How to Upgrade your Business Name to a Limited Liability Company

Every individual starting up a business will always want to start off the business in a legitimate and legalized way and so most people opt for Business Name registration (Enterprise) because it’s cheap . As time goes on and as they progress in business, such fellow discovers that Business Name also known as One-man-business has so many limitations and constraints. But because such individual has been known with the Business name and wouldn’t want to register a fresh business, the thought of it becomes worrisome to the individual. You don’t have to worry about that because in this blog we will guide you on the steps to take in upgrading your Business Name to a Limited Liability Company.

Before this time the process used to be cumbersome and long but with the advent of the new Companies and Allied Matters Act, and the CAC move to ensure ease in doing business in Nigeria the process is now simpler. A business name upon registration does not contain the words “limited”, “group”, “PLC” etc. After registration, the individual or corporation will be issued a certificate of registration containing the Business name and ends with LIMITED or LTD as the case maybe.

There are several reasons why an individual would want to convert a business name to a limited liability mostly because there are limitations to the advantages and benefits enjoyed by a registered Business name, and the most prominent reason would be for the purpose of expansion of business objects or upgrade of the Business name, or for projecting a more professional image. A limited liability company has lot of advantages accrued to it more than a registered Business name.

Read also: How To Register Company with Corporate Affairs Commission in Nigeria

The requirements for the conversion of a Business name to a Limited Liability Company at the Corporate Affairs Commission are as follows:

You log into CAC portal and click on Reservation of name section. Then input the name of the Business Name then add LTD or LIMITED to it then click on continue. Next is the reason for reservation click on registration of business name as limited liability. Then input the name of the business and the BN number.

You will need to submit the copy of the Business name certificate and a consent letter from the proprietor if the person doing the registration is not one of the proprietors.

Once that is done you will be brought to the page of entering the details of the directors and shareholders as if you are actually registering a limited liability company. Once the data is inputted, you make the necessary payment. Then you will upload the required documents for the registration and then submit.

It is important to note that you will need the services of an accredited CAC agent to get this process properly done.

In conclusion, a registered business name can be converted to a limited where the Proprietor of a Business name intends to expand the business objects.

With all the aforesaid, a Proprietor of a Business name looking to convert to a limited liability company must ensure that the Annual Returns are up to date because CAC is currently strict with the payment of Annual Returns.

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