Persons with significant control sound like a due-diligence term. CAC asks for them the moment you register. It is not a later step.
Why CAC asks for this at registration
CAC's register aims to show who actually controls a company. It is not only about who holds shares on paper. Persons with significant control capture that wider picture, alongside your director and shareholder details.
This sits inside the same registration as the director and shareholder details CAC needs. It is not a separate filing you complete afterwards.
What significant control broadly means
CAMA describes significant control in general terms. It can cover influence over a company that reaches beyond a simple shareholding. This article cannot give you a precise threshold to apply to your own company.
If you are unsure whether a particular person qualifies, ask a corporate lawyer before you file. Getting this wrong at registration is harder to fix later than getting it right the first time.
An everyday example
Say a company has three founders at registration, each with an equal stake. A year later, one founder buys out another and now holds most of the shares and the final say on major decisions.
That founder has gained significant control. The clock on both deadlines below starts from that point, not from the date of the original registration.
The deadline to tell the company
Once someone gains significant control, they must tell the company within 7 days of gaining significant control. This duty sits with the person gaining control. It does not sit only with the company watching for it.
Keep a simple record of when each disclosure came in. It helps later if CAC or a bank ever asks for the paper trail.
The deadline for the company to tell CAC
The company then has within one month of receiving the information to pass that information on to CAC. Miss this step and your register falls out of step with what CAC holds on file.
Treat the two deadlines as one chain, not two unrelated dates. The first triggers the second.
Why this record matters for every later filing
Up-to-date annual returns and PSC information is normally expected before CAC processes other post-incorporation filings, such as a change of registered address. Significant-control information is part of that record.
Keep it current from the day you register. Do not wait until a change happens to come up. A stale record can hold up a filing you need urgently, long after the people involved have moved on.
A short note in your company records, listing who holds significant control and when that was last confirmed, costs nothing to keep and saves a scramble when a filing suddenly depends on it.
Once your registration is filed with accurate significant-control details, see what's in a CAC incorporation pack for what you get back, or start your CAC company registration directly.