Check a name before they pay.
The CAC Name Search API tells you if CAC will accept a business name, and why not, for ₦80 a check.
How it works
3 steps, from your first call to the result.
- 1
Fetch the categories
Get CAC's 481 lines of business once with GET /v1/businesses/categories for your picker.
- 2
Check the name
POST the name and category. Run it as your user types or when they confirm.
- 3
Show the answer
Branch on available and reason.code, show reason.message, and offer suggested_names.
What you get
Rules and register in one call
Two-word minimum, qualifiers, restricted words and similarity to registered names, all checked together.
Reason codes you can branch on
name_exists, name_too_similar, restricted_word, qualifier_missing and more, each with a message to show your user.
The conflicting name
When a name is taken or too similar, you get the registered name it clashes with.
Suggestions
Alternatives to a taken name, so your user can pick one and carry on.
Certificate flag
requires_certificate tells you when CAC wants a professional certificate for that line of business.
Billed only on an answer
₦80 only when CAC's register answers. Rule failures are free and an unanswered check is refunded.
Try a name now
The same naming rules and register search as the API, free by hand. Your app gets the answer as JSON.
Questions
How do I check if a business name is available on CAC?
Type it into the free checker on this page, or call POST /v1/businesses/names/availability from your app. Both check CAC's naming rules and its register and tell you why a name won't be accepted.
How do I check if a name is taken on CAC?
A name check searches CAC's register. If the name is already registered you get name_exists with the registered name; if it's 90% or more similar to one you get name_too_similar.
Is there a free CAC name search API?
The checker on this page is free to use by hand. The API costs ₦80 per check that CAC's register answers. Names that fail CAC's basic rules (one word, a restricted word, no qualifier) are free, and test keys skip the register search.
Does a name check reserve the name?
No. Nothing is reserved. The name is only held by CAC once the registration is filed, so check close to when your user submits.
More CAC APIs
Put CAC registration inside your product
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