A multi-year backlog is not one filing with several years attached. It is several separate filings, done one after another, in a specific order that the portal expects.
Why the portal wants the oldest year first
CAC's own prerequisite for other filings, up-to-date annual returns and PSC information, is judged against the company's whole history, not just its latest submission. A recent year filed out of turn does not make the record look current if an older year is still missing.
Working from the oldest missed year downward keeps the history clean as you go, rather than leaving a gap buried underneath a year you have already filed.
One return at a time, not a bundle
Each missed year is its own return, completed on Form CAC 19. There is no combined form that clears three or four years in one submission.
Treat each year as a separate task with its own start and finish, even if you work through several in the same sitting. Rushing through them as one continuous entry is where mistakes creep in, such as carrying one year's figures into the next by accident. Save or note each confirmation as you go, so you are not left guessing which years are actually done.
Matching each year's own board and shareholders
The details you enter for 2023 should reflect 2023's board and shareholders, not today's board. If a director left in 2024, the 2023 return still lists them. Their departure belongs in the 2024 return instead.
Our documents checklist covers what to gather for a single year. Repeat that gathering step for every missed year individually, rather than assuming one list covers them all.
Confirming a year cleared before you start the next
After paying for one year, check that it actually registered before moving to the next. The CAC public search on icrp.cac.gov.ng reflects the company's real filing history, a better check than assuming a payment receipt means the record updated.
This matters more for a dormant company than people expect. Active and dormant companies alike, so a quiet year in the middle of your backlog still needs its own confirmed filing, not just a payment.
Once every year shows current
Only once the search shows every year filed should you move on to anything else waiting on the company's record, such as a pending director change. Our how-to-file guide covers the mechanics of a single filing in more depth. The penalty calculator gives a running estimate as you go, so you know roughly what each year adds to the bill before you pay it.
Once you are ready for the oldest outstanding year, you can start your CAC annual return and work forward from there.