Step by Step Guide to starting a business in Ireland

Select the company name for your Ltd (Private Limited Company)

First, select a name for your company.

• Company names in Ireland must be pre-approved for availability and acceptability
• We will carry out your company name check free of charge to see if your required name is available for incorporation
• The Companies Registration Office has an advanced electronic name reservation system. We can reserve your company name for up to 28 days upon payment of a non refundable fee
• Having submitted the name of your limited company to us, we will seek approval of the name from the Companies Registration Office
• The name must be unique and distinctive, you are not allowed to use a name which is identical or deceptively similar to a name that already appears on the register

To carry out a Free Company Namecheck, click here.

We will check on the availability of your proposed name at CRO and advise you of any potential conflicts with existing companies already on the register.

Share Capital

Select the number of shares each shareholder will have.

• The Share Capital requirement is only €100
• Company incorporations are completed with the issue of 100 shares of €1 each, unless, we are instructed otherwise
• Share capital of the company is expressed in € - Euro's
• The nominal share capital is the total number of shares that can be issued by your company, we will incorporate your new company with capital of €100,000 to avoid having to increase the authorised share capital at a later stage

Select Directors

You must decide who will be the directors of the company.

• Directors of a company are the officers who manage the day to day affairs of the Company
• Irish companies require at least two individuals to act in the capacity of company director
• At least one of the directors must be resident in the EU
• Where there is no director of the company whom will be resident in the EU the alternative of a Non Resident Director Bond can be put in place

Company Secretary

You must decide who will be your company secretary

• Every company incorporated in Ireland must have a company secretary who will perform a variety of tasks crucial to the smooth running of your company
• A company secretary has the legal duty of filing all required documents and accounts
• A company secretary can be a natural person or corporate body

We can provide a Company Secretarial Service to ensure that important statutory requirements are fulfilled.

Select Shareholders

You must select who will be the shareholders of the company.

•  Shareholders are the persons who hold the shares in the company
•  Your company only requires one shareholder, although there can be several
•  100% overseas shareholders allowed     

Principle Activities

The companies purpose must be outlined in its memorandum of association and given a corresponding NACE code. We do this for you, we just need to know the principal activity of your company.

Select a Registered Office

A registered office is required for your company, this is the official address of your business where all official documents are served.

• This does not have to be your trading address but it must be a physical address located in Ireland

• P.O. boxes are not permitted

We can provide a Registered Office for your company if required.
Please see additional services we can provide in Ireland on the Company Formation Fees page.

Procedure to Incorporate

We will complete your free namecheck and check the availability of your proposed company name.

You can complete our online order form and make a secure payment online

• We will prepare your memorandum & articles of association with the principal objects clause drafted for the main activity of your company
• We email you the completed pre-registration and legal documents that will require your signatures
• These documents require checking and then signing by the directors and/or shareholders
• As members of the Companies Registration Office electronic filing scheme, we electronically submit your proposed company's documentation, then submit the documents with original signatures at the CRO. Submission of your A1 to the Companies Registration Office electronically under the fe phrainn Registered agency method
• We will then  forward to you your new limited company formation package and all of the documents you require to start trading

Timescale to incorporate

Your new company will be incorporated within 3-5 days.

Features of a Irish Limited Company

• No obligation requiring Irish participation in the management of your company
• Exemption for 3 years from Corporation Tax if your taxable profits are less than €320,000
• Directors can be of any EU nationality
• 100% foreign shareholders allowed
• Equal treatment for domestic and foreign shareholders
• Low Corporation Tax of 12.5%
• Share Capital requirement is only €100