CAC Online External User Guide

CAC Online
External Users’ Guide
August 2005
CAC Online External Users’ Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1.0 How to Apply For a User Account ......................................................3
2.0 How to Purchase CAC E-Payment Card ...........................................5
3.0 How to Replenish CAC E-Payment Card..........................................5
4.0 CAC Online Basics.....................................................................................6
4.1. Starting CAC Online ....................................................................................... 6
4.2. Exiting CAC Online ........................................................................................10
4.3. Changing User’s Password...........................................................................10
5. Navigating through CAC Online .......................................................12
5.1. History .................................................................................................................12
5.2. Main Menu..........................................................................................................12
5.3. Shortcut Panel..................................................................................................13
5.4. Checking CAC PayCard balance................................................................13
5.5. Search Options.................................................................................................15
5.5. Requesting an Availability Search...........................................................19
5.6. My Availability Search List.........................................................................22
6. Company Registration ..........................................................................23
6.1. Applying for Company Registration .......................................................23
6.2. Attaching Files to the Registration Form............................................25
7. On-Line Forms ...........................................................................................27
7.1. Annual Returns ................................................................................................27
7.2. Increase in Share Capital ............................................................................28
7.3. Loan Agreement (Mortgages, Debentures and Bill of sales) .........29
8. Paying for CAC Online Services ............................................................32
–2–
Copyright © 2003 Decision Technologies International, Inc.
1.0 How to Apply For a User Account
Go to www.cac.gov.ng to access the CAC website.
Figure 1.0 CAC Website
• Click on CAC Online link/icon on the homepage as shown above.

• This takes you to the login page shown below.
–3–
Figure 1.1 Applying for an Account
• On the login page, select Guest Login by clicking on it.

• Click on Apply for Account option in the Guest Login window.
• This takes you to the External Account Request page shown below.
Figure 1.2 External Account Request form
• Fill the fields with the required information.
–4–
Note that the fields marked * are compulsory.
• To submit the request, click on Submit button.

• Click on OK button to save the confirmation of your Account Request
data.
An email will be sent to you from CAC to validate the email address in your
Account Request Form.
If your application is successful, the approved User Account will be

forwarded to you through your email address. Subsequent correspondences
shall be forwarded to you via this email address.
2.0 How to Purchase CAC E-Payment Card
• Go to any of the CAC accredited banks.

• Request for the CAC E-Payment card.
• The bank will inform you on the requirements for the purchase of an
E-Payment card.
• Purchase and Credit the card.
3.0 How to Replenish CAC E-Payment Card
• Go to any branch of the bank of initial purchase.

• Make a request for replenishment of the CAC E-Payment card.
• The bank will credit your account with whatever amount you pay.
NOTE: Your CAC E-Payment Card can only be replenished at the bank
where it was purchase.
–5–
4.0 CAC Online Basics
Welcome to CAC Online User Guide. This document provides detailed

instructions on how to use the CAC Online. For a better understanding of
the software, examples are given throughout this document.
4.1. Starting CAC Online

CAC online is started by going to www.cac.gov.ng and clicking on the CAC
Online link on the CAC website as shown below:
Figure 4.0 CAC Website
The following page will be displayed:
–6–
Figure 4.1: CAC Online Login Window
Click on the Guest Login tab/Link highlighted in figure 4.1 above. This
displays the Guest Login Page shown below:
Figure 4.2: CAC Online Guest Login Window
To begin using the CAC online, a valid login name and password must be
provided. If you don’t have a valid account name and password, refer to the
‘How to Apply for an Account’ section of this guide.
–7–
These credentials identify the user in the system, and permit the user to
gain access to authorized areas.
Press <SIGN IN>.
Following a login attempt, there are three possible responses from the
system as described in the table below:
Successful login If the login is successful, the Welcome page is

displayed (see Figure 1.2).
Invalid login name If CAC Online doesn’t recognize the login name or
or password password provided for the selected environment, the
user login panel is re-displayed with an error message
stating ‘Error Authenticating Login details’. Re-enter
a valid login name and password, making sure the
password is entered in the correct case. (Double-
check to make sure the caps lock light isn’t
illuminated on your keyboard.)
Previous session If the system detects that a user may already be

detected logged into CAC Online, it displays the “Select a
Session” panel, and gives the user three choices:
These options are shown in Figure 4.3.
1) <CLOSE MY PREVIOUS SESSION AND CREATE

A NEW ONE>. Pressing this button removes the
previous session, and then displays the Welcome
page.
2) <CLOSE MY PREVIOUS SESSION AND RE-

LOGIN> Pressing this removes the previous
session, then displays the Login page. Valid login
credentials must be provided again.
3) <CONTINUE USING MY PREVIOUS SESSION>

Pressing this button permits a user to maintain
multiple sessions, which is useful for
simultaneously accessing multiple pages.
Users will normally require only one session.
–8–
Figure 4.3: Welcome Page
Figure 4.4: Previous Session Detected
–9–
4.2. Exiting CAC Online

To exit CAC Online, select ‘Go | Logout’ from the main menu. This opens a
confirmation window, as seen in Figure 1.4. Press <YES> to finish logging
out. You will be returned to the login page.
Figure 4.5: Log out Window
4.3. Changing User’s Password

To change a password, click on <Options> located on the Shortcut panel (left
side of the panel). The following window will be displayed (see Figure 1.5).
Click on <Reset Password>; enter the old and new password. The system will
require the new password to be re-entered. After this information has been
provided, click on <Submit>. At this point, the old password is not longer
valid; only the new password will be allowed in the system. There is no
restriction on the number of times a user can change his or her password.
However, it is recommended that a password is regularly changed.
Figure 4.5: Reset Password Option
– 10 –
Figure 4.6: Reset Password Window
– 11 –
5. Navigating through CAC Online
5.1. History
The History section is located at the top of the page and it identifies the
location of the current page. The History section shows the user’s
progression throughout the program and it is useful when navigating
through multiple layers of data.
Figure 5.1: History
In the example provided above, the user is searching for registered

companies. This page was accessed though the ‘Search’ folder, as it is shown
in the History section.
5.2. Main Menu

The Main Menu is located beneath the history; the Main menu provides
access into the multiple CAC Online functions. These functions are grouped
as follows:
Company Names This option provides access for the creation of new
availability searches, listing of the availability
searches submitted to the system.
Online Forms Through this option company registration can be

submitted, CAC forms can be downloaded. In
addition, this option provides access to different post-
registration processes.
Search This option allows the search for registered

companies.
Help Through the Help menu, users are able to send e-

mails to the System Administrator regarding any
issue at using CAC Online.
– 12 –
Go This folder can be accessed to return to the Home

page, link to the E-payment system to confirm
Account status and/or Log out of the system
5.3. Shortcut Panel

The Shortcut Panel is located along the left edge of the interface, and
provides convenient and rapid access into frequently used functions.
Through the Shortcut Panel, the following functions can be accessed:
Welcome The Home Page gives an introduction to Content

Pinnacle On-line system.
Workflow This folder provides shortcuts for quickly access to
items that users need on their daily work, such as
Late Tasks, Processes, My Task Queues, and My
Check-out Documents.
Favorites This folder contains links to the most commonly used
web-sites.
Help This folder contains Help information

Options Use this option for changing user’s passwords.
5.4. Checking CAC PayCard balance

The CAC online system provide a tool for user with the CAC PayCard to use to
confirm their account balance and also change their card pin number if the need
arises.
To use this tool, select ‘My SmartCard Account’ under the ‘go’ menu on the home
page as shown in the figure below:
Figure 5.2: My Smart Card Account
– 13 –
This will open another browser page shown in the figure below:
Figure 5.3: My Smart Card Account Login
To get a new pin number, put in the CAC PayCard and the current pin number. Click
on the ‘Get a new pin’ button. If the old pin number is correct, an email will be sent to
the email address submitted to CAC when requesting for an account into the CAC
online system with the new pin number and the old pin number will no longer be
valid.
To check the CAC PayCard account status, enter the CAC PayCard number and pin
number and click on the login button. This open the page shown in the figure below:
– 14 –
Figure 5.4: My Smart Card Account Home Page
The menus are to the left of the screen. Selecting the ‘Activities’ menu and clicking
on the ‘List transaction’ button displays all the transactions as well as the current
balance as shown in the figure below:
Figure 5.5: My Smart Card Account Transaction List
5.5. Search Options

CAC Online provides different tools to search and access company
information.
To know if a company has been registered with the Commission; the CAC
Online system search option allows users to conduct a broad search for a
– 15 –
company using other relevant information such as: Registration number,

Company name and Availability Search reservation number.
In order to perform this type of search, select the option ‘Search’ from the
main menu and click on ‘Search for Companies’. The following screen will
appear:
Figure 5.6: Search for Companies Page
Before starting the search, choose the parameters to be used under the
option ‘Search Fields’. To add more searching fields, click on <ADVANCE
SEARCH OPTIONS>, and select <ADD MORE PARAMETERS>. After the
parameters have been chosen, you will need to select a means of
comparison. The different options available are presented in the following
table:
Equals Most of these parameters are meant for dates or

Is Lesser Than numerical values, however; they can also apply
Is Greater Than to letters. For example, if you pick a search
Is Lesser or Equal To value “A” and a comparison of “greater than “–
Is Greater or Equal To you will receive searches for all companies that
Is Like (use % for start with “B-Z”.
wildcards)
Is not Equal To Note: ‘%’ is a wildcard and it can be used when
only fragments of words are known. For
example, if you type in ‘Fr%’, possible search
results would be any name beginning with an Fr
(i.e. fruit).
Enter the search values and select <BEGIN SEARCH>. If you are not
satisfied with the search and you want to clear the form and start over, click
<RESET FORM>.
– 16 –
Example 1- Searching for a Company using RC Number

We want to find out if a company called ‘SAMPLE COMPANY’ with RC
number 599999.
To achieve this aim, leave the ‘search field’ criteria the way it is (set to
Registration Number) and the ‘Comparison’ criteria should be left as
‘Equals’. Indicate the Registration Number (RC) in the ‘Search Values’ Filed
as illustrated in the figure below:
Click on the ‘Begin Search’ Button to commence the search. If successful, a

result page will be displayed as illustrated in the figure below:
– 17 –
This displays some basic information concerning the registered company.
If the search result is not successful, nothing will be returned as depicted in

the figure below:
– 18 –
Example 2- Searching for a Company using the Company Name

We want to find out if a company called ‘SAMPLE COMPANY’ is registered
with CAC and we don’t know the registration number.
To achieve this aim, select ‘Company Name’ from the ‘search field’ criteria,
and select ‘Is Like” from the ‘Comparison’ criteria. Indicate the partial name
of the company, in this case ‘Sample co’ and end it with a percent sign (%) in
the ‘Search Values’ Filed as illustrated in the figure below:
Click on the begin search Button to commence the search.

NOTE:
Its faster and easier to conduct a search using the registration number, If
you have to conduct a search using the name of the company, avoid using
less than three characters in the name. for best performance, user the first
two or three words that make up the company’s name.
5.5. Requesting an Availability Search

This function is accessed through ‘Company Name| New Availability Search’
from the main menu. This opens the Availability Search page, shown
partially in Figure 5.7.
– 19 –
Figure 5.11: Availability Search Form
Complete the Availability Search form as directed below. Fields marked with
a red asterisk are required fields and must be completed. A maximum of
three company names can be requested. If the first name choice is not
available in the system, it will automatically go to the next choice and check
for availability. If all three of the name choices come up unavailable, it will
be required to conduct a new search.
Field Designation
Candidate Name 1, Candidate Up to three company names can be
Name 2, Candidate Name 3 requested by the agent, in the order of
preference.
Agent ID In order to enter the identification number
of the agent, the agent must be registered
with the CAC Online system.
Agent Name, Telephone, If the agent ID is valid, there is no need to
Address 1, Address 2, Address provide the particulars of the agent. The
3 system will automatically display this
information once the ID number has been
provided.
Beneficiary Name, Telephone, This information corresponds to the
E-Mail, Address 1, Address 2, individual being represented by the agent.
Address 3
Payment Date, Amount Paid. This field corresponds to the date of the
payment receipt. The actual date and the
amount to be paid will automatically
appear on the form.
Notes If necessary, comments or any additional
information can be entered in this field.
Teller Number, Transaction ID number of the teller who collected the
Number payment and the serial number of the
bank payment. This information should
– 20 –
Field Designation
be available on the payment receipt.
Agent E-mail address. If the agent ID number was entered above,
this field does not need to be filled.
Company Type Choose from the options provided:
Business, LLC (Limited Liability Company)
or IT (Incorporated Trustee).
Name Change Check this box if the availability search is
for a name change.
If so, enter the Registration Number of the
company whose name change availability
is being conducted. Click on the <Look
up> button to verify that the search is
being done for the right company.
The system will automatically display the
Company name.
Account Type, Account If payment is done at the moment of

Number processing this form, select the account
type and enter the account number.
Originating Office Select the office processing the availability
search. If Payment will be made with the
CAC PayCard, this field is not required
Once you have completed this information, scroll down to the bottom of the
page and click <SAVE>. This will begin the system search for the chosen
names. If you are not satisfied with the information you have entered, click
on <RESET> to clear the form without saving changes or <CANCEL> to exit
and return to the previous screen, without saving changes. When the search
is completed the following Availability Search Receipt Page will appear:
Figure 5.12: Availability Search Receipt
– 21 –
This receipt guarantees that CAC has received the request and the company
has paid the mandatory search fee. To print a copy of this receipt, click on
either <PRINT ONLY> or <PRINT AND CLOSE>. If a printed copy is not
needed, you can click on <CLOSE> to exit the window.
5.6. My Availability Search List

Displays all the availability searches performed by a user. These option is
accessed from the ‘Company Names’ Menu.
Once this option is chosen, the following ‘Availability Search List’ screen will
be displayed.
Figure 5.13: Availability Search List
There is a pop-up menu for every search request and its button is located at
the left side of each search request (see Figure 5.9). If you click on the
menu icon, a popup menu will appear with several options. The menu
choices for the availability search are described in the next paragraphs.
– 22 –
Figure 5.14: Pop-up Menu Icon
‘My Availability Searches’ option will allow the user to see a history of the
name search requests he or she has submitted. Clicking on the menu icon
will show the different available options. They are presented below:
Allows you to re-print out the name(s), status and

Print Notice additional information of the names considered on
this availability search.
Register Approved This option allows the user to begin the registration of
Company the company. It can only be done if one of the
candidate names has been approved.
6. Company Registration
6.1. Applying for Company Registration

Once the company name has been approved, the system is ready to begin
the registration process. First, you need to download the statutory CAC
forms and fill them out. This can be downloaded from the link on the CAC
Online Home page as shown below:
– 23 –
Figure 6.1: Downloading the CAC forms
Once downloaded, these forms should be filled and signed appropriately.
These statutory forms after being filled and signed accordingly, can be
forwarded to CAC by courier for further processing, or it can be scanned into
a single pdf or word document and attached with the online application for
processing.
To commence the online registration, select the ‘register approved company’

from the availability list in figure 5.3 above. This opens another page shown
below with partial company information. The following is the Companies
Registration page, shown partially below:
Figure 6.2: Companies Register
– 24 –
Complete the fields listed in the form. Fields marked with a red dot are
required fields and must be completed. Scroll down the page and select the
new button on the Directors list to fill out the directors particulars. You can
do this for each director
6.2. Attaching Files to the Registration Form

The following paragraphs describe how to upload documents in the
Companies Register page:
─ In the Companies Register form, scroll down to the middle of the page
and there is a section that contains: ‘Upload New Document’, ‘View
Document’, and ‘View Document in a New Window’, as shown below:
Figure 6.3: Upload New Document
─ Press <BROWSE> as highlighted above. This opens the following

window. Select a file to attach, and press <OPEN>.
– 25 –
Figure 6.4: Attach Document
─ After a brief pause, the name of the uploaded file appears above the
browse button. Save the Company Registration (press <Submit>, then
press <OK> from the confirmation window).
– 26 –
7. On-Line Forms
The following paragraphs will describe the process for completing the
different on-line forms. In order to start the process, go to ‘On-line Form’ from
the Main menu and select the desired form.
7.1. Annual Returns

This form is used to report a company’s annual returns. In order to access
this form, go to ‘On-Line Forms’ from the main menu and scroll down to
‘Submit Annual Returns [BN]’ if it is a Business Name. If the company is an
Incorporated Trustee, select the ‘Submit Annual Returns (IT)’ option. And if it
is a Limited Liability Company, select the ‘Submit Annual Returns (LLC)’
option. The corresponding Annual Returns List will appear, as shown in
Figure 7.1. The process for filing and processing an Annual Returns form is
similar in any of these cases.
Figure 7.1: Annual Return Form
─ Complete the required fields; enter the Registration number, company

name, amount of the annual return and the corresponding year. This on-
line form has a search button that will provide the company’s name once
the registration number is entered. After filling out the registration
number, click on <Lookup Company> button and the company name will
be automatically displayed. Select the payment type and the account
number. Once this information has been entered, scroll to the bottom on
the screen and click on <Submit> to forward the request. Use the
<CLEAR> button to clear the form without saving changes or <CANCEL>
to exit the screen without saving changes.
– 27 –
7.2. Increase in Share Capital
In order to access and submit this form, go to ‘On-Line Forms’ from the main
menu. Click on ‘Increase Share in Capital’ and the system will open a new
form, as shown in figure 7.2. Complete the fields described in the following
table.
Registration Number Enter the company’s registration number.
Company Name After filling out the registration number,

click on the <Lookup Company> button and
the company name will be automatically
displayed.
Increase Type Select the type: Preference Shares (private
individual) or Ordinary Shares (publicly
traded).
Previous Amount This field will be filled in automatically.
Amount of Increase Type in the amount of shares to be issued.
New Amount Amount will be automatically calculated.

Resolution Date The date of the resolution to change the
share capital.
Amount Verified This should be left blank

Share Value Value per share of the new shares
Approval Date Date the change was approved
(automatically filled out)
Status Automatically filled out

Directors Signatures Verified This should be left blank.
Agent Id Agent’s identification number. The agent

needs to be previously registered at CAC.
Agent Name Name of the agent working on behalf of the
company. This field will be automatically
filled once the ID number is entered.
Approving Officer Automatically filled out.
Filing Fee This is the fee assigned for cost of filing
form and documents.
Annual Returns Verified This should be left blank
Date Submitted This field is automatically filled out
Account Type Select payment type
Account Number Enter the number of the account from

where the funds are being withdrawn.
– 28 –
Figure 7.2: Increase in Share Capital Form
Use the Upload New Document to attach any document related to this
process. Once the information has been entered, click on the <SUBMIT>
button. The submitted document will now be displayed in the Increase in
Capital Share list.
7.3. Loan Agreement (Mortgages, Debentures and Bill of sales)

In order to access and submit this form, go to ‘On-Line Forms’ from the main
menu. Click on ‘Loan Agreement’ and the system will open a new form, as
shown in figure 7.3.
Figure 7.3: Loan Agreement Form
– 29 –
Complete the fields described in the following table; fields marked with a red
asterisk (*) are required fields and must be filled out.
Registration Number Enter the company’s registration number.
Company Name After filling out the registration number,

click on the <Lookup Company> button and
the company name will be automatically
displayed.
Annual Returns Verified This should be left blank
Date Requested This field is automatically filled out.
Date of Deed Document Date of the loan agreement
Previous Registration This should be left blank
Released
Title Enter the name of the loan
Amount Released Enter the loan amount
Upstamping Check this box if the loan has been

increased in value
Previous Amount Enter the previous loan amount
Upstamp Amount Enter the increase value
Total Amount Enter the new total loan amount
Party 1/Party 2/ Party Names of all the parties

3/Party 4/ Party 5
Particulars Enter all the relevant details for the loan
Type of Charge Select from the list if the loan corresponds
to a mortgage, debenture, bill of sale or
other.
Agent Id Agent’s identification number. The agent
needs to be previously registered at CAC.
Agent Name Name of the agent working on behalf of the
company. This field will be automatically
filled once the ID number is entered.
Approving Officer Name of the officer approving the form. This
field is automatically filled out.
Filing Fee This is the fee assigned for cost of filing
form and documents.
Status This field is automatically filled out.
Certificate Date This field is automatically filled out.
Loan Status This field is automatically filled out.
Account Type Select payment type
Account Number Enter the number of the account from

where the funds are being withdrawn.
– 30 –
Use the Upload New Document to attach any document related to this
process.
Once the requested information has been entered, scroll to the bottom of the
screen and click on <SUBMIT>. Use the <CLEAR> button to clear the form
without saving changes or <CANCEL> to exit the screen without saving
changes.
– 31 –
8. Paying for CAC Online Services
When logged into CAC Online, the process for paying for the various services which
CAC offers is the same, regardless of the particular service being purchased. To
begin, login to CAC Online. Select a service which you would like to purchase with
your E-Payment card, such as an availability search.
At the bottom of each CAC Online form which accepts E-Payments, there is a group
of fields which accepts payment information concerning how to pay for a service.
The figure above is an availability search form. Notice the fields “Account Type”,
“Account Number”, and “PIN Number”. These fields allow you to input your E-
Payment card information to pay for this particular service.
Enter your E-Payment card’s 16-digit number in the “account number” field, followed
by your PIN number in the “PIN Number” field.
When done, click the “Save” button to submit this form along with your payment
information to CAC Online. If your payment was successfully processed, and the
form was saved and submitted, you will receive the standard “Success” message, or in
the case of an availability search, you will receive a receipt with the information you
provided.
If, for any reason, your payment could not be processed, you will receive a “Failure”
message. The details of the message will not be displayed for privacy purposes and to
deter identity theft and hacking.
– 32 –
The process of paying for other CAC Online services is exactly the same as described
above.
– 33 –

CAC Online External User Guide

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

CAC Online External User Guide

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

CAC Online

External Users’ Guide

1.0 How to Apply For a User Account

Go to www.cac.gov.ng to access the CAC website.

Figure 1.0 CAC Website

• Click on CAC Online link/icon on the homepage as shown above.

Figure 1.1 Applying for an Account

• On the login page, select Guest Login by clicking on it.

Figure 1.2 External Account Request form

• Fill the fields with the required information.

Note that the fields marked * are compulsory.

• To submit the request, click on Submit button.

If your application is successful, the approved User Account will be

2.0 How to Purchase CAC E-Payment Card

• Go to any of the CAC accredited banks.

3.0 How to Replenish CAC E-Payment Card

• Go to any branch of the bank of initial purchase.

4.0 CAC Online Basics

Welcome to CAC Online User Guide. This document provides detailed

4.1. Starting CAC Online

Figure 4.0 CAC Website

The following page will be displayed:

Figure 4.1: CAC Online Login Window

Figure 4.2: CAC Online Guest Login Window

Press <SIGN IN>.

Successful login If the login is successful, the Welcome page is

Previous session If the system detects that a user may already be

1) <CLOSE MY PREVIOUS SESSION AND CREATE

2) <CLOSE MY PREVIOUS SESSION AND RE-

3) <CONTINUE USING MY PREVIOUS SESSION>

Users will normally require only one session.

Figure 4.3: Welcome Page

Figure 4.4: Previous Session Detected

4.2. Exiting CAC Online

Figure 4.5: Log out Window

4.3. Changing User’s Password

Figure 4.5: Reset Password Option

Figure 4.6: Reset Password Window

5. Navigating through CAC Online

Figure 5.1: History

In the example provided above, the user is searching for registered

5.2. Main Menu

Online Forms Through this option company registration can be

Search This option allows the search for registered

Help Through the Help menu, users are able to send e-

Go This folder can be accessed to return to the Home

5.3. Shortcut Panel

Welcome The Home Page gives an introduction to Content

Help This folder contains Help information

5.4. Checking CAC PayCard balance

Figure 5.2: My Smart Card Account

Figure 5.3: My Smart Card Account Login

Figure 5.4: My Smart Card Account Home Page

Figure 5.5: My Smart Card Account Transaction List

5.5. Search Options

company using other relevant information such as: Registration number,

Figure 5.6: Search for Companies Page

Equals Most of these parameters are meant for dates or

Example 1- Searching for a Company using RC Number

Figure 5.7: Search for Companies Page

Click on the ‘Begin Search’ Button to commence the search. If successful, a

Figure 5.8: Search for Companies Page

This displays some basic information concerning the registered company.

If the search result is not successful, nothing will be returned as depicted in