> ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.fastcac.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # Verify a business > Checks the number and name your applicant gave against CAC's register, whether CAC lists the business as active, and, if you send them, whether its officers include those names: each matched name comes back with every role that person holds and their record (`officer`). You get a `result` and each check, not the business's full record (that's a lookup). Free unless you send officer names (see `amount_charged`); a number CAC doesn't have is the free `not_found` result. Test keys check against one made-up business: ADA FOODS VENTURES (type BN) or ADA FOODS LIMITED, with officer ADA CHIOMA OBI (director, shareholder and psc in the limited company) and shareholder EMEKA JOHN OBI. ## OpenAPI ````yaml /openapi.json post /businesses/verifications openapi: 3.1.0 info: title: FastCAC API description: Register Nigerian businesses with CAC from your own product. version: '2026-11-01' servers: - url: https://api.fastcac.com/v1 security: - apiKey: [] tags: - name: Account description: Check your key and see your organization. - name: Names description: >- Check a business name against CAC's rules and registry, and the categories it takes, before registering it. - name: Registrations description: Register a Business Name with CAC, from draft to certificate. - name: Lookup description: >- Search CAC's register for free, and look up a business's full record with its officers. - name: Verification description: >- Check that a business your applicant names is real, active and run by the people they say. - name: Monitoring description: >- Watch businesses on CAC's register and get an event when one goes inactive or changes name. - name: Identities description: >- Look up a proprietor's NIN with NIMC, to prefill a registration and use their photo. - name: Balance description: >- Your prepaid wallet: what's available, its transactions and your funding account. - name: Test helpers description: >- Test keys only: move a registration on without waiting, or simulate a deposit. - name: Webhooks description: Endpoints that receive events, and the events sent to them. - name: Webhook events description: What FastCAC POSTs to your webhook endpoints. paths: /businesses/verifications: post: tags: - Verification summary: Verify a business description: >- Checks the number and name your applicant gave against CAC's register, whether CAC lists the business as active, and, if you send them, whether its officers include those names: each matched name comes back with every role that person holds and their record (`officer`). You get a `result` and each check, not the business's full record (that's a lookup). Free unless you send officer names (see `amount_charged`); a number CAC doesn't have is the free `not_found` result. Test keys check against one made-up business: ADA FOODS VENTURES (type BN) or ADA FOODS LIMITED, with officer ADA CHIOMA OBI (director, shareholder and psc in the limited company) and shareholder EMEKA JOHN OBI. operationId: create_verification_businesses_verifications_post parameters: - name: simulate in: query required: false schema: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' description: >- Test keys only: not_found, inactive or cac_search_unavailable (503); with officer names, also lookup_unavailable (503) or insufficient_balance (402). Ignored with a live key. title: Simulate description: >- Test keys only: not_found, inactive or cac_search_unavailable (503); with officer names, also lookup_unavailable (503) or insufficient_balance (402). Ignored with a live key. requestBody: required: true content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/VerificationIn' example: number: RC 7654321 name: Ada Foods Ltd officers: - Ada Obi responses: '201': description: Successful Response content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1BusinessVerification' examples: Match, with officers: value: object: business_verification id: bver_2wuH3qrorTKV8jDHcfHvgj number: '7654321' type: RC result: match checks: number_found: true name: result: exact score: 1 registered_name: ADA FOODS LIMITED active: true status: ACTIVE officers: - name: Ada Obi matched: true role: director roles: - director - shareholder - psc officer: name: ADA CHIOMA OBI role: director roles: - director - shareholder - psc corporate: false status: active appointed_on: '2024-03-18' gender: female date_of_birth: '1990-05-14' nationality: NIGERIAN occupation: CHEF phone: '+2348000000001' email: ada@adafoods.ng address: 12 ADMIRALTY WAY, LEKKI, LAGOS shares: count: 750000 type: ordinary percent: 75 psc: shares_percent_direct: 75 shares_percent_indirect: 0 votes_percent_direct: 75 votes_percent_indirect: 0 appoints_directors: true significant_influence: true since: '2024-03-18' amount_charged: '200.00' transaction_id: wtx_1XVPtIxfqt3pdtF5rBbicq created_at: '2026-10-29T01:52:13Z' Match, without officers (free): value: object: business_verification id: bver_7PxrDao1VDm30QWIz871eQ number: '7654321' type: RC result: match checks: number_found: true name: result: exact score: 1 registered_name: ADA FOODS LIMITED active: true status: ACTIVE officers: null amount_charged: '0.00' transaction_id: null created_at: '2026-10-29T01:52:13Z' 'Partial: an officer didn''t match': value: object: business_verification id: bver_2PzanwKDt0ofdqARYsmFMU number: '7654321' type: RC result: partial checks: number_found: true name: result: exact score: 1 registered_name: ADA FOODS LIMITED active: true status: ACTIVE officers: - name: Ada Obi matched: true role: director roles: - director - shareholder - psc officer: name: ADA CHIOMA OBI role: director roles: - director - shareholder - psc corporate: false status: active appointed_on: '2024-03-18' gender: female date_of_birth: '1990-05-14' nationality: NIGERIAN occupation: CHEF phone: '+2348000000001' email: ada@adafoods.ng address: 12 ADMIRALTY WAY, LEKKI, LAGOS shares: count: 750000 type: ordinary percent: 75 psc: shares_percent_direct: 75 shares_percent_indirect: 0 votes_percent_direct: 75 votes_percent_indirect: 0 appoints_directors: true significant_influence: true since: '2024-03-18' - name: Emeka Nwosu matched: false role: null roles: [] officer: null amount_charged: '200.00' transaction_id: wtx_5dNKsO4OAquOcnFoTu5OUc created_at: '2026-10-29T01:52:13Z' 'Partial: close name': value: object: business_verification id: bver_1D2e8gg5snOOdTx5yC8xKb number: '7654321' type: RC result: partial checks: number_found: true name: result: close score: 0.94 registered_name: ADA FOODS LIMITED active: true status: ACTIVE officers: null amount_charged: '0.00' transaction_id: null created_at: '2026-10-29T01:52:13Z' No match: value: object: business_verification id: bver_6Fs88DQscd2qdMjFLVzUY0 number: '7654321' type: RC result: no_match checks: number_found: true name: result: no_match score: 0.42 registered_name: ADA FOODS LIMITED active: true status: ACTIVE officers: null amount_charged: '0.00' transaction_id: null created_at: '2026-10-29T01:52:13Z' Not found: value: object: business_verification id: bver_6i5kh3xrqieUKXDKf5ugh6 number: '9999999' type: null result: not_found checks: number_found: false name: null active: null status: null officers: null amount_charged: '0.00' transaction_id: null created_at: '2026-10-29T01:52:14Z' '400': description: The request is invalid; `param` names the field. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' examples: Example: value: error: type: invalid_request_error code: parameter_invalid message: Send each officer's full name, at least two words. param: officers[0] request_id: req_TW6GjTeKZYTtwHtQTc1bSv1q '401': description: The API key is missing, malformed, revoked or expired. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' examples: Example: value: error: type: authentication_error code: api_key_missing message: 'Send your API key as `Authorization: Bearer `.' param: null request_id: req_frd2UlzYqbxvNBzh0KlVjXtT '402': description: >- The wallet can't cover it: `insufficient_balance`, with `details`. Nothing was charged or checked. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1Error' examples: Example: value: error: type: payment_error code: insufficient_balance message: >- Your balance is ₦0.00; this verification costs ₦200.00. Fund your wallet by bank transfer to your funding account, then try again. param: null request_id: req_IvGVqbWRy7awzryQ2PWJ3AkG details: amount_due: '200.00' balance: '0.00' currency: NGN funding_account: account_number: '0000000000' bank_name: TEST BANK account_name: FastCAC - TEST MODE '403': description: >- The key can't do this (for example, a test helper called with a live key). content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' examples: Example: value: error: type: permission_error code: live_mode_unavailable message: >- Live registrations are paused right now. Use a test key (fc_test_…) meanwhile. param: null request_id: req_NgRhpG4Cex8pMaLHrlFLrNbP '404': description: No such object for this key's organization and mode. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' examples: Example: value: error: type: not_found_error code: resource_missing message: 'No such registration: reg_0000000000000000000000.' param: id request_id: req_q0eCI4lKSfk7uWxnMju7SxAE '409': description: >- The object's state doesn't allow this, or the Idempotency-Key was reused. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' '429': description: Too many requests; wait for `Retry-After` seconds. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/Error' '503': description: >- `cac_search_unavailable` or `lookup_unavailable`: CAC didn't answer. Not charged. content: application/json: schema: $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1Error' components: schemas: VerificationIn: properties: number: type: string title: Number description: >- The registration number your applicant gave, with or without its prefix: "8911267" or "RC 8911267". type: anyOf: - type: string enum: - BN - RC - IT - LP - LLP - type: 'null' title: Type description: >- The register. Needed only when the number is in more than one (`type_required`). name: type: string title: Name description: The business name your applicant gave. officers: anyOf: - items: type: string type: array - type: 'null' title: Officers description: >- Optional: up to 10 full names of proprietors, directors, shareholders or other officers to check against CAC's record. Sending any makes the verification charged; without them it's free. type: object required: - number - name title: VerificationIn V1BusinessVerification: properties: object: type: string const: business_verification title: Object default: business_verification id: type: string title: Id description: bver_… number: type: string title: Number type: anyOf: - type: string enum: - BN - RC - IT - LP - LLP - type: 'null' title: Type description: The register the number is in; null when CAC doesn't have it. result: type: string enum: - match - partial - no_match - not_found title: Result description: >- match: the name is exact, the business is active and every officer you sent matched. partial: the name is close, the business isn't active, or an officer didn't match. no_match: the name is a different business's. not_found: CAC has no business with that number. checks: $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1VerificationChecks' amount_charged: type: string title: Amount Charged description: >- What the verification cost, in naira, as a decimal string: "0.00" when it didn't check officers. transaction_id: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Transaction Id description: The wtx_… business_verification_charge; null when it was free. created_at: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Created At type: object required: - id - number - type - result - checks - amount_charged - transaction_id - created_at title: V1BusinessVerification Error: properties: error: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorDetail' required: - error title: V1Error type: object V1Error: properties: error: $ref: '#/components/schemas/ErrorDetail' required: - error title: V1Error type: object V1VerificationChecks: properties: number_found: type: boolean title: Number Found description: CAC has a business with that number. name: anyOf: - $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1NameCheck' - type: 'null' description: Null when the number wasn't found. active: anyOf: - type: boolean - type: 'null' title: Active description: CAC lists it as ACTIVE. Null when the number wasn't found. status: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Status description: 'As CAC lists it: ACTIVE, INACTIVE, STRUCK OFF and so on.' officers: anyOf: - items: $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1OfficerCheck' type: array - type: 'null' title: Officers description: >- One per name you sent; null when you sent none or the number wasn't found. type: object required: - number_found - name - active - status - officers title: V1VerificationChecks ErrorDetail: properties: type: type: string enum: - invalid_request_error - authentication_error - payment_error - permission_error - not_found_error - idempotency_error - rate_limit_error - api_error title: Type code: type: string title: Code description: Stable and machine-readable, e.g. registration_incomplete. message: type: string title: Message description: For a developer to read; may change. param: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Param description: The parameter at fault, as a path like proprietors[0].nin. request_id: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Request Id description: Also in the FastCAC-Request-Id header. Quote it to support. details: anyOf: - additionalProperties: true type: object - type: 'null' title: Details description: >- Only on some errors. A 402 insufficient_balance carries amount_due, balance, currency and funding_account (number, bank, name; null until it's active). type: object required: - type - code - message - param - request_id title: ErrorDetail V1NameCheck: properties: result: type: string enum: - exact - close - no_match title: Result description: >- exact: the same name once case, punctuation and LTD/LIMITED-style spellings are ignored. close: a small difference, such as a typo or a missing word. no_match: a different name. score: type: number title: Score description: Similarity from 0 to 1. registered_name: type: string title: Registered Name description: The name on CAC's register. type: object required: - result - score - registered_name title: V1NameCheck V1OfficerCheck: properties: name: type: string title: Name description: The name you sent. matched: type: boolean title: Matched description: >- True when CAC lists an officer, shareholder or person with significant control by that name (word order and case ignored). role: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Role description: The first of `roles`, when matched. roles: items: type: string type: array title: Roles description: >- Every role the matched person holds, such as ["director", "shareholder", "psc"]. Empty when not matched. officer: anyOf: - $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1CacOfficer' - type: 'null' description: >- The matched person's record from CAC: shares, PSC details, contact and personal details. Null when not matched. type: object required: - name - matched - role - roles - officer title: V1OfficerCheck V1CacOfficer: properties: name: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Name role: type: string title: Role description: The first of `roles`, for a quick read. roles: items: type: string type: array title: Roles description: >- Every role this person holds: proprietor, partner, trustee, director, secretary, shareholder or psc (a person with significant control), in that order. CAC lists one entry per role; here each person is listed once. corporate: type: boolean title: Corporate description: A company rather than a person (such as a corporate shareholder). status: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Status description: As CAC lists it, lower case, such as "active". appointed_on: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Appointed On description: YYYY-MM-DD, when CAC has it. gender: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Gender description: '"male" or "female", when CAC has it.' date_of_birth: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Date Of Birth description: YYYY-MM-DD, when CAC has it. nationality: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Nationality occupation: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Occupation phone: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Phone description: As filed with CAC. email: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Email description: As filed with CAC. address: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Address description: >- Their address as filed, as one line. Null when they asked CAC to hide it. shares: anyOf: - $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1CacShares' - type: 'null' description: Null when they hold no shares. psc: anyOf: - $ref: '#/components/schemas/V1CacPsc' - type: 'null' description: >- How they control the business, when CAC records it. Often null even for a psc. type: object required: - name - role - roles - corporate - status - appointed_on - gender - date_of_birth - nationality - occupation - phone - email - address - shares - psc title: V1CacOfficer V1CacShares: properties: count: type: integer title: Count description: Shares allotted to this person. type: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Type description: As CAC lists it, lower case, such as "ordinary". percent: anyOf: - type: number - type: 'null' title: Percent description: Their share of all the shares CAC lists for the business, 0 to 100. type: object required: - count - type - percent title: V1CacShares V1CacPsc: properties: shares_percent_direct: type: number title: Shares Percent Direct shares_percent_indirect: type: number title: Shares Percent Indirect votes_percent_direct: type: number title: Votes Percent Direct votes_percent_indirect: type: number title: Votes Percent Indirect appoints_directors: type: boolean title: Appoints Directors description: Has the right to appoint or remove most directors. significant_influence: type: boolean title: Significant Influence description: Has or exercises significant influence or control. since: anyOf: - type: string - type: 'null' title: Since description: YYYY-MM-DD, when CAC has it. type: object required: - shares_percent_direct - shares_percent_indirect - votes_percent_direct - votes_percent_indirect - appoints_directors - significant_influence - since title: V1CacPsc securitySchemes: apiKey: type: http scheme: bearer description: 'Your secret API key: fc_test_… in test mode, fc_live_… in live mode.' ```` This documentation is built and hosted on [Mintlify](https://mintlify.com), a developer documentation platform.