KYB in Nigeria: A Developer's Guide to CAC Checks

What KYB Checks

Know Your Business (KYB) answers three questions about a business customer: is it real and registered, is it still in good standing, and is the person in front of you allowed to act for it? In Nigeria the first two are answered by the Corporate Affairs Commission's register, and the third by matching the person to the business's officers and their own identity.

Your regulator decides how far you have to go. This guide covers the CAC side, which almost every KYB flow needs, with the FastCAC API call for each step.

The Flow, Step by Step

1. Collect the basics

Ask for the registered name, the RC, BN or IT number, the registered address and the name of the person applying. Don't ask them to type what you can look up.

2. Verify the business against CAC (free)

Check the number and name they gave you against CAC's register, and that CAC lists the business as active. You get one result to act on: match, partial, no_match or not_found.

curl https://api.fastcac.com/v1/businesses/verifications \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FASTCAC_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"number": "RC 7654321", "name": "Ada Foods Ltd"}'

3. Check the applicant is an officer (₦200)

Add the applicant's name, and the names of any other directors they gave you. Each comes back matched or not, with every role that person holds (director, shareholder, psc) and their record from CAC.

curl https://api.fastcac.com/v1/businesses/verifications \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FASTCAC_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"number": "RC 7654321", "name": "Ada Foods Ltd", "officers": ["Ada Obi"]}'

4. Pull the full record when you need it (₦200)

For enhanced checks, a lookup returns the registered address, email and everyone who runs or owns the business, with their shares and percentages and any significant-control details CAC records.

curl https://api.fastcac.com/v1/businesses/lookups \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FASTCAC_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"number": "RC 7654321"}'

5. Verify the person (₦100)

Confirm the applicant is who they say they are with a NIN lookup, with their consent. Compare the name to the officer you matched in step 3.

curl https://api.fastcac.com/v1/identities/nin_lookups \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FASTCAC_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"nin": "12345678901", "consent": true}'

6. Screen for sanctions and PEPs

Regulated businesses also screen the business and its officers against sanctions lists and politically exposed persons. FastCAC doesn't do this; use a screening provider and pass it the names from step 4.

7. Keep watching (₦100 a month)

A business that was active at onboarding can go inactive later. A monitor sends you a signed webhook when a business's status or name changes on CAC's register, so you can review it.

curl https://api.fastcac.com/v1/businesses/monitors \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $FASTCAC_KEY" \
  -H "Idempotency-Key: $(uuidgen)" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"number": "RC 7654321"}'

Acting on the Result

Result	Means	A sensible default
match	Exact name, active, every officer matched	Approve and move on
partial	Close name, not active, or an officer didn't match	Send to manual review with the checks
no_match	The number is real but the name isn't this business	Ask the applicant to correct it
not_found	CAC has no business with that number	Offer to register them

Keeping Data Safe

Store the result and the checks you relied on, not more than you need. A verification keeps less than a full lookup.
Get the person's consent before an identity lookup, and record it.
Treat officers' phone numbers, dates of birth and addresses as personal data under the Nigeria Data Protection Act 2023.
Build against test keys first: they return a made-up business and never touch CAC or real money.

Get test keys, read the API docs, or compare providers in CAC verification APIs compared.

KYB in Nigeria: FAQs

What is KYB?

Know Your Business: the checks a company runs to confirm a business customer is real, registered and controlled by the people it says. In Nigeria, a CAC check is usually the first step.

What documents should I ask a Nigerian business for?

The registered name and RC, BN or IT number, the CAC certificate and status report, the registered address, its Tax ID (TIN), and the identity of the person opening the account, usually by NIN or BVN.

How much does KYB cost with FastCAC?

Checking a business's number, name and status against CAC is free. Checking its officers is ₦200, a full record with directors and shareholders is ₦200, a NIN lookup is ₦100, and monitoring is ₦100 per business a month. You pay per call from a prepaid wallet.

What if the business isn't registered?

The verification comes back not_found. Instead of turning the applicant away, you can register their Business Name with CAC from your own app through the FastCAC Registration API.

API Team

FastCAC Engineering

We build the FastCAC API, which registers and checks Nigerian businesses with CAC.

KYB in Nigeria: A Developer's Guide to Verifying Business Customers