Losing out on CAC documents is a very common issue we experience as consultants. In this guide, I will walk through how to recover lost CAC documents the right way via CTC.
For someone who has been into CAC registration for over 5 years, cases of lost documents are not new to us. As a matter of fact, for every registered 10 entities, there is a chance that 2 of the clients will report that they can’t find their documents.
What Are CAC Documents, and Why Are They Important?
The documents issued by CAC a proof that you have been certified by the commission to carry out business legally with the name in question and its stated business activities at the registered location.
Even if your company details are captured on the CAC database, you will still be required to present documents to confirm or validate this visibility.
Banks will ask for your documents for account opening, and clients who wish to get into an agreement with you will do the same. Your CAC documents are a passport to opening the doors of your business success.
CAC registration provides a variety of documents for different registrations
For Business names, you will get a Status Report and a Certificate
For companies, you will get MEMART, Certificate and Status Report
While for an NGO, CAC issues a Certificate, a Status Report and a Constitution
It is very unfortunate that clients often prioritize the certificate alone and leave aside the other documents, not knowing that each document is very important.
What To Do If You Lose Your CAC Documents
There could be so many reasons why your documents will get lost. Since CAC issues this documents in soft copies, you could have them on your phone or laptop, and this something happens, and your devices are stolen or damaged, making it hard to retrieve.
I consistently advise my clients to always save their documents in their emails, too. In this way, they can easily log in to another device and download it wherever and whenever they need it.
For clients with hard copy documents only, it gets more challenging when these documents are lost, stolen or misplaced; there is no way to reprint again unless by contacting the CAC post incorporation
Here is what to do when your CAC documents are lost
Employ the services of an expert like Legacy Benjamin Consult @ 08066108299
Guide to Recover Lost CAC Documents Online
Below are some few requirements you will need to provide to CAC to retrieve these lost documents
- BN or RC, or IT Number
- Name of Entity
- Court Affidavit
- ID of director, proprietor or Trustee
- Signature
If you are an agent like me, below are simple steps to get back your lost CAC documents.
The process of getting back these documents varies depending on the document you want to get.
For Status report, the process is instant, and CAC does not ask for a court affidavit. However, you will be required to process a court affidavit if you wish to get back a lost Certificate or MEMART or Constitution
To get back a lost Status Report
- Log in to the CAC post portal (Post.cac.gov.ng)
- Input the name of the entity you wish to get a status report for
- Click on search and select the entity
- Go to the page that says “Business Name Status Report”. If you are getting a status report for a company, locate where it says “Company Search” or if you are getting it for an NGO, check for where you see “Incorporated Trustee Status Report”
- Click on it, and when the next page opens, type in the company name or RC number or Business Name or BN and Proceed.
- You will see contact details (Email and phone number of the owner of the accredited agent account). Do not worry, just proceed
- Make a payment of ₦5000 and wait for the page to confirm payment and generate a new status report for you.
- Download your status report or just click to print to PDF
Congratulations, that’s how to get back a lost status report for both a Business name, a company and an NGO.
How To Get Back a Lost Certificate, MEMART or Constitution (CTC Request)
Retrieving lost CAC certificate, Memart and constitution can be done via a CTC (Certified True Copy) request.
A Certified True Copy (CTC) is an official replica or replacement of an original document that has been verified and certified as a true and accurate copy by an authorized official (E.g a legal authority)
You need a court affidavit to process this CTC request. Without a court affidavit, CAC will not approve this application, so to avoid queries, you should always get your affidavit ready
We can process a court affidavit for you at an affordable fee. Send us a DM on WhatsApp 08066108299
If you have the affidavit ready, follow our guide below
- Log in to the CAC post portal as usual
- Navigate to the search and input the company or NGO name
- Search for it and go to the dashboard
- Locate Certified True Copy Request.
- Click to apply for the document you wish to retrieve (E.g., Certificate, Memorandum, or Constitution). You can tick the 2 documents if you want
- Fill in authentication (The name of the person who brought the work to you. He/she must be part of the entity. Description can be either Proprietor, Director or Trustee (Depending on the entity)
- Navigate to payment and pay the required fee
- Upload the ID or Signature of the Proprietor, Director or Trustee
- The application will be pending and will take 2 to 4 days for CAC to respond
- If everything was done correctly, it will be approved after this period
How Long Does It Take to Get a CTC From CAC?
It takes 2 to 4 working days to get a response from CAC having applying for Certified True Copy (CTC). Though holidays and unforeseen circumstances may cause or delay or even result in the application being queried
Cost of Recovering Lost CAC Documents in Nigeria
The cost of recovering lost CAC documents in Nigeria is as follows (These fees do not include Agent fees)
- Status report ₦5,000
- Memart ₦5,000
- Certificate ₦5,000
- Constitution ₦5,000
- Affidavit (varies from ₦3,000 to ₦5,000)
There will be additional charges by CAC agents who will handle such retrieval. Note that you can not use a public individual account to apply for CTC.
Tips To Avoid Losing Your CAC Documents
If you just registered your business with CAC and you have been issued documents, employ the following to ensure you are not spending money later for CTC
- Request and keep both soft and hard copies of all your CAC documents
- Save your documents to Google Drive or iCloud
- Send your documents across to your multiple email accounts
- Keep all documents confidential
- Don’t prioritize your CAC certificate only and carelessly treat the other documents as irrelevant. All documents are relevant and requires each other to function
Get Back Lost CAC Documents: FAQs
Q: Can I get a copy of my lost certificate online?
A: Yes. The integration of the new CAC post Portal allows you to do that. However, you must have access to an accredited agent account
Q: Is an affidavit needed to recover a lost CAC certificate?
A: Yes. CAC will disapprove any CTC application for a certificate without an affidavit issued and signed by a court.
Q: Are the CTC documents valid?
A: Yes. All CAC documents obtained via CTC are considered valid and legal
Q: How do I contact CAC customer care for help?
You can check the CAC custom helpline
Q: Do I need to physically go to the CAC office to get back lost CAC documents?
A: No. With the services of an agent, you can recover your lost CAC documents online without having to visit the office
Q: How can I download CAC documents after a CTC request
A: Once you have applied, made payment and submitted your CTC request, keep checking the dashboard. Once CAC approves it, you can download your certificate
- Read Also: How to pay CAC ₦150 late registration fee
Conclusion:
Issues of lost documents have been lingering around for a while. At Legacy Benjamin Consult, we have deployed a system of sending all our clients soft copy documents of their registrations and also retaining these documents confidentially in our database.
So once the client comes back complaining of lost documents, we should reshare these documents and safe them the cost of doing CAC.
I hope this guide has been insightful and helpful
