The Corporate Affairs Commission has introduced stricter requirements for anyone seeking to update a business name online, a move the commission says is necessary to improve verification and ensure the accuracy of business records in its database. In a public notice issued on Wednesday, the regulator explained that business proprietors must now submit additional personal and contact details, including date of birth, a registered office email, a proprietor’s email, a phone number tied either to the registered address or proprietor, and a valid means of identification.
The commission said these measures are designed to protect the integrity of Nigeria’s business registry, limit errors, curb fraudulent filings, and improve the overall efficiency of service delivery.
The CAC warned that incomplete information could cause delays or outright rejection of update requests. This update is part of a broader compliance push that has intensified in recent months under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020. Earlier in the year, the commission gave non-registered businesses a six-week window to regularise their operations or risk prosecution. It also signaled that dormant or non-compliant companies that have not filed returns or updated their records for over ten years could be delisted to sanitize the register.
The regulator has issued multiple alerts after detecting fake or forged company names and numbers in circulation. At one point, fifteen suspicious entities were flagged after complaints linked them to questionable business activities, prompting the CAC to urge Nigerians to verify every company name and registration number on its online portal before entering any transaction, especially high-value deals. By August, the commission exposed more than two hundred companies operating with false RC numbers. These entities had never been registered legally, and the numbers were removed from the database.
As part of its digital transformation agenda, the CAC recently launched an AI-powered registration platform to speed up approvals and simplify the business environment. For MSMEs, these developments mean closer monitoring, stricter verification demands, and a regulatory environment that increasingly rewards transparency. While compliance may feel tasking for small business owners managing daily operations, accurate records now play a bigger role in building credibility, avoiding disputes during partnerships, and securing access to finance or government support.
