Remember recently the CAC announced an upgrade to its registration portal by enabling AI-powered tools for seamless registration processes for its users.

For the new Intelligent Company Registration Portal -ICRP- the system has streamlined the registration process and the timeframe for all services right from name approval to certificate issuance.

So this write up gives a step by step guide on how to do a name reservation for a Business Name or company limited by shares. 

Step 1: Start by logging on the portal, enter the log in details and go to the dashboard of the user account. Then click on NEW RESERVATION

Step 2: Next, select the Business Classification as Business Name. Select Business Type as sole proprietor or partnership if there is more than 1 person, as the case may be.

Step 3: On the next window, enter business information by entering the name, nature of business category and specific nature of business

Step 4: Now, entering the name is the point you’ll interact with the AI. This is where the system runs a compliance check to know if the name is available.  If the name passes the compliance check, it means the name does not in any way match any registered name, is error-free and unique enough to get an approval. Where this happens, you can go ahead to make payment for the reservation.

On the flip side, if the name matches any existing name, is offensive or contains any form of error then the name will fail the compliance check. Where it gives any of this feedback you can go back and alter the name till the name passes the check.

One way to get through this stage is to be ready to make alterations on the go; cos now you can have a name approval on the spot, so you can try as many names as possible

I’ll also advise you to include qualifying words as part of the business name choices. For example, words like fashion, beauty, studios, foods, tech and so on where your business objectives fall into any of these categories; or words like ventures, concepts, enterprises, hub, house, services, place, shop or any other words so it can pass the compliance check or to enable you get an approval easily.

You can also Use Chat GPT or other free AI tools like Google NotebookLM or Gemini to refine or generate names for a business registration with the CAC in Nigeria. This option is so seamless. Simply supply your preferred AI tool the correct sources to read from or customize your settings to train your model.

Step 5: So, after payment for the reservation is verified the application would be approved on the spot and logged under ‘APPROVED APPLICATIONS’.

Note that you can also reserve a name for a limited liability company using this method, the difference being that the name ends in the word ‘LIMITED’ or ‘LTD’.