🇮🇪 Business register in Ireland

General Overview

Ireland operates a transparent and digitally progressive business registry system, centered around the Companies Registration Office (CRO) and supplemented by the Central Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO) and other entities like the Revenue Commissioners and Courts Service. Together, these institutions provide detailed legal, financial, and ownership information for over 430,000 registered entities.

The Irish registry environment is defined by openness, with most company filings—including accounts and director information—publicly accessible online. Despite this transparency, access to Ultimate Beneficial Ownership (UBO) data is restricted and subject to specific criteria. For KYB and AML professionals, Ireland offers rich but regulated access to business intelligence.

Official Registers

The cornerstone of Irish company data is the Companies Registration Office (CRO), known locally as An Oifig um Chlárú Cuideachtaí. It functions as the national statutory registry and maintains records of incorporation, annual returns, directors, charges, and constitutions. Access is primarily through the CORE portal (core.cro.ie), which offers digital search, ordering, and document delivery. Standard documents like company extracts, annual returns, and financial statements are available from €2.50 to €15, while certified copies cost between €12 and €40.

While basic company lookups are free, users must pay to access document PDFs or physical copies. Most filings are digital and processed quickly, though some, like certificates of incorporation and status letters, may involve manual scanning and take longer to deliver.

Ireland also maintains a Central Register of Beneficial Ownership (RBO), which holds declarations of individuals owning or controlling more than 25% of a company. While some UBO details (like names and dates of birth) are technically available for legitimate interest users, public access is restricted, and manual validation is required.

Tax-related registration, such as VAT status and tax clearance, is managed by the Revenue Commissioners. However, access to this data is limited to the companies themselves or authorized third parties. Lastly, insolvency data is maintained by the Courts Service, which publishes court-led dissolutions, bankruptcy, and examinership cases. These records are publicly searchable online and updated daily.

Registration Requirements

For sole proprietors

Sole traders (Trádálaí Aonair) are not required to register with the CRO. Instead, they must register with Revenue for tax purposes and, where applicable, for VAT and business name usage. As such, they are absent from the CRO and public company registers, and their financial data is not filed or published. This makes it difficult to include sole proprietors in formal KYB workflows.

For associations

Non-profit and community organizations in Ireland typically register as Companies Limited by Guarantee (CLG). These entities have no share capital, and their members’ liability is limited to a nominal guarantee. CLGs must file with the CRO and are subject to the same obligations as other limited companies: incorporation, annual returns, and financial statements.

For companies

Ireland offers multiple corporate forms with varying structures and disclosure obligations:

• Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD) – the most common, with over 200,000 registered entities
• Designated Activity Company (DAC) – defined by an objects clause
• Company Limited by Guarantee (CLG) – mainly for charities and NGOs
• Public Limited Company (PLC) – for companies offering shares to the public
• Limited Partnerships (LP) – must register but lack separate legal personality

All corporate entities must file annual returns (Form B1) and financial statements. These accounts are public and, depending on company size, may be abridged (for small entities) or fully detailed (for large companies).

With Semaphore

Semaphore connects directly to Ireland’s public and commercial data infrastructures to retrieve structured, up-to-date company information. Through its integration with the CRO and optional UBO workflows, Semaphore ensures KYB coverage even across complex ownership chains.

Available Data

Company Profile

• Legal name, CRO number, and registration date
• Registered address and legal form
• Company status and previous names
• Directors and secretaries (names, roles, appointment dates)

Financial Data

• Annual accounts (Cuntais Bhliantúla)
• Filing history with links to PDF documents
• Publicly available audit status and balance sheet

Legal Representatives

• Directors' names, positions, and appointment/resignation info
• Changes of directors recorded in Form B10

Shareholders & Beneficiaries

• Partial shareholder data (via register of members, available on-site)
• UBO data (via RBO, conditional access)