Companies Registration Office (Ireland)


The Companies Registration Office registers and incorporates companies in Ireland as well as filing their annual returns.
The CRO has a number of core functions:
It also registers the names of businesses which are non-limited trading entities such as sole traders and partnerships.
It also has the Office of the Registry of Friendly Societies which registers Industrial & Provident Societies, Friendly Societies and trade unions.
In 2019, the Register of Beneficial Ownership was introduced into Ireland. This was implemented on the back of the EU’s Fourth Anti-Money Laundering Directive which essentially requires all member states to hold adequate, accurate and current information of all beneficial owners. A beneficial owner is someone who owns more than 25% of a company.