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You've got your CAC certificate. Your organisation is officially registered. There's still one step most new NGOs miss. It can stop you from operating at all.

Here's what actually comes after CAC approval.

SCUML Registration Isn't Optional

Every registered Incorporated Trustee in Nigeria is a Designated Non-Financial Institution. That means you must register with SCUML, the Special Control Unit Against Money Laundering, once your CAC certificate is issued.

This is a separate registration from CAC. It doesn't happen on its own. You do it yourself, at scuml.gov.ng.

Why Your Bank Will Ask For It

Here's the part that catches people off guard. Most Nigerian banks won't open an account for an NGO or church without a SCUML certificate. You can be fully CAC-registered and still unable to take donations, pay staff, or hold money in your organisation's name.

If opening a bank account is next on your list, SCUML has to come first.

Annual Returns Are a Standing Job

CAC registration isn't a one-time task. Every Incorporated Trustee must file annual returns. This shows the organisation still exists and is active. The window runs from June 30 to December 31 each year, except your year of incorporation.

Missing this isn't a small slip. It's how organisations lose good standing without ever meaning to.

Tax Exemption Isn't Automatic

Many people assume a non-profit pays no tax at all. That's not quite right. Your organisation still needs to register with FIRS and get a Tax ID number. This applies even if you expect to qualify for exemption on your core work.

Exemption depends on staying within real non-profit activity. It's not a status you get once and keep forever.

Why This Step Gets Missed So Often

CAC registration takes real effort. Naming, publication, the constitution, the document upload. By the time approval comes through, it feels like the finish line. SCUML and the jobs after it aren't part of that visible finish line. They're easy to miss. Not because anyone's careless. Because nobody tells you they're still coming.

This is the last part of our series on registering a club or association with CAC. If you're earlier in the process, start with why registrations keep getting rejected. Then work through naming, the newspaper rule, your constitution, and the trustee and document steps before you reach this stage.

Need stamps, seals, or a corporate seal for your organisation now that it's fully up and running? Get in touch. We're based in Ibadan and happy to talk through what's actually involved.