How to File Post-Incorporation Processes on the New CAC iCRP Portal in Nigeria
Learn how to file post-incorporation processes on the new CAC iCRP portal in Nigeria, from CAC company registration follow-up and business name updates to NGO registration changes, company name change, compliance filing, post incorporation documents, and post-incorporation compliance for every registered company and business name.
Registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission is only the starting point. Once a company, business name, or incorporated trustee exists on the register, the official record must stay current. That ongoing work is what post-incorporation processes cover: the updates, statutory returns, and document requests that follow CAC company registration, business name registration, or NGO registration.
The new CAC iCRP brings pre-incorporation and post-incorporation work onto one platform. Accredited agents no longer need a separate post-incorporation login. This guide explains how post-incorporation filings are started on the iCRP portal, which post-incorporation services are commonly used, and how post-incorporation compliance protects a registered company or business name when banks, regulators, and counterparties check the public record.
What CAC Post-Incorporation Covers
CAC post-incorporation means every filing, update, and official-record service required after an entity has been registered. For a company the usual term is post-incorporation. For a business name the same work is often called post-registration. The purpose is the same: the register must reflect the entity’s current name, address, officers, ownership, objects, and legal status.
We group the work into six practical areas:
- Annual and other recurring compliance filing
- Changes to directors, proprietors, partners, trustees, or secretaries
- Changes to registered address, objects, or nature of business
- Changes to governing documents, share capital, or structure
- Requests for post incorporation documents such as status reports and certified true copies
- Cessation, striking off, or dissolution when the entity is closed
These filings matter because banks, investors, and licensing bodies rely on the CAC record. An outdated register can stall an account opening, a contract, or a later filing even when the entity itself is active.
Accessing the New CAC iCRP
The official CAC registration portal for current filings is the Intelligent Company Registration Portal at icrp.cac.gov.ng. The older split between a pre-incorporation CAC CRP and a separate post portal has been replaced. Single sign-on lets accredited agents open post-incorporation services from the same dashboard they already use. [1]
Accredited agents are persons or institutions certified by the Commission to submit pre-incorporation and post-incorporation filings on behalf of individuals and businesses. [1] Public-user accounts are limited to pre-incorporation services. In practice, a proprietor, director, or trustee who is not an accredited agent works through an agent’s account for CAC post-incorporation work.
Login on the new CAC iCRP uses the registered username, email, phone number, or accreditation number, followed by two-factor authentication. Password resets are handled from the login page. Account or email problems are directed to the Commission’s helpdesk.
Name Availability Code and the Incorporation Pack
A name availability code, also called the AV Code or Approval Validation Code, is issued after a successful name reservation. Business name registration on the portal starts by entering that code. The same reservation step applies when a company name change or a business name change needs a new name approved before the post-incorporation filing itself. [1]
After approval of a new registration, the portal generates an electronic certificate and an e-status report. Together with the approved particulars, these form the incorporation pack that the entity should keep. Later post incorporation documents—fresh status reports, letters of good standing, and certified extracts—are requested separately through post-incorporation services when a third party needs current proof.
How to File Post-Incorporation Processes on the iCRP Portal
The official route on the new system is short. Approval is still manual. Submitting online does not mean the filing is approved automatically. [1]
Open Post Incorporation from the Dashboard
- Log in to the iCRP portal with an accredited-agent account and complete two-factor authentication.
- From the dashboard, click Post Inc. or Post Incorporation.
- The portal opens the post-incorporation landing page.
- Search for the registered company, business name, or incorporated trustee by name or registration number.
- Open that entity’s dashboard and select the filing that matches the change.
- Complete the electronic form, upload the required documents, preview the application, and pay the fee shown on the portal.
- Track the application. If an approving officer raises a query, respond on the same application rather than starting a new one. [1]
Electronic Document Management on the portal allows supporting files to be uploaded during the filing itself, without a separate document-upload site. Clear, legible scans and details that match the form reduce the chance of a query.
Payments and Review
Fees are calculated inside the application and paid through the portal’s payment options, including Remita. The Commission has also enabled direct portal payment for selected business name post-registration services. Always use the amount generated for that specific filing. Statutory fees and any late-filing consequences should be confirmed on the live application, because published schedules can change.
Every post-incorporation filing is reviewed by an approving officer. The Commission’s published service timelines run from receipt of a complete application, or from compliance with a query—not from the moment a user starts a draft. For companies, published timelines include about 12 working hours for a change of name and about 24 working hours for annual returns, once the file is complete. Business name and incorporated trustee post-registration applications are published at about 48 working hours on the same basis. [2]
Common Post-Incorporation Services
The portal does not use one generic form. Each entity type has its own list of notices. Selecting the wrong service is a frequent cause of delay.
Company Name Change and Other Company Filings
A registered company can file, among other things:
- Annual returns
- Company name change, after name reservation and the required resolution
- Change of registered address
- Appointment, resignation, or removal of directors or the company secretary
- Correction of particulars of directors, shareholders, or guarantors
- Increase or reduction of issued share capital and related allotment notices
- Alteration of the memorandum and articles
- Updates or cessation relating to persons with significant control
- Status report, letter of good standing, or certified true copy of the certificate or other filed documents
- Striking off or other cessation steps when the company is closed
A company name change is not a simple rename on the dashboard. The new name must first pass availability checks and, where the proposed name uses a restricted word, any required consent. Members then pass the resolution required by the company’s constitution and the Companies and Allied Matters Act. The filing uploads that resolution, the application, and any updated constitutional documents the portal requests. On approval, a new certificate is issued and the old certificate is dealt with as the Commission directs.
Business Name Post-Registration
After business name registration, updates are made on the existing BN record. Typical services include annual returns, change of business name, change of principal place of business, change of objects or nature of business, change or correction of proprietor or partner details, cessation, and requests for a status report or certified copy of the certificate.
Annual returns for a business name are generally due by 30 June each year, except in the calendar year of first registration. Those returns continue until cessation is filed, even if trading has stopped.
NGO Registration Updates for Incorporated Trustees
NGO registration with the CAC is registration as incorporated trustees. Post-incorporation work for that structure commonly covers change of name, change of trustees, change of objects or constitution, change of address, annual or other statutory filings the portal lists for that entity, and certified extracts. Name changes and constitutional amendments for incorporated trustees often require publications and a longer consent or review path than a routine company address change. Build that lead time into the plan before a bank or donor asks for the updated certificate.
Limited partnerships and limited liability partnerships have their own post-registration notices on the same iCRP portal. Identify the entity type before choosing a service.
Documents That Support a Clean Filing
Post incorporation documents fall into two groups: the papers you upload to support a change, and the official outputs you later download.
Supporting papers depend on the service. Across entity types, approving officers commonly expect:
- A board, members, or trustees’ resolution that states the exact change, the entity name, and the registration number
- Valid means of identification and, where a person is being added, consent or appointment papers
- For a company name change or business name change, evidence that the new name was reserved
- Updated constitutional pages where the memorandum, articles, or constitution is being altered
- Evidence relevant to share-capital changes, including stamping where the law requires it
- For certified copies or a status report, the portal request itself rather than a fresh constitutional pack
The incorporation pack from the original registration—certificate and status report—should be kept, but it does not replace a current status report when a counterparty wants today’s particulars.
Hands-on post incorporation training for agents and company secretaries is useful because small mismatches cause most queries: a name that does not match the reservation, a signature that is illegible, an identification number that does not match the person on the form, or a resolution that does not state the decision the portal is being asked to record.
Post-Incorporation Compliance Before You File a Change
Post-incorporation compliance is not optional housekeeping. Annual returns confirm that the entity is still on the register and report its current officers and address. Companies generally file within the statutory window after the annual general meeting, with the first-period exemption and the small-company timing rules set out in the Act and CAC practice. Business names follow the June deadline described above.
Outstanding annual returns are a practical blocker. Filing guides and registry practice both show that the portal will often refuse a later change—including a company name change—until returns are brought up to date. Clear returns first, then file the change. Filing a return that still shows old directors or an old address creates a second discrepancy; record those changes as their own filings before, or in the order the portal requires.
Late filing can attract penalties. Penalties continue to accrue on a dormant name until cessation or striking off is actually filed. Abandoning a business name or NGO on the register is not the same as closing it.
Queries, Downloads, and Good Practice
If the status shows Queried, open the query history, correct only what the officer flagged, replace unclear documents, and resubmit on that same application. Starting a duplicate filing usually creates a payment and tracking problem.
When the status shows Approved, download the acknowledgement, updated certificate where one is issued, and any status report from the entity dashboard. Store those files with the original incorporation pack.
We recommend this sequence for any CAC post-incorporation job:
- Confirm the entity type and registration number on a public search.
- Confirm annual returns are current.
- Reserve a new name and keep the name availability code if the filing is a company name change or business name change.
- Prepare the resolution and identification documents before opening the form.
- File through an accredited agent on the iCRP portal.
- Pay only the invoice generated for that application.
- Answer any query on the same thread and download the approved post incorporation documents as soon as they appear.
For portal errors, payment issues, or email-access problems, use the contacts published on the Commission’s support pages, including [email protected] and the customer-service line listed there.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can file post-incorporation processes on the new CAC iCRP?
Accredited agents file post-incorporation processes from the unified dashboard. The Commission defines them as persons or institutions certified to submit pre-incorporation and post-incorporation filings on behalf of individuals and businesses. A public-user account does not replace that access. [1]
Do I still need a separate post-incorporation login?
No. On the new CAC iCRP, an accredited agent opens Post Inc. or Post Incorporation from the main dashboard, searches for the entity, and continues on that entity’s dashboard. The separate post-incorporation login used on the old CAC CRP is no longer required. Manual review by an approving officer has not changed. [1]
Can I change a company name or business name only by editing the certificate?
No. A company name change or a change of business name requires a fresh name reservation, the correct internal resolution or consent, and a formal post-incorporation filing. The new certificate is issued only after that filing is approved. Keep the name availability code from the reservation and use the exact approved name on the form.