Understand Irish company records
Plain-English help with the Irish company register: how to find the right company, what its status and type mean, and what it has to file. Every guide is checked against official CRO guidance and uses figures from the register itself.
Finding and identifying a company
Search the register, find a CRO number and make sure you have the right entity.
How to find an Irish company's CRO number
Every Irish company has a unique registration number issued by the Companies Registration Office. Here is where to find it, and how to be sure it belongs to the business you are dealing with.
Irish company number format explained
Irish company numbers are plain digits, usually six of them, issued roughly in sequence for more than a century. The number alone tells you a surprising amount.
The Irish company register and CRO explained
The Companies Registration Office (CRO) keeps Ireland’s register of companies. Here is what it records, how to search it, and which source to use for which job.
Status, filings and compliance
What a company status means, and the annual returns that keep a company on the register.
How to check if an Irish company is dissolved
Find the exact company, then read its status. This guide explains every status you are likely to see, how a company ends up struck off, and what dissolution means for anyone dealing with it.
Irish company annual returns explained
Every Irish company must file an annual return with the CRO each year, trading or not. Here is when it is due, what goes in it, and what happens when it is late.
Reading a company record
Company types, registered offices and industry codes, field by field.
LTD vs DAC vs CLG in Ireland
The suffix after an Irish company name tells you its legal form. Here is what LTD, DAC, CLG, PLC, ULC and the older labels mean, and how common each one is.
Irish company registered office addresses
Every Irish company must have a registered office in the State. It is where legal notices go, which is not always where the business actually operates.
NACE codes for Irish companies
A NACE code is the EU’s standard label for a company’s main activity. Here is how to read one, how reliable it is on the Irish register, and how to use it to find companies in a sector.