You cannot prove that an Irish company is actively trading from its CRO status alone. The public register can confirm that a company exists and show formal events such as filings, officers, charges and dissolution. Actual trading—taking orders, employing staff, paying suppliers or accepting new work—needs current commercial evidence as well.
The practical answer
First verify the legal company and its live CRO status. Then review recent filings and ask for evidence that matches the decision you are making: a current contact, invoice, reference, insurance, VAT validation or written confirmation. Do not confuse registration with active trading.
Search the legal company, not just the trading name
Start with the CRO registration number wherever possible. A website, invoice or sign may display a business name that is different from the company’s legal name. A business-name registration also does not create a separate legal person. Before you pay, sign or supply goods, match the name on the contract or invoice to the CRO number and company record.
What the CRO record can tell you
The Companies Registration Office is the central repository of statutory information on Irish companies. Its record is valuable for deciding whether a company is still legally in existence and whether important register events have occurred.
| Public record check | What it can indicate | What it cannot prove |
|---|---|---|
| Current company status | Whether the CRO records Normal, Liquidation, Examinership, Strike-Off Listed, Struck Off or another status | That the company has customers, staff, cash or current contracts |
| Incorporation and CRO number | That the legal entity was incorporated | That it has ever traded or is trading now |
| Recent B1 annual returns | That annual-return information has been delivered for stated dates | That the company is currently compliant with every obligation or actively trading |
| Accounts | Historical financial statements for a defined period | Today’s bank balance, payment position or current sales |
| B10 and B2 filings | Changes to officers or registered office | The company’s actual trading premises or management quality |
| Charges and satisfactions | Registered security events | A live debt balance or current lending position |
What “Normal” CRO status means—and does not mean
“Normal” is a register status. It distinguishes the company from statuses such as liquidation, examinership, Strike-Off Listed, Struck Off and Dissolved. That is an important starting point: a dissolved company cannot trade as that company, while a company in a formal insolvency process needs additional care.
But Normal does not certify that the company is operational, solvent, profitable, insured, VAT-registered or accepting new work. A dormant company may remain incorporated with Normal status. A company can also have an orderly public filing record while experiencing a current trading problem that has not yet resulted in a public filing.
Read our fuller guide to what Normal status means on the Irish register before relying on it in a credit or supplier decision.
A reliable way to check current activity
Use more than one independent signal. The appropriate checks depend on how much money, time or risk is involved.
- Match the legal entity. Confirm legal name, CRO number and the contracting party.
- Check the live status. Search CRO CORE and review the most recent company-status date where shown.
- Read the recent filing timeline. Look for annual returns, accounts, officer changes, address changes, charges and any strike-off or insolvency notices.
- Verify a current contact independently. Call or email using contact details sourced independently, not only those in a suspicious invoice.
- Request current commercial evidence. For significant work, ask for a current reference, insurance certificate, tax-clearance evidence where appropriate, or a written confirmation from an authorised person.
- Control payment risk. Use staged payments, verified bank-detail changes, delivery milestones or credit limits that reflect the exposure.
How recent filings help
Recent filings do not prove trading, but they can help distinguish an entity with a maintained record from one whose public information is clearly stale. Check the company’s annual return date (ARD), the filing date and the financial period covered separately.
A B1 annual return is required even if a company is not trading. The CRO explains that the first return is due six months after incorporation and does not include financial statements; later returns generally carry financial statements where required. A company’s latest accounts are therefore a historical snapshot, not evidence of activity today.
Use our guide to checking an Irish company’s CRO filing history to read the sequence accurately, and check whether the latest accounts were filed when financial statements matter.
Signals that require extra care
None of these proves that a company has stopped trading, but each is a reason to investigate before extending credit or paying in advance:
- Strike-Off Listed, Struck Off, Dissolved, Liquidation, Receivership or Examinership status;
- an annual-return sequence that is missing, substantially late or inconsistent with the company’s age;
- very old public accounts for the level of exposure involved;
- frequent recent officer, address or bank-detail changes;
- a request to pay a different legal entity or newly changed bank account;
- an inability to provide basic current commercial confirmation;
- negative net assets, going-concern disclosures or other historical warnings in the latest accounts.
A company can have Normal status and still warrant enhanced checks. Conversely, a public filing delay alone does not prove that the company has ceased trading.
What different statuses mean for trading
Strike-Off Listed
The company has been listed in a strike-off process. It is not necessarily dissolved yet, but the status is urgent. Check the notices and filing history rather than assuming it can safely enter a new contract. See what Strike-Off Listed means.
Struck Off or Dissolved
The CRO states that a company ceases to exist as a legal entity from the date its strike-off and dissolution is published in the CRO Gazette. Do not contract with it as if it were a live company. If business appears to continue, obtain legal advice and establish who is actually contracting.
Liquidation, receivership or examinership
These processes have different legal effects. A company may in some circumstances continue operating during examinership or while a receiver is appointed over assets, but that does not make it an ordinary supplier-credit decision. Confirm the relevant filings and seek advice for material exposure.
Can VAT validation confirm that a company is trading?
VAT validation can be useful where a business gives you a VAT number and VAT treatment matters. It is not a full company-status, tax-clearance, solvency or activity check. A missing or invalid VAT result can have many explanations, including the nature of the business or the way the number was supplied. It should be one check in a broader verification process.
Follow our guide to checking an Irish VAT number through VIES, then match the result to the legal company—not just the brand name.
Before paying an invoice
If the question is prompted by an invoice or supplier request, focus on fraud controls as well as company status. Independently verify the legal entity, phone number and bank details. Be especially cautious when a supplier requests a last-minute account change or asks you to pay a different company.
For a larger payment, search the company, review its public filing and financial record, confirm the commercial relationship, and document your checks. Our Irish supplier due-diligence checklist provides a fuller sequence.
Need a company check before you commit?
Search the public record free, then order a Businesses.ie company report to consolidate available status, officers, filings and financial information. Use CRO CORE for the official live record and source documents.
Official sources and review note
This guide was reviewed on 4 August 2026 against the CRO’s public-register overview, company-status list, annual-return filing guidance, involuntary strike-off guidance and registration guidance. It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice.