The procedure for registering an incorporated trustees in Nigeria involves several steps. It ranges from choosing trustees to deciding the aims and objectives to choosing a suitable name for the entity to obtaining approval from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).
In this blog, we are going to run you through the process of registering an incorporated trustee in Nigeria and doing it the right way.
We mentioned earlier that registering an incorporated trustee involves many steps one of which is choosing Trustees. In choosing a Trustee, the following must be considered
- The trustee must be 18 years and above. A person below the age of 18 years cannot be a trustee. It is not like a shareholder of a company where children (minors) are permitted to be shareholder.
- A foreigner cannot be a trustee; all the trustees must be Nigeria citizen whether resident in Nigeria or abroad.
- A trustee must be of sound mind,
- a trustee must not be bankrupt and not an ex-convict.
The aims and objectives of the Trustee must be couched in such a way that it captures all the activities of the entity and it must not be misleading to the public. An incorporated trustee is a nonprofit making body and so all it aims and objectives will be devoid of money making.
Read: Company Registration (Limited Liability Company)
The next is to choose a name for the entity. Recently CAC does not approve Trustee with “Nigeria” in the name except there are trustees from the 6 Geo-political zones of the country. Recently the commission will want the promoters to localize the name, what it means is that a location should be added to the name e.g. ‘Lagos, Ota, Agbani, Nkanu etc. The name chosen should not be offensive or contrary to public policy as to suggest crime or promotion of immorality and must not be misleading to the public or identical to an existing name. It must not contain the word “chamber of commerce”
When all these are in place, the promoter can go ahead to apply for consent from CAC. The Corporate Affairs Commission is the only body in Nigeria authorized to register an incorporated Trustee.
Once the consent is given, then there will be newspaper publication. The promoter will wait for 28 days before the registration can start. The details of the association will be furnished and the ID card and signature of the trustees will be uploaded together with the newspaper publication, the minutes of meeting appointing the trustees, the trustee declaration form. Once all these are uploaded, you go ahead to make payment. With the CAC fee review which took effect from 1st day of October 2025, the official fee for the registration of an incorporated trustee has increased. Usually, the time frame for this registration is between 4 weeks and 6 weeks in the absence of any query! And fee varies too depending on the agent that is doing the registration.
In conclusion, the procedure for registering and setting up incorporated trustees in Nigeria is rigorous. It is so technical that you will need the services of an expert in the field to do the registration. The consent, the drafting of the constitution, the newspaper, the minutes of meeting and the upload is not a task for the layman.
This incorporated Trustee registration is basically for individuals and groups committed to charitable, religious, or social development activities.
For more enquiries
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