If you’ve been tracking the new CAC fees for 2025, you might be wondering: what exactly changed from last year? There are reasons you must wish to have access to the CAC Fees 2025 vs 2024 for obvious reason.
Let me break this down for you, because the changes aren’t uniform across the board. Some services stayed the same. Others doubled. A few tripled or even quadrupled.
Here’s what you need to know.
The Big Picture: Registration vs Post-Registration
The first thing to understand is that CAC made a deliberate choice in this fee review. They kept core registration costs stable (business names and company incorporation) while significantly increasing post-registration service fees.
Translation: Starting a business is still affordable. But managing, restructuring, or closing one just got more expensive.
This wasn’t random. CAC specifically said they’re funding their digital infrastructure and dealing with “current economic realities.” Whether you agree with the increases or not, they’re real, and they kicked in on October 1, 2025.
What Stayed the Same
Let’s start with the good news. These fees didn’t change:
- Business Name Registration: Still the same (although a business name was registered for a 100% increase yesterday by a friend, still surprised)
- Company Incorporation (≤₦1M share capital): Still the same for private companies
- Name Reservation: Still ₦500
- Certified True Copy (CTC): Still ₦5,000 per document
- Status Report/Letter of Good Standing: Still ₦5,000
- Annual Returns for companies: Still ₦5,000 (small/private) and ₦10,000 (public)
- Business Name Annual Returns: Still ₦3,000
The above is, as at 4th October 2025, is not certain due to the experience of yesterday.
If you’re just getting started, this is the silver lining. Your entry point hasn’t changed, so we still think. But for everything that happens after registration? That’s where the pain starts.
What Changed: The Side-by-Side Breakdown (CAC Fees 2025 vs 2024)
Here’s where things get interesting. Let me show you the actual numbers:
Strike-Offs (Closing Your Company)
| Company Type | 2024 Fee | 2025 Fee | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Company | ₦25,000 | ₦25,000 | 0% (unchanged) |
| Private Company (other than small) | ₦25,000 | ₦50,000 | 100% |
| Limited by Guarantee | ₦25,000 | ₦50,000 | 100% |
| Public Company | ₦25,000 | ₦100,000 | 300% |
What this means: If you’re closing a dormant public company, you’re now paying ₦100,000 instead of ₦25,000. That’s a ₦75,000 jump. For private companies, it doubled from ₦25,000 to ₦50,000.
Small companies are the only category that didn’t see an increase here.
Relisting Companies
This one’s tricky because relisting wasn’t explicitly priced in the 2024 schedule. CAC has now formalized it:
| Company Type | 2024 Fee | 2025 Fee | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Small Company | Not explicitly listed | ₦25,000 | New/Clarified |
| Private/Ltd by Guarantee | Not explicitly listed | ₦50,000 | New/Clarified |
| Public Company | Not explicitly listed | ₦100,000 | New/Clarified |
What this means: If your company was struck off and you want to bring it back to life, you’re now looking at ₦25,000 to ₦100,000 depending on your company type. Previously, this process existed but wasn’t clearly priced in the fee schedule.
Due Diligence Searches
This is where the biggest percentage jump happened:
| Search Type | 2024 Fee | 2025 Fee | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Due Diligence Search (Self-service) | ₦10,000 | ₦50,000 | 400% |
What this means: That quick background check you used to do for ₦10,000 is now ₦50,000. If you’re a lawyer, investor, or service provider doing multiple searches monthly, your operational costs just quintupled for this service alone.
Historical Search Reports
| Report Type | 2024 Fee (Companies) | 2025 Fee (Companies) | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directors/Officers Info | ₦10,000 | ₦20,000 | 100% ↑ |
| Shareholding Info | ₦10,000 | ₦20,000 | 100% ↑ |
| Charges/Debentures Info | ₦10,000 | ₦20,000 | 100% ↑ |
| All Information (Comprehensive) | ₦20,000 | ₦30,000 | 50% ↑ |
What this means: Older companies requiring historical documentation now pay double for most reports. The comprehensive search increased from ₦20,000 to ₦30,000.
Interestingly, public companies saw the same pricing as private companies for these services in 2025, whereas in 2024, they paid ₦20,000 for single reports. So public companies actually saw the same fee in 2025, while private/small companies saw increases.
AGM Extension Requests
| Company Type | 2024 Fee | 2025 Fee | % Increase |
|---|---|---|---|
| Public Company | ₦25,000 | ₦100,000 | 300% |
| Small/Private/Ltd by Guarantee | ₦25,000 | ₦50,000 | 100% |
What this means: Need more time to hold your Annual General Meeting? It’ll cost you double for most companies, and quadruple for public companies.
Address Restriction Requests
| Service | 2024 Fee | 2025 Fee | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Director’s Residential Address Restriction | ₦25,000 | ₦25,000 | 0% |
| Proprietor’s/Partner’s Residential Address Restriction | ₦25,000 | ₦25,000 | 0% |
What this means: This one stayed flat. Privacy protection for directors and business owners costs the same.
Business Name Services
| Service | 2024 Fee | 2025 Fee | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cessation of Business Name | ₦10,000 | ₦10,000 | 0% |
| Voluntary Strike-off | ₦10,000 | ₦10,000 | 0% |
What this means: Business names were largely spared. Most business name services remained unchanged.
What This Actually Costs You
Let’s put this in real terms with some scenarios:
Scenario 1: Investor Doing Due Diligence on 5 Companies
- 2024 Cost: ₦10,000 × 5 = ₦50,000
- 2025 Cost: ₦50,000 × 5 = ₦250,000
- Difference: ₦200,000 more
Scenario 2: Closing 3 Dormant Private Companies
- 2024 Cost: ₦25,000 × 3 = ₦75,000
- 2025 Cost: ₦50,000 × 3 = ₦150,000
- Difference: ₦75,000 more
Scenario 3: Public Company Needing AGM Extension + Historical Search
- 2024 Cost: ₦25,000 (AGM) + ₦20,000 (search) = ₦45,000
- 2025 Cost: ₦100,000 (AGM) + ₦30,000 (search) = ₦130,000
- Difference: ₦85,000 more
These aren’t small numbers. For businesses or professionals handling multiple transactions, this adds up fast.
Why Did CAC Do This?
According to CAC’s official statement, the increases are meant to:
- Fund digital infrastructure:– their entire system is now automated
- Align with economic realities:– inflation, operational costs
- Ensure service quality:– faster processing, better uptime
Is it fair? Well, that’s for you to decide. But it’s not arbitrary. CAC hasn’t touched these fees in years (the 2024 schedule was essentially from 2021), and they’ve invested heavily in making the system faster and more reliable.
The trade-off is that post-registration compliance now costs significantly more.
What You Should Do Now
If you have any pending CAC work, here’s what I’d recommend:
✅ Prioritize strike-offs and relistings – these saw the biggest jumps. Handle them now if you can.
✅ Batch your due diligence searches – if you’re doing background checks, get them done before costs rise further.
✅ Plan your compliance budget for 2025-2026 – assume higher costs for annual filings, searches, and restructuring.
✅ Don’t delay starting your business – incorporation fees are stable, so if you’ve been thinking about registering, now is still a good time.
Final Thoughts
The 2025 CAC fee increases are real, substantial, and already in effect. Registration stayed affordable, but everything else got more expensive, in some cases, dramatically so.
The key is knowing where the changes hit hardest. Due diligence searches, strike-offs, AGM extensions, and historical reports are where you’ll feel the pinch most.
Plan accordingly. Budget for higher compliance costs. And if you have any outstanding filings or searches, don’t wait.
Need help navigating the new CAC fees or handling your company’s compliance? Contact Qrafteq Brand Systems and let’s get your filings sorted without the stress.
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Related Reading:
- New CAC Fees 2025: Full List of Increased Prices
- Does the New CAC Fee Increase Affect You?
- CAC Annual Returns: Penalties, Costs & How to Avoid Company Strike-Off in Nigeria
This article is accurate as of October 2025. CAC fee schedules are subject to change. Always verify current fees on the official CAC website.
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