If you’re running a registered business in Nigeria, chances are you will eventually need to present a CAC status report.
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) provides an official status report that shows the current state of a registered entity, including its registration details, business name, contact details, and operational status.
In this article, you will learn how to download your status report, what it is used for and what to do after downloading it.
If you already know what a status report is and you just want to learn how you can download it, click here.
Table of Contents
What is a CAC Status Report and what is it Used for? 😳
A CAC status report is a document issued by the corporate affairs commission to registered businesses and organisations within the country. This document shows if a company is still active or not, it shows the proprietors of a business, the address, when the business was registered and lots more.
A CAC status report is used for five main purposes;
1. To know if an entity is duly registered
A CAC certificate can be used to confirm if a business is duly registered, but that is all it does. With a CAC Status Report, any organization can confirm whether an entity is registered, who runs it, its registered office address, the residential addresses of its directors or proprietors, and much more. Since the CAC Status Report serves the purpose of a CAC certificate and provides far more detailed information, many government agencies, financial institutions, corporate organizations, and other third parties prefer to request a CAC Status Report instead of a certificate when conducting due diligence or verifying a business.
2. It is used to know the person(s) behind an entity
A status report is also used to identify the individuals behind a business or organisation. This is particularly important when carrying out due diligence or verifying who has the authority to act on behalf of an entity.
For example, imagine a company in Nigeria with three directors. Unknown to the other two directors, one director decides to visit a bank to open a new corporate account in the company’s name. Before proceeding, the bank requests the company’s status report from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The report reveals the names of all the directors and other key information about the company.
The bank can then verify whether the director has the legal authority to open the account alone or whether the consent of the other directors is required under the company’s governance structure. This helps prevent fraud, protects the interests of all stakeholders, and ensures that only duly authorised persons can make important decisions on behalf of the company.
Here is another example:
Suppose an Abuja-based construction company approaches a commercial bank for a ₦500 million loan to finance a major government contract. Before approving the loan, the bank carries out due diligence to assess the risk involved.
As part of this process, it obtains the company’s status report from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC). The report identifies the company’s directors, shareholders, and other key officers, enabling the bank to verify who is behind the business.
The bank may then conduct background checks on these individuals to determine whether they have a history of financial misconduct, fraud, or regulatory violations. If the people managing the company have a good reputation and clean records, the bank is more likely to approve the loan. This process helps financial institutions make informed lending decisions and reduces the risk of granting loans to companies controlled by individuals with questionable backgrounds.
3. The structure of an entity
Entities like business names are usually owned by an individual and operated solely by that person, hence, there are no complex structures. However, other entities such as limited liability companies can have a more layered structure, involving multiple shareholders, directors, and sometimes a board that oversees major decisions.
This structure determines how ownership is shared, who has the authority to sign documents or enter contracts on behalf of the entity, and how decisions are made, whether by one person alone or through the agreement of several people.
A status report brings this structure to light, showing whether an entity is a one-man affair or a company with several people holding shares and directorial positions. Knowing this helps outsiders understand who genuinely has decision-making power within the entity, and prevents a situation where one individual is mistaken for the sole authority in a business that actually involves other stakeholders.
4. It is also used for address verification
When a business is newly registered, the registered office address is printed on the CAC certificate. But what happens when the business later changes its address? The CAC certificate continues to show the old address.
A CAC status report reflects the current address on record with the Corporate Affairs Commission. This makes it the preferred document for verifying a business’s registered office address. Banks, government agencies, investors, suppliers, and other organizations often rely on the status report to confirm that they have the most up-to-date address before opening accounts, signing contracts, serving legal notices, or carrying out due diligence.
5. To confirm if an entity is still active
It is reported that many businesses close within the first few years of operation. A business that was registered years ago may no longer be operating. A CAC Status Report helps organizations verify whether the entity is still active on the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) register, whether it is in good standing, and whether its records are current. This makes it an important due diligence document before entering into contracts, making payments, investing, or establishing a business relationship.
How does the Corporate Affairs Commission determine if an entity is active?
It does this by checking if the entity has fulfilled its annual return filing obligations. If the annual filing is up to date, the Corporate Affairs Commission will classify the entity as active on the status report, meaning it is recognized as a legitimate, functioning business that is compliant with the necessary regulatory requirements.
On the other hand, if an entity fails to file its annual returns for a certain period, usually for two years or more, the Corporate Affairs Commission may flag it as inactive, and in more serious cases, the entity could be delisted or struck off the register entirely.
Contents of a CAC Status Report
The content of a CAC status report varies slightly depending on whether the entity is a business name, a company, or an incorporated trustee, but there is a good deal of overlap across all three;
For a business name, a status report typically contains:
- The registered name of the business
- The business name (BN) registration number
- The date of registration
- The registered business address
- The nature or line of business
- The status of the entity (active or inactive)
- The name(s) and details of the proprietor(s), including their contact information
For a company, a status report typically contains:
- The proprietors of the business and their contact details.
- The registration (RC) number and date of incorporation
- Share capital and ownership structure.
- How much of the business each shareholder owns or holds in equity.
- A verified list of the company’s current directors.
- Compliance status, such as whether annual returns have been filed.
- The registered address of the entity.
- The entity’s active or inactive status as of a specific date
For an incorporated trustee (NGO), a status report typically contains:
- The registered name of the organization.
- The incorporated trustees (IT) registration number and date of registration.
- The registered office address.
- The objectives or purpose of the organization.
- A verified list of the current trustees and their details.
- The Trustee tenure.
- Governing body.
- Expected source of income of the organization.
How to Download your CAC status report ⬇️
To download a new CAC status report, you will need the service of an accredited CAC agency like GrowthPal.
We charge ₦12,000 for this service.
After downloading your status report, we will send it to your email or your preferred mode of communication.
Click here to purchase our status report service.
Perhaps you registered your business yourself, you can obtain your status report by following the steps below;
Note: This will only work if you registered your business at the Corporate affairs commission by yourself.
Log in to the CAC pre-inorporation portal, with your email address and password.
Once you are logged in, click on “registered” to open up the businesses you have registered on this account.
Click on download documents. A list of documents will appear depending on your business type.
Select status report from the list of options and proceed to make payment to CAC. Before making payment, make sure you copy the RRR in case anything goes wrong with the payment.
Immediately the payment is successful, you should be able to download the CAC status report.
My Entity is Inactive, Can I still Download the Status Report? 🤔
For entities registered as business names, no you cannot. Business names need to be active to be able to download its CAC status reports. However, company’s or incorporated trustees do not need to be active before the status reports of these entities can be accessed.
Some organizations need your business to be active before they can enter into any form of official transaction with you, hence we encourage you to file the annual returns for your business promptly to keep it active with the corporate affairs commission.
Note that the CAC status report is not a document that you print once and forget. Organisations that request for the status report will typically require a recent version to confirm the company’s current compliance and active status.
Thank you for reading our article on how to download your business CAC status report. You can also read how to choose the best bank for your business.
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