If you are in the UK and need to check a company registered in the Republic of Ireland, search Ireland’s Companies Registration Office (CRO), not Companies House. The Irish register can be searched online from the UK by company name or registration number. Start with the legal entity, then check its current record and filings before you rely on a supplier, customer or payment request.
Direct answer
Search the Irish company name or CRO number on Businesses.ie for a quick public-company lookup, then confirm important details in the CRO’s official CORE search. If the business is incorporated in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland instead, use UK Companies House. Being based in the UK does not change which country’s company register holds the incorporation record.
Which company register should a UK searcher use?
| Entity you need to check | Primary incorporation register | Extra check if relevant |
|---|---|---|
| Company incorporated in the Republic of Ireland | Irish CRO / CORE | Companies House if it also has a registered UK establishment |
| Company incorporated in England, Scotland or Wales | UK Companies House | Irish CRO if it has a registered branch in the Republic |
| Company incorporated in Northern Ireland | UK Companies House | Irish CRO if it has a registered branch south of the border |
| Irish sole trader using a business name | CRO business-name search where registered | Verify the individual trader separately; there may be no company number |
The island of Ireland contains two legal jurisdictions. Northern Ireland is part of the UK and its companies use Companies House; the Republic of Ireland’s incorporated companies use the CRO. A Dublin address, Irish-sounding brand or euro-denominated invoice does not by itself tell you where the contracting company was incorporated. Ask the business for its exact legal name and incorporation number.
Search an Irish company from the UK in five steps
- Obtain the legal company name and CRO number from the invoice, contract, website footer or supplier onboarding form.
- Search Businesses.ie by that number first; use the name if the number is unavailable.
- Open the profile and compare the name, incorporation date, type, status and registered office with your documents.
- Open the same name or number on the CRO’s official CORE search service when a primary-source check is needed.
- Review relevant filings and independently verify the person and payment details before signing or paying.
The CRO says CORE can search companies, limited partnerships and registered business names by entity name or register number. Use the correct record type: a registered business name is not necessarily a separately incorporated company. A stable company number is usually more reliable than a name alone because brands, punctuation and legal suffixes can vary. See our guide to finding an Irish company registration number if a supplier has supplied only a trading name.
What the Irish company result tells you
A company record can help identify the incorporated legal person, its number, registered office, incorporation date, current register status and available public filings. Depending on the records available, you may also examine directors, annual returns, financial statements and changes over time. Check the dates on every record: accounts describe a historical period, while an officer or address change may be newer than the last filing you read.
Do not treat “Normal” status as a credit rating or a promise that the company is trading. It does not establish who controls a website, whether goods will arrive or whether a bank account belongs to the company. A registered office can be an accountant’s or agent’s address rather than a warehouse or customer-service centre. Our guide to checking current trading evidence covers that separate question.
If the Irish company does not appear on Companies House
That can be entirely normal. UK government guidance says an overseas company generally needs a Companies House registration when it opens a UK establishment, such as a branch or other physical place of business. Selling to UK customers remotely does not automatically create a UK establishment. Therefore, failure to find an Irish supplier at Companies House does not prove that the Irish company is unregistered or fraudulent. Search its home-country CRO record first.
If the supplier claims a UK branch, ask for its UK establishment details and check them with Companies House in addition to the Irish CRO result. The branch record supplements the Irish incorporation record; it is not a new UK incorporation of the same company. A separately incorporated UK subsidiary is different again: it has its own Companies House company record and legal personality. Read our branch-versus-subsidiary guide to avoid confusing the entities.
Compare the Irish and UK names on your contract
Cross-border groups often use several legal entities under one brand. A UK sales team may introduce you to an Irish company; the invoice may instead name a UK subsidiary. Match the company number and legal name on the purchase order, terms, invoice, bank-account confirmation and any report you obtain. Do not assume a UK parent guarantees an Irish subsidiary’s obligations, or that an Irish parent is automatically liable for a UK subsidiary’s debts. Ask for written clarification if the counterparty changes between quote and checkout.
Check the trading-name relationship rather than dismissing every name difference as suspicious. An Irish company may trade under another name, but a brand is not a substitute for the legal seller on the contract. Our guide to Irish legal and trading names explains how to document the connection.
Do not confuse CRO, VAT and tax identifiers
A CRO company number identifies an entity on the Irish company register. It is not the same as an Irish VAT number, UK VAT number or tax reference. For a cross-border invoice, validate the VAT number using the appropriate official service rather than trying it in a company-name search. GOV.UK’s UK VAT checker accepts a UK VAT number, not a company name. VAT status also does not prove that the caller or bank account belongs to the registered company.
Likewise, do not infer that a CRO search covers UK regulatory licences, sanctions, product compliance or credit exposure. Those checks depend on the transaction. The company register is the first identity layer, not the complete due-diligence file.
A practical UK buyer or supplier checklist
- Record which legal company will sign, supply, invoice and receive payment.
- Match the Irish CRO number and name; check Companies House separately for a claimed UK company or establishment.
- Review status, filings and dates before extending credit or paying a substantial advance.
- Verify email domains and bank details by contacting the business through an independently sourced channel.
- Confirm VAT, import, delivery and governing-law arrangements separately with appropriate professional advice where material.
- Keep screenshots or documents showing which register and record you checked, and when.
If accounts are old or absent, do not invent a financial conclusion. A newly incorporated company may not yet have a filing history, and public accounts can have limited detail. Ask for current information directly if the proposed order or credit limit makes it necessary. A company report can organise public CRO evidence, but it cannot prove current cash balances or payment behaviour.
Sources and editorial review
Reviewed on 22 September 2026 against the CRO’s CORE entity-search guidance, Companies House’s company-information guidance and UK establishment guidance. This is an identity-check workflow, not tax, legal or credit advice.