Before you approve an Irish supplier, match the trading name to its legal company, confirm the CRO number and status, review directors and recent filings, validate any VAT number, and independently confirm payment instructions. For a material contract or credit exposure, also review filed accounts, registered charges, insurance, references and tax clearance where relevant.
Fastest safe starting point: search the supplier by legal name or CRO number, open the company profile, and compare it with the quotation, contract and bank-account details you received. A €9.99 Irish company report can consolidate the available registry information for review.
Irish supplier due-diligence checklist
| Check | What to verify | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Legal identity | Name, CRO number, company type and registered office | Confirms who will actually sign the contract and issue invoices |
| Company status | Current CRO status and incorporation date | Flags dissolved, struck-off or insolvency-related records |
| Directors | Current officers and recent changes | Helps confirm who controls and represents the company |
| Filing history | Latest annual return and gaps in submissions | Shows whether the public record is reasonably current |
| Financial capacity | Available accounts, net assets, liquidity and registered charges | Supports decisions about deposits, limits and payment terms |
| Tax and VAT | VAT validation and tax clearance where the contract requires it | Checks different official registrations that a CRO search cannot prove |
| Payment controls | Bank details confirmed through a trusted second channel | Reduces invoice-redirection and impersonation risk |
1. Identify the exact legal supplier
A brand, website name or business name is not always the legal entity entering the contract. Ask the supplier for its full legal name, CRO number, registered address and invoicing address. Search the name and number independently using Businesses.ie company search or the official CRO CORE service.
The quotation, purchase order, contract and invoice should identify the same entity. If a group company, sole trader or newly formed subsidiary will invoice you instead, establish that before work starts. Do not rely on a logo, email domain or VAT number as a substitute for the contracting company's identity.
2. Check status, age and filing recency
Review the company's current status and incorporation date. A "Normal" status is useful registry information, but it does not prove that the business is trading, profitable or able to complete your contract. Read our explanation of Irish company statuses before treating any label as a risk conclusion.
The CRO states that companies must deliver an annual return at least once each year. The first return is normally six months after incorporation and does not include financial statements. A young company may therefore be properly registered while having little public financial history.
3. Review directors and recent changes
Confirm current directors and the company secretary, then look for recent wholesale changes. A director change is not automatically negative, but it may justify asking who is authorised to sign, who owns the commercial relationship and whether guarantees or references still apply.
Use the Irish company-director checker to review the company, and compare the result with the person contacting you. An employee or sales agent does not need to be a director, so confirm authority rather than assuming a mismatch proves fraud.
4. Assess financial capacity before granting credit
If the supplier will receive a large deposit, hold customer property or depend on a long delivery period, review its latest available financial information. Focus on the reporting period, cash and current assets, short-term liabilities, net assets, retained earnings and whether the auditor included a qualification or material-uncertainty wording.
Filed accounts are historical and smaller companies may file abridged information. They should be combined with current trade references, insurance certificates, milestone payments and direct questions about capacity. Our guide to checking an Irish company's financial health explains the main signals and limitations.
5. Look for registered charges without over-interpreting them
The CRO keeps details of mortgages and charges registered against companies. A charge can show that a lender has security over company assets or undertakings. It is not, by itself, proof of financial distress: ordinary bank lending and asset finance can create registered charges. Review who holds the charge, when it was registered and whether a satisfaction filing appears.
6. Validate VAT and tax-clearance evidence separately
A CRO number, VAT number and Revenue tax reference serve different purposes. Validate an Irish VAT number using the appropriate official service and match the returned identity to the supplier. Our Irish VAT-number verification guide explains VIES, Revenue and common invalid-result scenarios.
Revenue describes a Tax Clearance Certificate as confirmation that a person's tax affairs are in order. It is required for certain licences, grants and public-sector contracts, but it is not automatically required for every private purchase. A supplier can provide its Tax Reference Number and Tax Clearance Access Number so a third party can verify current clearance through ROS.
7. Understand the limits of beneficial-ownership searches
The Register of Beneficial Ownership is not a fully open public register. Current RBO guidance says public access is limited to the entity profile and the number of beneficial owners filed; restricted owner details are available to qualifying designated persons. Do not promise your procurement team that an ordinary public company search will identify every ultimate owner.
8. Confirm bank details outside the email thread
Company registration does not authenticate an invoice or bank account. When bank details are new or changed, contact a known person using a phone number obtained independently—not the number in the change request. Record who confirmed the details and when. For large deposits, consider a small verification payment, staged payments, escrow or an appropriate guarantee.
Choose controls based on the exposure
- Low-value spot purchase: legal identity, status, VAT where relevant and payment-detail confirmation.
- Recurring supplier: add director, filing, insurance, reference and annual re-checks.
- Deposit or trade credit: add financial statements, charges, credit limits and staged payment controls.
- Critical or regulated supplier: add sanctions, data protection, security, continuity, beneficial-ownership and professional advice appropriate to the sector.
Start with a company report
A registry review will not replace legal, tax, technical or financial diligence, but it is an efficient first filter. Search the supplier for free, then order an Irish company report for €9.99 when you need the available identity, officer, filing and financial information brought together for a purchasing decision.