Once CAC approves your registration, you get more than a single certificate. Here is what typically comes with it, and what you may need to request separately.
Most new founders expect one document and are surprised to find several. Knowing what each one is for saves a confused phone call to your bank later.
The certificate of incorporation
This is the core document: proof the company exists on CAC's register, with your RC number and registration date. It comes from the registration itself, with no extra step.
Keep both a digital and a printed copy. Banks, landlords and tender desks will often ask to see it at different points, sometimes without much notice.
The memorandum and articles of association
Your memorandum and articles set out the company's objects and its internal rules: how decisions are made, how shares move, and what the company is permitted to do. They come from the same registration as the certificate.
Read them once, properly, rather than filing them away unread. Lawyers and banks refer back to specific clauses more often than founders expect, particularly the objects clause when a bank checks what your company is allowed to do.
The status report, if you need one
Many new companies also request a status report around this time, a snapshot of the company's current register details. It carries its own fee, ₦5,000, separate from the incorporation fee you already paid.
See the CAC status report: what it is and its fee for when this is worth requesting, and how it differs from a certified true copy of a specific document.
Downloading the pack from the portal
Everything from the registration itself is available to download from CAC's new Company Registration Portal (CRP), the same place you applied. Do this as soon as your registration is approved, rather than assuming it will stay easy to find later.
Log in with the same details you used to register, and check every document downloads correctly before you close the tab. A partial download is easy to miss until you need the file urgently.
Keeping copies safe
Store the certificate, the memorandum and articles, and anything else you download somewhere backed up, not only on one phone. You will likely be asked for at least one of these documents again, often at short notice from a bank or a tender desk.
A cloud folder shared with your co-founders works well. Whoever deals with the bank or the next filing should not have to hunt for a single document that only one person can find.
Keep them alongside your Tax ID and other early paperwork as your company's compliance record. You can start a CAC company registration if you have not yet registered, or see our guide on what an RC number is for more on reading your certificate.