First Registrars and Investor Services: A Shareholder's Guide
Who First Registrars and Investor Services is, how it came out of FirstBank, how to tell whether it keeps the register for your shares, and what to prepare before contacting it.
First Registrars and Investor Services Limited is an independent Nigerian share registrar, registered and regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria. It began life as the registrars unit of First Bank of Nigeria, but has not been part of the FirstBank group since 2012. It keeps the shareholder registers of companies including Cadbury Nigeria, Fidelity Bank and Oando, and its official website is firstregistrarsnigeria.com.
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Who First Registrars Is
According to the firm's own history, it operated for more than 30 years as a registrars unit inside First Bank of Nigeria. In May 1999 that unit was incorporated as First Registrars Nigeria Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of the bank. In December 2012 a court-ordered meeting resolved that FirstBank should divest its entire holding, in line with Central Bank of Nigeria directives, and the company continued under a new board. In 2015 it adopted its present name, First Registrars and Investor Services Limited.
Alongside share registration and dividend payments, the firm lists company secretarial services, probate administration and electronic voting among its services, together with an online shareholder account service, SMS notifications and e-dividend processing.
First Registrars Is Not FirstBank's Registrar
This is the most common confusion. The name suggests a link to FirstBank, and old FirstBank dividend warrants may well carry it. Today, however, First HoldCo Plc, the holding company of FirstBank, names Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited as its registrar in its 2025 annual report. If your question is about FirstBank or First HoldCo shares, start with Meristem.
How to Tell Whether First Registrars Holds Your Shares
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Each listed company appoints its own registrar. As listed on First Registrars' own website in 2026, its clients include Cadbury Nigeria Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Oando Plc, among more than 70 companies it says it serves. For any other company, the reliable sources are the corporate information page of its latest annual report, the proxy form in its AGM notice, and recent dividend advices. Our guide to finding which registrar holds your shares walks through each one.
Registrar appointments change. A client list is a snapshot, so confirm the pairing against the company's most recent annual report before sending documents.
What Shareholders Contact First Registrars About
- Registering or changing an e-dividend mandate for a client company.
- Correcting or updating a name, address, email or phone number on the register.
- Checking which dividends have been paid on a holding and which are outstanding.
- Replacing a lost certificate, or having a paper holding dematerialised into a CSCS account.
- Transmission of a deceased shareholder's holding, once a grant of probate or letters of administration is available.
- Missing bonus shares or rights issue entitlements.
How to Contact First Registrars
Go through the official website, firstregistrarsnigeria.com, for forms, the shareholder account service and current contact channels. The annual report of the company whose shares you hold also gives the registrar's details. Avoid contact details taken from business directories, which are often out of date and are a common route for impersonation.
What to Prepare
- The name exactly as it appears on the holding, plus any former names or spellings.
- The name of each company you are asking about.
- Any registrar account number from old correspondence, and your CHN if you have one.
- A valid government-issued photo ID and your BVN.
- Copies of certificates, dividend warrants or allotment letters.
- Bank details for an e-dividend mandate, in an account in the shareholder's own name.
If your bank details have changed, our guide to updating bank details with a registrar explains how the mandate is validated and why the name on the account must match the register.
Where Find My Shares Fits
First Registrars can only search the registers it keeps. When you know the company and its registrar, contact the registrar directly. When you do not, for instance because the paperwork is incomplete or you are looking for holdings bought decades ago, Find My Shares is a ₦10,000 search across the registrars for holdings in your name. If holdings are found and you want to bring them together, we send the transfer forms the holders require, you complete them and we submit them on your behalf, and moving found shares in costs nothing.
Hold shares with more than one registrar, or not sure which? Search across the registrars for holdings in your name.
Start a Find My Shares Search →Frequently Asked Questions
Is First Registrars part of FirstBank?
No longer. It was a FirstBank subsidiary until December 2012, when the bank resolved to divest its entire holding. It now operates as an independent registrar.
Was First Registrars renamed GTCO Registrars?
No. First Registrars Nigeria Limited became First Registrars and Investor Services Limited in 2015. The registrar formerly owned by GTBank is DataMax Registrars, which was previously GTB Registrars Limited.
Does First Registrars offer probate services?
Its website lists probate administration among its services. That is separate from Shares Saver, which does not handle estates, probate or deceased shareholders' transfers.
Can I sell shares recorded with First Registrars through Shares Saver?
Only after they have been moved into your Shares Saver account in electronic form. Shares on a paper certificate must be dematerialised first.
Important disclaimer. This article is for general information and educational purposes only. It does not constitute financial advice, investment advice, or any recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security. The value of investments can fall as well as rise. You should seek independent regulated financial advice before making any investment decision. Shares Saver does not provide financial advice.
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