How to Find the Directors of a Company in Nigeria
CAC's public search tells you a company exists, not who runs it. Here's how to find its directors and shareholders, or check one person.
VerificationOctober 29, 20265 min read
The Short Answer
CAC's public search shows a company's name, number, status and registration date, but not its directors. To see who runs a company, you need its status report or a lookup of its full record. And because you can't search CAC by a person's name, you always start from the company.
Who Counts as an Officer
| Role | What it means |
|---|---|
| Director | Runs the company and signs for it. |
| Secretary | Keeps the company's records and filings. |
| Shareholder | Owns shares in the company. |
| Person with significant control (PSC) | Owns or controls a large stake, directly or indirectly. |
| Proprietor or partner | Owns a business name (BN). Business names don't have directors. |
One person often holds several roles: a founder is commonly a director, a shareholder and a PSC at once.
Three Ways to Find a Company's Directors
1. Find the company first
Search its name in our free CAC public searchto get its RC number and confirm it's active. See how to verify a company for what to check.
2. Ask for its status report
The CAC status report lists the directors, shareholders and registered address. Any legitimate company can send it to you. Companies also have a MEMART.
3. Look it up yourself
If you'd rather not rely on a document the company sends, the FastCAC Lookup APIreturns everyone who runs or owns the business from CAC's filed record, for ₦200. Each person appears once with every role they hold, their shares and percentage, and the contact details on the filing.
Check If Someone Is a Director
Someone says they're a director of a company you're about to deal with. Ask for the company's RC number, then check that their name is among its officers, in the status report or a lookup.
To do it from code, the FastCAC Verification APItakes the company's number and up to 10 names. Each name comes back matched or not, with every role that person holds, for ₦200. Names match in any order and with initials ("A. C. Obi" matches ADA CHIOMA OBI), but not with misspellings, so relatives on the same board don't match each other.
Company Directors: FAQs
Can I search CAC by a director's name?
Not on CAC's public search, which looks up businesses by name or number. To check a person, start from the company: get its RC number, then see whether that person is among its officers.
Where are a company's directors listed?
On its CAC status report, which lists the directors, shareholders and registered address. Companies also file their MEMART. The company can send you both, or you can pull the officers yourself with a lookup.
How do I check if someone is a director of a company?
Ask for the company's RC number and check that the person appears among its officers. With the FastCAC Verification API, send the company's number and the person's name: it comes back matched or not, with every role they hold, for ₦200.
What is a PSC?
A person with significant control: someone who owns or controls a large share of the company, directly or through others. Companies file their PSCs with CAC, and CAC has asked companies to keep these records up to date.
Does a business name have directors?
No. A business name (BN number) has proprietors or partners, not directors. Directors and shareholders belong to companies (RC numbers).
FastCAC Legal Team
Helping Nigerian businesses register with CAC and check the ones they deal with.
