the ten-year missed-returns threshold under Section 692 for striking off.
• CAC registration fees — the gazetted statutory schedule against which the annual-returns figures and the late-filing penalties are calculated. The Status Report channel has its own fee, separately invoiced when the paid report is pulled.

For the registration walkthroughs the status check refers back to, see how to register a business name, how to register a limited company, and the CAC registration requirements reference for the per-entity-type documentary bundle.