How to Register a Business Name in Nigeria: Beginner’s Guide

Have you ever wondered why different businesses in Nigeria stand out among others? There are important steps that ensure a business stays unique and stands out from other businesses. One of these steps is to register a business name.

The bitter truth is, no matter how hard you try to stay unique with your business, it starts from the birthplace of getting a business name.

Hence, this guide is written for beginners and new business owners like you to understand the importance of a business name and how to register a business name in Nigeria.

My aim today is to help you learn and understand:

What is a business name?
Why you need to register a business name?
How to create a business name?
How to register a business name in Nigeria?

WHAT IS A BUSINESS NAME?

A business name is simply your brand identity. A business name is what makes you unique and different from other businesses or brand owners.

The purpose of a business name is to create an identity and unique value that gives you an edge over your competitors. Therefore, it is necessary to turn your sole proprietorship into a fully registered business.

Hence, whether you want to start an online business or a physical business, it is important to register a business name, as this is the starting point for growing your business and making sales.

Take, for example, a clothing brand business with the name “Michael’s Luxury Clothings." This is a perfect example of a business name that makes the clothing brand unique. Anyone who comes across that name is instantly aware that it is a luxury clothing brand.

WHY YOU NEED TO REGISTER A BUSINESS NAME?

Not all business names are unique; I’ll make you understand this. The process of registering a business name would serve you in the following ways:

Brand Awareness: It is easy to understand why you need to register a business name. One of these is to create awareness for your business. From the example I gave earlier, anyone that comes across “Michael’s Luxury Clothings” is instantly aware that it is a clothing business and not a hair product business.

Brand Protection: Registering a business name would give you the advantage of brand protection and ownership. This means you have all legal rights attached to your business. This is to ensure someone else doesn’t take your business name or make any form of related duplicate.

Direct Target Audience: A unique business name will help you be more direct with your target audience. Going back to the same example I gave earlier, anyone that comes across “Michael’s Luxury Clothing” won’t make a mistake and take it for a food business or hair product business. A business name will ensure you have direct focus on a certain type of business audience.

Long Lasting Impression: A business name is important to create a long lasting impression in the mind of people. Make sure to use a unique business name that would ring a bell constantly in the head of potential customers. Creating a long lasting impression with your business name will help you generate more leads and improve sales.

HOW TO CREATE A BUSINESS NAME?

Getting full understanding on how to create a business name is important. There are certain requirements you must consider when creating a unique business name for your brand. The following are things you should consider on how to create a business name:

Understand your business type
Brainstorm on different business name ideas
Look at your competitors name to stand out different
Decide on a business name
Check if the business name is already registered.

However, if you lack business name ideas, there are lots of tools online to help you generate or create a business name. You can try the Shopify business name generator.

HOW TO REGISTER A BUSINESS NAME IN NIGERIA

Your ultimate first task as a business owner is to register a business name. A business name or idea is nothing if you don’t take the necessary steps to register the business name and have all legal rights to it.

In order to register your business name in Nigeria, you have to go through the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). CAC has been the backbone of helping business owners register their businesses in a few easy steps.

Here are the steps on how to register a business name in Nigeria with CAC:

Register a CAC account
Business name reservation
Apply for a business name
Pay registration fee
Get business name approval

1. Register a CAC Account

Registering and creating a Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) account will be the first step to registering a business name in Nigeria. CAC has been the foundation of business name registration for thousands and millions of businesses in Nigeria.

Hence, you should go ahead and start your registration process by creating an account on the CAC website to get started.

2. Business Name Reservation

CAC business name reservations is a way of doing CAC business name search by checking the availability of your business name on the CAC website and also making reservations for such a business name. You must check if your business name is available or has already been taken by another business owner in order to avoid legal issues.

Using the CAC business name reservation will guarantee you a way to reserve or keep your business name for a period of 60 days while completing your registration in that timeframe. The reason for this is to prevent someone else from registering that name and to check the availability of that business name.

3. Apply for a Business Name

If you’ve checked and you’re sure the business name of your choice is available, It is necessary to apply for your business name registration next. Mind you, be certain of whatever business name you are choosing because this is the application stage for you to own that business name.

However, you should be aware of the lists of documents to upload for CAC business name registration. This can include any of the following:

National ID card or Government approved ID
Voter’s card
Driver’s License
NIN Slip
Passport photograph.

4. Pay CAC Registration Fee

You might be wondering how much it costs to register a business name in Nigeria?. Well, this is the step you take to get your answer.

In order to complete your CAC registration process, you'll be given your business name registration fee in the CAC portal. There is never a fixed cost to register a business name in Nigeria. It is necessary to go ahead and make a payment to get your business name registered.

5. Get Business Name Approval

Getting approved to register a business name in CAC is easy. If you’ve done all the important steps, like applying to register the business name and paying the registration fee, then getting approved shouldn’t be a problem.

I’ll advise you to wait for approval before using the business name. Upon getting approved, you'll be issued a certificate of registration. Getting approved gives you a solid edge as the sole owner of that business name.

FINAL THOUGHTS

In order to register a business name in Nigeria, it is important for you to know that this is the starting point of your business journey.

Other important factors are necessary in growing your business or making sales, but getting your business name registered should be the first pivotal step you don’t miss.

Hence, if there’s any relating questions or FAQs in regard to this article or guide, kindly leave a comment.