Understanding the true CAC registration cost Nigeria business owners pay can save you from spending double what the government actually charges. A business owner in Lagos wanted to register her business and approached an agent, who charged her 45,000 naira. According to the official CAC fee schedule, the total cost for business name registration including portal charges is 21,000 naira, meaning she paid more than twice the actual fee without realizing it. This isn’t an isolated case.
Most first-time business owners end up falling victim to unexpected financial surprises regarding the CAC registration cost. They usually only realize they were overcharged after paying the money and having a casual discussion with a fellow entrepreneur. By then, the mistake has already been made.
These costly surprises happen either because of a lack of clear information or when a third-party agent deliberately fails to break down each component of the total CAC registration cost. Because these miscellaneous service charges, stamp duties, and filing fees are never itemized individually beforehand, unsuspecting founders end up paying inflated fees without prior knowledge of the actual CAC registration cost.
The Cost of Registering a Business Name with CAC in 2026
Chart showing the CAC registration cost Nigeria official fees for 2026 across business names, limited companies, and trustees.
Most early-stage business owners or first-time founders begin their corporate journey with a business name registration, since it carries the lowest CAC registration cost of any corporate structure the commission offers. This makes it the most affordable entry point for new ventures. Unfortunately, this is also the exact stage where most first-time owners end up overpaying simply because they are unaware of the official baseline prices.
According to the official list of fees published by CAC, there are two compulsory fees. The fees include the Name reservation and The Registration and CTC.
| Items | Cost | What they cover |
| Name Reservation | 1,000 naira | Holds your chosen name, If by chance, the name contains a restricted name, the fee increases to 5,000 naira |
| The registration and CTC | 20,000 naira | Official registration filing, including your Certified True Copy of registration documents |
| Total | 21,000 naira |
Before registering a business name, CAC will check if the name is available. If it is, the name will be reserved for you till you complete your business registration.
The Cost of Registering a Private Limited Company in Nigeria
The cost of registering a business name is different from registering a private limited company, but it isn’t as much as many older websites claim. Most businesses prefer to go for the private limited company because it offers more legal protection and makes it easier to raise investments, even though it impacts your overall CAC registration cost. The amount in this case depends on your share capital, unlike in business name registration where everyone pays a fixed price.
Like in business name registration, your baseline CAC registration cost begins with a name reservation fee of 1,000 naira, and if your preferred name contains a restricted word, you must pay an additional fee of 5,000 naira.
There is also the incorporation charge, which forms the core government fee for registering a company. The CAC charges 10,000 naira for every 1,000,000 naira of share capital. For example, if you own a 5 million naira share capital, you will be required to pay an incorporation fee of 50,000 naira plus the name reservation fee, driving up your total CAC registration cost as your share capital increases.
The FIRS stamp duty is what makes a lot of business owners confused because it is paid during the process but it is not technically part of the official CAC registration cost. It is collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service rather than the Corporate Affairs Commission. The fee for FIRS stamp duty is 0.75% of your share capital.
Most people make the mistake of choosing a very high share capital because of how impressive it looks, but it is necessary to note that a higher share capital automatically triggers a higher stamp duty and a steeper incorporation fee, ultimately ballooning your total CAC registration cost well beyond what is necessary for a fresh startup.
The Cost of Registering an Incorporated Trustee
The registration of an Incorporated Trustee is the standard legal structure used for non-profit organizations, charities, clubs, and religious or educational bodies. Unlike standard commercial enterprises, an Incorporated Trustee is not set up to generate profits for owners, but rather to pursue specific social, cultural, religious, or philanthropic objectives, which directly shapes your overall CAC registration cost.
When budgeting for this specific filing, your official CAC registration cost comprises two primary government fees mandated by the commission:
- Name Reservation (5,000 Naira): Before proceeding with the application, you must reserve your organization’s name. This initial component of your CAC registration cost is slightly higher than the amount charged for regular business names because the commission carries out a much more detailed review before granting approval.
- Registration and Certified True Copy (40,000 Naira): Once your name is approved, you pay this fee to officially register the organization, which includes your initial Certified True Copy (CTC) of the certificate.
This brings your baseline government filing CAC registration cost to a total of 45,000 naira, and unlike a private limited company, this official CAC registration cost does not fluctuate based on share capital size. However, beyond this government total, there are additional mandatory expenses required to complete the process:
- Newspaper Publication (20,000 to 50,000 Naira): Before the commission issues your registration certificate, you are legally required to run a newspaper publication announcing your intention to form an Incorporated Trustee. This public notice gives any interested party with a legitimate reason the opportunity to raise objections, adding an external fee separate from your baseline CAC registration cost.
- Legal Documentation (30,000 to 50,000 Naira): An Incorporated Trustee application involves far more rigorous legal procedures than a basic business name. Essential documents, such as the trustees’ declaration, meeting resolutions, and the organization’s constitution, must be meticulously drafted. Because of this complexity, most organizations hire a qualified lawyer or accredited agent to handle the paperwork, constituting a private professional fee rather than a direct component of your official CAC registration cost.
The Hidden Costs No One Tells You: A CAC Fees Breakdown
There is nothing wrong in paying extra charges, if these charges are clearly explained. During the registration process, there are other fees apart from the official CAC fee. These extra costs make registration seem more expensive.
Some of these fee includes:
Accredited agent fee
These are people authorized to help businesses, organizations or companies to register. Although the process can simply be done through the portal, some people will prefer to go through the accredited agent. Various reasons like insufficient time and inability to understand the portal processes could contribute to this. The official CAC fee is 21,000 naira while a reasonable agent fee Nigeria-wide is between 5,000 – 20,000.
Lawyer fee for legal documents
This fee is paid mainly by private limited companies. These companies require a legal document called Memorandum and Articles of Association ( MEMART). MEMART contains things like the company’s purpose, who owns it, the share holders right and how the company will be managed. Also businesses with multiple owners and investors often hire lawyers to prepare a customized document. This service is not free, lawyers charge for it and it’s not part of the CAC official fee.
Stamp duty
Stamp duty is often overlooked by many people. It is collected by the Federal Inland Revenue Service and not CAC. A fee of 0.75% of the share capital is paid as stamp duty. Most founders are not aware of it. They are usually surprised when asked to pay this amount during incorporation.
Portal and payment processing fees
During online payment, you are charged an extra fee as the cost of processing an electronic payment. This amount isn’t charged by CAC.
How CAC Payment Actually Works
The payment method for CAC has changed. After registration, you must pay a required online fee. These changes happened in 2026 so the checkout process may look different from what older tutorials or YouTube videos show.
Payments to CAC have been made through remita. If you registered your business before 2026, you are likely to have used Remita.
Another payment option called ReVOps was introduced in May 2026. It didn’t replace Remita as a payment option on the portal. Both payment options are functioning. You can either choose to pay through Remita or ReVOps.
This change doesn’t increase your payment amount. It only helps CAC manage, monitor and reconcile payments more efficiently. For a registrant, the practical difference is that you will see a payment option on iCRP that wasn’t there before but the accepted payment method, through card and transfer is unchanged.
CAC portal does not look like it does in old screenshots and this is because it experienced a cyber security incident. This incident made them upgrade the portal’s security. Although the portal may look different, that doesn’t necessarily mean something. If the portal behaves unexpectedly it’s important to check the official CAC website before you assume the problem is from your phone, Internet or computer.
Total Cost Scenarios for Common Situations
Here is an illustration of what CAC registration actually costs, with real scenarios. This would show what registration would actually cost depending on how they choose to register.
Scenario 1: you register your business name yourself(DIY)
Just as the acronym DIY stands for Do it yourself, so does it apply here. In this case, you do not hire an agent or lawyer, you complete the registration yourself on the CAC portal.
The cost for this is:
Name reservation – 1,000 naira
Registration + Certified True Copy- 20,000 naira.
The total amounts to 21,000. For this DIY you are paying just the official fees.
All you require for this is a valid means of identification, access to the CAC portal and patience while the application is processed.
Scenario 2: You make use of an accredited agent
In this case instead of doing it yourself, you hire an accredited agent.
The cost for this is :
Reservation- 1,000
Registration + Certified True Copy- 20,000
Agent fee: 5000 – 20,000
The total amounts to 26,000 or 41,000.
If you are a busy person, unfamiliar the CAC portal or you trust someone else in handling such registration process, then this is a reasonable amount
It’s not a reasonable amount if you have to pay three times the official amount. If an agent charges you 70,000 for business name registration, it’s not the CAC fee. It is a higher service charge fee.
Scenario 3: Registering a Private Limited company with a lawyer
Company registration requires additional legal and tax requirements. If the company has a 1 million naira share capital. The costs are
CAC name reservation and incorporation= 11,000 naira
Federal Inland Revenue Service stamp duty=7,500 naira
Lawyer’s fee = 20,000 to 50,000 naira.
Total = 38500 naira – 68,500 naira
If one lawyer charges 20,000 naira and the other charges 50,000 naira, the overall registration cost changes significantly but the government fee is fixed.
What You Should Never Overpay
It’s important to know the official fee, so you can tell when you are paying for a service or when you are being overcharged. For a standard business name organization, the payment fee for CAC is 21,000 naira. Not 35,000. Not 45,000. Whether you fill it by yourself or give it to an agent to fill, the official CAC payment still remains 21,000.
Agents charging 5,000-2,000 naira for their service are chasing for a legitimate service. They are charging for their time, effort and expertise. What isn’t legitimate is an agent calling the CAC official payment 50, 000 or even 45,000 without specifying what each money is for. Most first timers fall into this trap because they lack the adequate knowledge needed.
This doesn’t apply to only business names but also private limited companies and incorporated Trustees. If someone asks you to pay 300k to register for Incorporate Trustee. The official CAC fee is 45,000 and even after adding the newspaper publication and legal fees, the total is usually below 200,000. The fix isn’t avoiding agents. Agents aren’t the problem but it’s important to understand what you are paying for.
The Change In CAC Registration this year
When registering for your business, according to FIRS, you no longer need a separate Tax Identification Number when registering your business. After registering with CAC, you would receive a registration number. For Business name registration, you get a BN number. For Private Limited companies, you get a Registration Certificate number. Your Tax ID is now your business ID. This change came from the Nigeria Tax Administration Act that took effect on 1 January, 2026. The purpose is to Simplify business registration and tax administration.
Before this change, the process involved: Registering your business with CAC, receive your registration certificate, Apply separately for Tax Identification Number (TIN) and wait for the process to be completed. Now, you only have to register your business and the registration number will be linked to your Tax Identification Number.
The change doesn’t reduce the registration fee, rather it removes the extra expenses that many founders pay after registering. Since the process doesn’t exist again, the fees should also disappear.
Also the former FIRS has been replaced with Nigeria Revenue Service, as part of the tax reform. Due to this, registration with FIRS before registering with CAC is now outdated.
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CAC Registration Cost Nigeria 2026: Is There a Fee Waiver?
Some businesses may not have to pay the CAC official fee of 21,000 naira because the government is funding it for eligible small businesses. The Nigerian President, Bola Ahmed Tinubu approved a programme that provides free business registration for 250,000 nano, micro and small businesses.
The program is a partnership between Corporate Affairs Commission and Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria(SMEDAN). Normally, the official fee for business registration is 21,000. Instead of paying this fee, the government pays it for you if you are accepted into the programme.
To qualify for this Free waive the, you must meet the following criteria:
a. Your business must not already be registered with CAC.
b. It must be a nano, micro or small enterprise
c. You must apply through the SMEDAN portal and not directly through CAC.
When you apply through SMEDAN, you are given a unique ID. The ID indicates that you have been accepted into the program, then CAC processes your registration without collecting 1 naira. The programme isn’t available forever. Only 250,000 businesses can benefit.
Before applying, check if applications are still open before making plans. Most government programs end once the available position is filled even if no official closing date is announced.
The CAC-SMEDAN programme in 2025 is different from this, so if you read an older article talking about the 2025 waiver, it may no longer apply
What CAC Registration Actually Costs in 2026
| Structure | CAC Fee alone | Total | Path |
| Business Name (DIY) | 21,000 | 21,000 | Do the registration by yourself. |
| Business Name (agent-assisted) | 21,000 | 26,000 – 41,000 | CAC fee plus agent fee |
| Business Name (SMEDAN waiver if applicable) | 0 | 0 | Free but through the SMEDAN portal |
| Private Company (1million naira share capital, DIY) | 11,000 | 18,500 | CAC and stamp duty |
| Private Company(1 million naira share capital, with lawyer) | 11,000 | 38,500 – 68,500 | CAC, stamps duty and legal fee |
| Incorporated Trustees | 45,000 | 95,000 -175,000 | CAC, publication and legal fee |
The government cost is fixed. Any amount paid apart from the fixed CAC fee, is a service charge. This includes fees like the lawyer fee or agent fee.
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