CAC Business Name Registration for General Trading in Plateau State

Trade in Plateau State moves through market stalls, provision shops, warehouses and wholesale counters, from the busy streets of Jos to the weekly trading towns across the plateau. If you buy goods in bulk and sell them on, a registered business name is the piece of paperwork that lets suppliers, banks and bigger buyers see a real business behind the stall. Onelove Business Ventures is an accredited CAC agent. We take care of the name search, the filing and the certificate for you, wherever your shop, stall or store is in Plateau State. Message us your business name on WhatsApp, and from there the paperwork travels on our side.

Trading Businesses We Register in Plateau State

• Provision stores and general merchandise shops: everyday goods sold across the counter to households.
• Wholesalers and distributors: stock bought in bulk and sold on to retailers and smaller traders.
• Mini-marts and supermarkets: self-service shops with a mixed range of household items.
• Market-stall and open-market traders: sellers working from a stall, a kiosk or a rented shop in the market.
• Foodstuff and produce traders: sellers of grains, tubers, vegetables and dry goods in volume.
• Used-goods and thrift dealers: bale buyers and sellers of second-hand clothing, shoes and household items.
• Online and social-media sellers: businesses taking orders through WhatsApp, Instagram or a website and delivering locally.
• Supply and procurement businesses: companies sourcing and delivering goods to schools, offices and institutions.

📋 CAC Business Name Registration

💰 Cost: ₦35,500 (All-Inclusive) ⏱️ Turnaround Time: 5 – 7 Working Days ✅ What You Get: Official CAC Certificate + Certified Status Report + TIN 🚚 Delivery: Soft Copy Sent via WhatsApp (Print Hard Copy Locally)

START REGISTRATION NOW →

Counting Up Your ₦35,500

The ₦35,500 is paid once. It includes CAC’s filing fee and our service fee, and nothing is added afterwards. If you would rather register a company, the Limited Liability Company option is ₦65,500, all-inclusive.

• A search confirming your business name is free to use
• Reservation of the name
• Preparation and submission of your CAC Business Name application
• CAC’s government filing fee
• Certificate of Registration (soft copy)
• Tax Identification Number (TIN)
• A CAC Status Report showing your business as active on the public register

Beyond What CAC Registers

• A printed copy of your certificate (delivered as a soft copy on WhatsApp; print it locally whenever it suits you)
• Product approvals for regulated goods: NAFDAC for food, drinks, drugs and cosmetics you stock or repackage, and Standards Organisation of Nigeria (SON) requirements for many manufactured goods
• Import clearance and duties through the Nigeria Customs Service if you bring goods in yourself; items on the federal import prohibition list stay banned whatever your registration
• Your stall or shop: the allocation, lease or rent, and the levies charged by the market authority or local government
• Fire-safety arrangements and any insurance for your premises and stock
• If you sell by weight or volume, whatever weights-and-measures checks apply to your scales and measures
• Tax obligations at federal and state level, including VAT where it applies to your turnover
• Staff-related obligations if you employ shop assistants or porters, such as pension and employee compensation
• A business bank account, opened with your chosen bank once your certificate is in hand
• Annual returns in later years, a small separate step we can also help with when the time comes

Business Name or Limited Liability Company?

If you run the business yourself and mainly sell to walk-in customers and regular retailers, a Business Name is normally enough. A Limited Liability Company starts to make sense when you hold large stock on credit, share ownership with a partner, import in volume, or chase supply contracts where the buyer expects a company. Starting with a Business Name and upgrading later is a common path.

Gather This First

1. Two business names you like, ranked by preference
2. A valid ID: National ID (NIN), international passport or driver’s license
3. A passport photograph
4. Your business address in Plateau State, with its LGA
5. A phone number and an email address
6. A short description of what you trade in, for example “general merchandise and wholesale” or “provisions and household goods”
7. For a Limited Liability Company only: the names, ID and details of each director and shareholder

How a Name Becomes a Certificate

1. We search CAC’s public portal to see whether your name is available.
2. We reserve the name once it clears.
3. We prepare the application using your business, owner and Plateau address details.
4. You send a photo of your ID and your passport photograph; a phone picture is enough.
5. You pay ₦35,500 once, which covers everything listed above.
6. Your Certificate of Registration, TIN and Status Report arrive, generally within 5–7 working days.

Send the details, pay once, and wait for the certificate; the chasing at CAC’s end is ours.

Why Traders in Jos Know the Terminus Story

Anyone trading in Jos knows the Jos Main Market, widely called Terminus. Built in the days of the old Benue-Plateau State under Governor Joseph Gomwalk, it was known as the largest indoor market in West Africa until a fire in the early 2000s gutted it (reports date it to 2001 or 2002). Rebuilding plans came and went. Traders set up makeshift shops and roadside stalls around the ruin, and successive governments have tried to move them to satellite markets such as the one on Rukuba Road. In April 2025, a fire swept through a section of the old market where used-clothing and shoe traders had resettled. One report counted over 500 makeshift shops lost, and the state’s information commissioner said an electrical spark might have been the cause. Coverage of that fire also recalled that many traders hit by the earlier disaster had not been using formal banking.

That history is the practical case for putting trade on paper. A registered name lets you open a business account in the shop’s name, keeps stock money apart from household money, and gives suppliers and lenders a document to look at. It does not insure your goods, and it does not give you a stall: allocation of market space stays with the authorities who run each market, and fire-safety and insurance arrangements are separate.

Registering Trading Businesses Across Plateau State

The price, requirements and turnaround are the same wherever you trade. Some of the names below are LGAs and some are towns inside them; either way, you are covered.

Jos city and its markets

• Jos North: the home of the Jos Main Market area and the satellite markets around the city centre
• Jos South and Bukuru: shops, wholesalers and distributors along the Bukuru expressway
• Jos East and Vom: provision stores and traders serving residents, students and staff in these communities

Farm-to-market communities

• Barkin Ladi, Riyom and Bassa: shops and produce traders buying and selling for their local markets
• Mangu and Panyam: general traders and wholesalers handling market-day business
• Bokkos: provision shops, foodstuff dealers and stall traders

Central and eastern towns

• Pankshin, Kanke and Amper: retail and wholesale shops serving the towns and villages around them
• Kwolla and Mikang: small shops, stall traders and neighbourhood distributors

The north-east

• Kanam and Dengi: traders and shopkeepers serving the local government headquarters and nearby villages
• Wase: general merchandise, foodstuff and household-goods sellers

The south

• Langtang North and Langtang South: provision stores, wholesalers and market traders
• Shendam and Yelwa: retail and wholesale businesses supplying local households and market traders

If your shop, stall or store is anywhere in Plateau State, you are covered.

Stock Comes In, Customers Come In

A trader’s day is a juggling act. Stock arrives and has to be counted, prices have to be checked against what a supplier quoted last week, customers want a better price, and a bulk buyer is waiting on a quotation. Records often live in a notebook, a phone gallery and a pile of transfer receipts. A registered name does not change any of that, but it gives all of it one name to sit under: the one on your invoices, your supplier accounts, your bank mandate and your shop signboard. You already know your goods and your customers; getting that name registered is the part we can take off your plate.

You’ll Probably Like Working With Us If…

Not every registration service is the right match for every business owner, and that’s fine — here’s who tends to get the most out of working with us:

• You’d rather not wrestle with CAC’s portal between stock deliveries, haggling customers and a bulk order waiting to be counted — you want the paperwork finished while the shop stays open.
• You’re thinking beyond the counter — from selling to individual buyers to supplying other retailers, a second outlet in Bukuru, a store room for bulk stock, or supply to schools and offices — and you want a registered name to grow under.
• You prefer being told what you actually need — if the Business Name does the job today, we’ll leave the company route for when it’s worth it.
• You want a process without back-and-forth — send your details once, pay once, and there are no surprise charges afterwards.

If this describes you, we’d be glad to take the paperwork off your hands.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does CAC registration cost for a trading business in Plateau State? ₦35,500 all-inclusive for a Business Name, whichever town in Plateau you trade from. A Limited Liability Company is ₦65,500 all-inclusive.

What does the ₦35,500 cover? The name search and reservation, the completed CAC filing, the government filing fee, your Certificate of Registration (soft copy), a TIN and a CAC Status Report.

Is a Business Name enough for a shop or wholesale business? For most owner-run shops, stalls and wholesale counters, yes. It gives you a legal name and the documents banks and suppliers commonly ask for. A company becomes worth considering as stock, partners or contracts grow.

I trade from a market stall and don’t have a proper shop. Can I still register? Yes. CAC asks for a business address in Plateau State and its LGA. Send the address you plan to use, whether that is a market stall, a store room or your home.

I sell online through WhatsApp and Instagram. Can I register? Yes. Online sellers register the same way as shop owners, with a Plateau address for the business.

What if my first-choice name is not available? CAC typically rejects names that match or sit too close to one already registered. Send a backup or two, and we will check them right away.

How should I describe what I sell? Keep it broad and plain, such as “general merchandise and wholesale”. A wide description leaves room to add product lines later.

Does registration cover NAFDAC, SON or import approvals? No. If you stock food, drinks, drugs or cosmetics, or goods that fall under standards rules, those approvals are separate. Importing goes through customs, and goods on the import prohibition list are barred whatever your registration.

Can I register more than one shop under one business name? One registration covers the business as a whole. Stall allocations, leases and levies usually attach to each premises, so confirm what applies at every location.

Will a CAC certificate help me supply schools, offices or government? Many institutions ask for proof of registration before buying in volume, so it is a useful document to hold. It does not guarantee any contract, and buyers often have their own vendor paperwork.

Will suppliers or wholesalers give me credit once I’m registered? A certificate shows you are a real, registered business, which suppliers often like to see. Credit terms are their decision, and registration does not guarantee them.

Does registration insure my stock or protect me from fire? No. Insurance and fire-safety arrangements are separate from CAC. Registration gives you a legal name and the paperwork to deal with insurers and banks.

Do you register traders outside Jos? Yes. We cover all of Plateau State, from Wase and Dengi to Shendam, Langtang and Barkin Ladi, at the same price and turnaround.

I’m trading with a partner. What should we do? Tell us on WhatsApp how ownership is shared. A Limited Liability Company is often the cleaner structure for shared ownership, and we will say so plainly if a Business Name will do.

Can I upgrade from a Business Name to a Limited Liability Company later? Yes. Many traders start with a Business Name and convert as the business grows, and we can help with the conversion.

How long does registration take? Usually 5–7 working days once your details and payment are in.

How do I receive and print the certificate? We send a soft copy on WhatsApp, and you print it at any local business centre.

Can I open a business bank account with the certificate? Yes. A CAC certificate is one of the main documents banks ask for, along with your ID and other details.

Is the TIN included? Yes. A Tax Identification Number is part of what you receive for the ₦35,500.

Do I have to file anything with CAC in later years? Registered businesses have annual returns to file. It is a small, separate step and we can help with it when the time comes.

Will any extra fee appear after I pay? No. The ₦35,500 covers CAC’s filing fee and ours together, with nothing added later.

📋 CAC Business Name Registration

💰 Cost: ₦35,500 (All-Inclusive) ⏱️ Turnaround Time: 5 – 7 Working Days ✅ What You Get: Official CAC Certificate + Certified Status Report + TIN 🚚 Delivery: Soft Copy Sent via WhatsApp (Print Hard Copy Locally)

START REGISTRATION NOW →

Know what you want to call it? Send the name to us on WhatsApp →