The Corporate Affairs Commission has tightened the rules for updating business names on its online portal, announcing that proprietors must now provide additional personal and contact information before any changes can be approved.
The new directive, released in a public notice on Wednesday, is designed to strengthen verification processes and improve the accuracy of Nigeria’s business registry.
According to the commission, individuals seeking to amend their business name records must submit their date of birth, a registered office email, the proprietor’s email, an active phone number and a valid form of identification. These details, the CAC explained, will help ensure cleaner records and reduce the risk of fraudulent filings that have troubled the system in recent years.
The News Chronicle gathered that the commission has grown increasingly concerned about the rising number of fake registrations and misleading corporate identities circulating in the country. Officials believe stricter data requirements will allow them to better track erring entities and support legitimate businesses more efficiently.
The CAC warned that requests lacking the newly mandated information may be delayed or rejected. This development follows months of heightened compliance enforcement under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020. Earlier in the year, the commission issued a six-week ultimatum to unregistered operators and signalled plans to delist dormant or non-compliant companies, some of which had failed to file returns for over a decade.
Recent investigations uncovered 15 fake company names and registration numbers circulating in Nigeria, prompting a nationwide advisory urging the public to always verify business credentials through the CAC portal. In August, the commission also flagged 247 entities operating with falsified RC numbers, removing them from its official database.
As part of its broader digitisation agenda, the CAC has launched an AI-powered registration system aimed at streamlining processes, accelerating business approvals and boosting confidence in Nigeria’s formal business environment.
