A lot of people do not consider a place of worship to be a corporate entity,but that’s not the case with the Corporate Affairs Commission.
The Corporate Affairs Commission view a church as a Corporate entity entity and hence must be registered as such.
The registration of churches is carried out under Part C of the Companies and Allied Matters Act.
In this post I will show you how you can easily register a church in Nigeria.
How To Register A Church In Nigeria
How To Register A Church In Nigeria
Step 1:
First of all you should think of a suitable name for the church,you should have up to three names,an alternate name might be necessary if your first choice is not available.
Step 2:
The following step is to organize and form a Board of Trustees, these are equivalent to the shareholders and directors in a company.
The trustees will be responsible for management of the church and for filling any statutory returns.
After wards visit the CAC,an application form will also be issued to you.
Step 3:
After the application has been accepted and the name of the church approved,the next phase is for the trustees to publish a notification of their intention to register a church.
The Publication of notices should be in three (3) national dailies,one being a local newspaper widely circulated in the area where the organization is based.
Step 4:
This step involves the completion and submission of the application form in triplicate. Other requirements include:
- (a) A formal letter of application
- (b) The original newspaper publications
- (c) 2 copies of Applicant’s constitution
- (d) Minutes of the meeting where the trustees were appointed, having the list of members present and absent and showingthe voting pattern,duely signed by Chairman and Secretary of the Board.
- (e) Minutes of the meeting where the special clause rules was adopted into the constitution of the organization and signed by the Secretary and Chairman.
- (f) Trustees must attach 2 passport sized photographs of themselves
- (g) Trustees must sign against their names on the application form and furnish permanent residential addresses.
- (g) The impression of the common seal should be affixed on page 11 of the form and a draft of N20,000 payable to CAC in Abuja.
Step 5:
All the documents and payment receipts will be reviewed by the CAC,if all the documents are correct,the church will then be registered with the CAC,and presented with the registration documents.