A CAC annual return is filed online, not over the counter. The steps are simple once you know where the form actually sits.
Before you log in
Gather these first: the company's current directors, its shareholders and their holdings, the registered address, and the issued share capital.
Check your filing history too. Up-to-date annual returns and PSC information is normally expected before a new filing goes through. An outstanding earlier year can stop this one before it starts.
Finding the annual return under post-incorporation
Company annual returns are filed through icrp.cac.gov.ng, inside the post-incorporation section rather than the new-registration area. That distinction trips up first-time filers, who sometimes look for it among registration services instead.
CAC moved to a new Company Registration Portal (CRP) in 2025. Search for the current entry address rather than reuse an old bookmark, since the address has shifted more than once during the changeover.
Filling in the return for the right year
The return is completed on Form CAC 19. Select the correct year before you start typing. The details you enter, directors, shareholders, share capital, should reflect that year, not necessarily today.
If nothing changed since your last filing, the form moves quickly. If a director left or a shareholder's stake changed, have the dates ready in case the form asks for them.
Filing is due within 42 days after the annual general meeting, so start well before that window closes, not on the day itself.
Paying and getting your acknowledgement
Once the form is complete, the portal generates an invoice for that return. Review it before paying. This is also where any outstanding penalty from a previous year would show.
After payment, keep the reference number and any acknowledgement the portal gives you. Our guide to what happens after you file covers how to confirm the filing actually went through.
What trips people up mid-filing
A few things stall a filing partway through:
- Starting before confirming the company's returns are otherwise current.
- Entering today's directors for a year when the board looked different.
- Losing session progress by leaving the form open too long without saving.
None of these are unusual. They are just easy to avoid once you expect them. A stable connection helps too, since a dropped session partway through a long form can lose entries you already typed.
If you would rather prepare everything before you sit down to file, see documents you need for a CAC annual return. If you are filing more than one year at once, filing for missed years in order covers the sequence. When you are ready, you can start your CAC annual return, and the CAC annual return cost guide has the fees to expect on the invoice.