Corporate Affairs Commission Revised Service Timelines for Name Reservation and New Registrations
Corporate Affairs Commission service timelines in working hours and business days for name reservation, restricted names, limited by guarantee, incorporated trustees and new registrations, plus the correction approval timeline, revised service fees, filing deadline, board approval, annual general meeting and fee structure.
The Corporate Affairs Commission publishes revised service timelines that set the processing window for name reservation, new registrations, post-registration filings, and related requests. These service timelines are stated in working hours or business days. They start when a complete application is received, or when the applicant has fully answered a query. A draft left unfinished on the portal does not start the clock.
The figures below follow the Commission’s published service timelines. They are processing targets for a file that already meets the checklist, not a promise that an incomplete upload will clear in the same window. Filings are made on the Intelligent Company Registration Portal after you log in. How each notice is opened is covered in the guide to post-incorporation processes on the new iCRP.
When the Clock Actually Starts
Most lines on the schedule are measured in working hours. A smaller set is measured in business days. Nights, weekends, and public holidays sit outside both counts, so a file submitted late on a Friday does not consume the full window over the weekend.
Three triggers appear on the published schedule:
- Name reservation is timed from the availability request, the substitution request, or the consent application.
- New registrations are actioned upon receipt of all relevant documents, or upon compliance with any raised query.
- Company post-registration filings are timed from receipt of the email or courier submission, or from compliance with any issued query. Business name and incorporated trustee post-registration filings use the same idea: receipt of the application, physical courier submission, or compliance with a query.
What a Query Does to the Correction Approval Timeline
The correction approval timeline does not run while a query is open. It begins, or begins again, only after every point in the query has been answered and the corrected papers are back with the Commission. A partial reply, a document that does not match the form, or the wrong fee commonly sends the file back to the start of that review. Treat the published working hours as the time the Commission needs after the file is in order.
Name Reservation Service Timelines
Name reservation is the first formal step for a company, business name, partnership, or incorporated trustee. It holds a proposed name. It does not create the entity. On the current portal, a standard availability check is often cleared as soon as payment succeeds. The published service timeline remains the benchmark if the request is not instant.
| Name reservation service | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Availability (name search) | 4 working hours |
| Name substitution | 6 working hours |
| Consent for restricted names, limited by guarantee, and incorporated trustees | 48 working hours |
A successful reservation is generally held for 60 days. Complete the registration inside that window. If it lapses, the name can return to the pool and a fresh reservation may be required.
Restricted Names and Names That Need Consent
Consent for restricted names, limited by guarantee, and incorporated trustees takes 48 working hours. That longer review is deliberate. Words that suggest government patronage, a regulated status, or a special character are not cleared by the ordinary availability check. The consent route is a separate application, reviewed by an approving officer, and is explained in the guide to reserving a name that requires consent.
Prepare the supporting letter and any sector approval before you pay, so the 48 working hours start on a complete request. A company limited by guarantee and an incorporated trustee both sit on this consent path at the name stage, even though their later registration timelines differ.
Name substitution, at 6 working hours, is the route when the Commission asks for a different name after an application has already been opened. Reserve the replacement and select substitution as the reason, rather than abandoning the original file.
New Registrations Processing Times
New registrations are actioned upon receipt of all relevant documents or compliance with any raised query. The periods below are not measured from the moment an incomplete form is first saved.
| New registration | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Companies | 24 working hours |
| Business names | 24 working hours |
| Incorporated trustees | 24 working hours |
| Limited by guarantee | 48 working hours |
| Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) | 12 working hours |
| Limited Partnership | 12 working hours |
Companies, Business Names and Incorporated Trustees
A private or public company is registered within 24 working hours once the file is in order. Company applications are still reviewed by an officer. A query is a request to correct the file, not a refusal of the business.
Business name registration carries the same 24 working hours on the published schedule. On the newer portal, a standard business name filing is often approved quickly after payment, but the official benchmark remains 24 working hours if the application is queried or reviewed manually.
Incorporated trustees are likewise completed within 24 working hours when the documents and any query responses are in place. Publication, objection periods, and consent work sit in front of that window. They are not part of the 24 working hours.
Limited by Guarantee and Partnership Structures
Limited by guarantee registrations take 48 working hours after the file is complete. That extra time matches the consent and objects review this structure usually needs. Limited Liability Partnership and Limited Partnership applications are each processed within 12 working hours on the same “complete file or query cleared” basis. Choose the classification at name reservation. A name reserved under the wrong type cannot be reused as if it were a company or a business name.
Post-Registration Filings Measured in Working Hours
Post-registration services for companies move once an email or courier submission is received, or once an issued query is resolved. On the iCRP, the practical equivalent is a submitted application with the fee paid and the supporting documents uploaded. The published times are:
| Company post-registration service | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Change of name | 12 working hours |
| Increase or reduction of share capital | 12 working hours |
| Mortgages, debentures and charges | 12 working hours |
| Conversion | 12 working hours |
| Certified true copy of certificates | 12 working hours |
| Deed of release | 12 working hours |
| Alteration of memorandum and articles | 12 working hours |
| CAC 5 (allotment, surrender, transfer and transmission of shares) | 12 working hours |
| CAC 6 (secretary) | 12 working hours |
| CAC 7 (particulars of directors) | 12 working hours |
| CAC 8 (registered address) | 12 working hours |
| Change of person with significant control | 12 working hours |
| Fourteenth Schedule | 12 working hours |
| Edit director | 12 working hours |
| Edit shareholder | 12 working hours |
| Annual returns | 24 working hours |
| Miscellaneous post-registration | 24 working hours |
Each of those notices has its own documents. Using the wrong service is a common reason a 12-working-hour item becomes a query.
- A change of directors is filed as particulars of directors or as an edit, depending on whether the person is new or the existing record is wrong. See change of directors.
- Appointment or change of secretary is the CAC 6 filing. See appointment or change of secretary.
- Allotment of shares is separate from an increase in share capital. An increase changes the capital figure. An allotment records who holds the shares.
- Alteration of the memorandum and articles is its own 12-working-hour filing, usually after a special resolution.
- Mortgages, debentures and charges and a later deed of release are also 12-working-hour items once the stamped instrument and the form are in order.
- A certified true copy of the certificate is listed at 12 working hours. A certified true copy of other filed documents should be requested as the document service the portal shows, not as a fresh incorporation.
Banks, insurance companies, and other financial institutions may also have a statement of affairs to file. That notice is not given its own line on the general company table. Select the exact service on the portal and treat the applicable post-registration or miscellaneous timeline as the processing window only after the return is complete.
Board Approval, the Annual General Meeting and the Filing Deadline
Several of these filings are legally impossible until an internal decision exists. Obtain board approval, or the members’ resolution the Act requires, before upload. A change of name and an alteration of the memorandum and articles normally rest on a special resolution. An increase in issued share capital rests on the resolution the checklist asks for, together with evidence that stamp duty has been paid.
Annual returns sit on a different clock from the Commission’s 24 working hours. The 24 working hours are how long the Commission takes to process a complete return. The filing deadline is the date by which the company must submit that return. For many companies that statutory filing period runs from the annual general meeting. Small companies and newly registered companies follow their own timing rules, including the first-period exemption. Confirm the date that applies to the entity before treating a portal draft as “in time.”
Outstanding annual returns can block a later change, including a change of name. Clear the returns first, then file the change. A return that still shows old directors or an old address creates a second discrepancy.
Business Names and Incorporated Trustees After Registration
All business name post-registration applications are processed within 48 working hours upon receipt of the application, physical courier submission, or compliance with any issued query. All post-incorporation applications for incorporated trustees take 48 working hours on the same conditions.
That 48-working-hour figure covers the registry’s review. It does not shorten a newspaper publication or an objection period that incorporated trustees must finish before a change of name or a change of constitution can be approved. Build that lead time in before a bank or a donor asks for the updated certificate.
Applications Originating from State Offices
Miscellaneous post-incorporation applications submitted through state offices require 7 working days. That is the longest routine line on the schedule and the one most often mistaken for a head-office filing. If the file moves from a state office rather than a direct portal or head-office channel, plan around business days, not the 12-working-hour company list.
Complaint Resolution and Other Service Timelines
| Service | Timeline |
|---|---|
| Simple complaint | 48 working hours |
| Complex complaint | 72 working hours |
| Status report | Instant |
| Compliance with a late business commencement date | 12 working hours |
| Accreditation of registered agents | 24 working hours |
| Search report | 24 working hours |
| Letter of good standing | 3 to 5 working days |
A status report is the fastest official snapshot of the register. A search report takes 24 working hours. A letter of good standing takes 3 to 5 working days and is often what a bank or a counterparty asks for when a status report is not enough. Accreditation of a registered agent, at 24 working hours, matters because many post-incorporation services are filed from an accredited-agent account rather than a public-user login.
Simple complaints are resolved within 48 working hours and complex complaints within 72 working hours. Use the reference on the application, and answer any follow-up in the same thread, so the complaint is not reclassified as a new case.
Fee Structure, Revised Service Fees and Expedited Processing
Processing speed depends on two things the Commission states together: strict adherence to the published checklist, and payment of the correct amount under the current fee structure.
The Commission has undertaken a service fee review. Revised service fees and new fees have been set out in an Official Gazette, including the schedule published in 2025 with a stated implementation date. A later compliance notice can adjust a line or add a portal charge. Do not rely on a screenshot from an older guide. The amount generated on the live application, checked against the schedule on cac.gov.ng, is the amount to pay.
Paying the wrong figure does not buy a faster queue. It triggers a query, and the correction approval timeline does not run until the shortfall is cleared. Under-declaring share capital to reduce the filing fee can force a later increase if the objects carry a higher capital threshold. Stamp duty is a separate charge from the Commission’s filing fee. Keep every receipt.
There is no separate “expedited” line on the published service timelines. The practical way to stay inside the stated working hours or business days is to file a complete application, on the correct service, with the current fee, inside the statutory filing period.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does name reservation take at the Corporate Affairs Commission?
Availability search is published at 4 working hours and name substitution at 6 working hours. Consent covering restricted names, limited by guarantee, and incorporated trustees takes 48 working hours. A standard reservation on the current portal is often approved as soon as payment clears. Consent applications remain a manual review.
What are the service timelines for new registrations?
Companies, business names, and incorporated trustees are processed in 24 working hours once all documents are in order or queries are cleared. Limited by guarantee takes 48 working hours. LLP and Limited Partnership registrations take 12 working hours. Those periods start on a complete file, not on the first incomplete save.
When does the correction approval timeline start?
It starts when the Commission has the complete documents, or when the applicant has complied with every point in a query. An unanswered query pauses the file. A fresh partial reply does not keep the original working hours running.
How do fees and the filing deadline affect these timelines?
Follow the current fee structure after any service fee review, and read any compliance notice that sets the implementation date of revised service fees or new fees. Secure board approval where the change needs it. Observe the statutory filing period that follows the annual general meeting, and meet the filing deadline with complete papers. The Commission’s working hours or business days then measure processing of an accepted application. They do not extend a missed statutory date.