A customer has mentioned a rescue plan, a supplier has changed its payment terms, or a process adviser has contacted your accounts team. How do you check whether the Irish company is actually in SCARP—and what should you do with the result? Start with the legal company and its CRO number, then build a dated sequence of official filings and verified communications. One status label or an old appointment notice is not enough.
Direct answer
Search the exact company number in CRO CORE and inspect its filing history for SCARP documents, starting with the process-adviser appointment. Read later filings and confirm the current position with the adviser through independently verified contact details. No result in a third-party dataset is not proof that no rescue process exists.
What is SCARP in Ireland?
SCARP means Small Company Administrative Rescue Process. The Department of Enterprise describes it as a rescue route for viable small and micro companies experiencing financial difficulties, with limited court involvement where the process proceeds by agreement. Its purpose is restructuring, not automatically closing the business. A process adviser assesses survival prospects and works on a rescue plan with creditors.
For someone checking a counterparty, the useful question is not simply “Is this company bad?” It is “What process is underway, what evidence is current, and how does it affect this particular order or unpaid invoice?” This guide is a research workflow, not an eligibility assessment or advice on voting, enforcement or recovery rights. Take those questions to an Irish insolvency professional.
1. Match the legal company before searching for proceedings
Ask for the full legal name and CRO number shown on the contract and invoice. Use the Irish company search to locate the matching profile, then compare the registered office and company details. A brand may be operated by several companies; a rescue affecting one group member does not automatically cover every company using the same logo. Keep a separate record for each entity you trade with.
If a letter names a different entity from your customer account, resolve that discrepancy before submitting a claim or agreeing new terms. Our guide to legal names versus trading names explains why a familiar shop name can lead to the wrong register entry. The number, rather than a loose name match, should anchor your research notes.
2. Look for SCARP forms in the CRO filing history
Open the company on CRO CORE and inspect the documents in date order. The CRO publishes the following SCARP form descriptions. Treat them as signposts to documents, not as a complete explanation of the company's position.
| Form | What the CRO lists | What to establish next |
|---|---|---|
| SCARP1 | Appointment of a process adviser | Who was appointed, for which company, and when? |
| SCARP2 | Resignation of a process adviser | Is there a replacement or another relevant development? |
| SCARP3 | Filling a vacancy in the process-adviser role | Who is the correct current contact? |
| SCARP4 | Notification of approval of a rescue plan | What does the plan say, and what subsequent events affect it? |
| SCARP5 | Court order | What does the actual order provide? |
Save the document reference, delivery date and any event date stated in the document. These may differ. Do not infer the content of a court order from its title, or assume a resignation means the company has been successfully rescued. For navigating older records, see our CRO filing-history guide.
3. Reconcile the latest filing with current communications
A public filing is a record of an event, not a live conversation with the practitioner. Verify the adviser's identity and contact details using an independent source, such as the firm's established website and telephone number. Avoid relying solely on a payment link or mobile number in a newly received email. Explain which company number and document you are asking about, and request confirmation of the present stage.
Keep a dated note of the response and any supporting document. If the adviser cannot disclose particular information, record that limitation instead of inventing an answer. A research file should distinguish official filings, verified practitioner statements, supplier assertions and unresolved questions. That distinction is more useful than a single unexplained red or green badge.
Why a Normal status or missing filing is not a clearance
A company profile can be a useful starting point without being a complete insolvency search. There may be reporting or update delays, and the Businesses.ie dataset may not contain every document. “No SCARP filing found in the records checked” describes your search; “the company is definitely not in SCARP” makes a much stronger claim that the search may not support. Record the source, search date and scope precisely.
Similarly, Normal company status is not a promise of solvency or delivery. If someone has provided credible rescue-process correspondence, investigate it even when a summary page appears unchanged. For a material transaction, resolve conflicting evidence before increasing your exposure.
If you are already owed money
The Department's creditor guidance emphasises engagement with the process adviser and retaining copies of information supplied. Assemble the contract, invoices, delivery evidence, credit notes, payments and disputed amounts into a reconciled account. Identify the debtor by its CRO number and make clear which amount you claim and how you calculated it. Do not simply send a statement containing unrelated group accounts.
Ask the adviser for the applicable instructions and deadlines, then obtain professional advice promptly if voting, objections, security or disputed claims matter. This article deliberately does not substitute a generic deadline for the notice in your actual case. A company report does not lodge a claim, preserve rights or decide how a rescue plan treats you.
If you are considering a new order or deposit
Separate old debt from proposed new trading. Ask who is authorising the new order, which legal entity signs, what is being delivered, and how and when payment will occur. Obtain written answers rather than assuming that every new invoice has special protection. Whether an arrangement is enforceable or protected is a legal question, not something a public status label can establish.
Consider the practical cost of a failed delivery: replacement lead time, dependence on specialist stock and the size of an advance payment. You may be able to negotiate smaller orders or independently verified milestones, but contractual protections need proper drafting. A rescue process is not proof of fraud; it is a reason to seek better current evidence and deliberately set your exposure.
A worked example: historical appointment versus current position
Suppose a fictional supplier's record shows a SCARP1 appointment several months ago and a later SCARP4 notification. Your team has an old unpaid invoice and is considering a new purchase. It would be wrong to conclude either “still in rescue” or “fully recovered” from the first document alone. Read the sequence, obtain the relevant plan information and confirm what the adviser can establish now.
Keep two decision notes: one for the treatment of the existing debt and another for the proposed purchase. The evidence required may differ. An approved plan does not tell you whether today's stock is available or whether a newly emailed bank account is genuine. Recheck the payment instructions separately before transferring funds.
SCARP is not the same as liquidation or examinership
Do not combine different procedures under an undefined “insolvent” tag. SCARP is a rescue process; liquidation concerns winding up, while examinership is a different rescue route with court involvement. A receiver's appointment can relate to particular secured assets. Read our guide to liquidation, receivership and examinership checks when the filing refers to one of those procedures instead. The underlying appointment and subsequent documents determine which questions to ask.
Sources and editorial review
Reviewed by the Businesses.ie Editorial Team on 2 October 2026. Sources: the CRO forms register, the Department's SCARP overview and company and creditor guidance. The example and research checklist are editorial explanations, not findings about a real company. This is general information, not legal or insolvency advice. Read our editorial policy.