Free Irish business tool
Irish Company Search
Search the full Companies Registration Office register by company name or CRO number. Confirms registration status, type, and registered address for any active Irish company - straight from the official open data.
Some companies have enriched records drawn from CRO, Central Bank, and Peppol data. Browse companies with published data.
What this shows
The CRO maintains the definitive public register of all companies incorporated in Ireland. This tool searches the active portion of that register, giving you the legal entity name, CRO registration number, company type, registration date, and registered address as filed with the Companies Registration Office.
Common uses: confirming a new supplier is a registered Irish company before paying an invoice, verifying a company's legal name for a contract, checking the CRO number for a Companies House-style credibility check, or finding a company's type when completing a tender application. You can also check VAT status with the VIES VAT Number Checker.
How to check a CRO number
Every company registered in Ireland has a unique CRO number issued by the Companies Registration Office. To find one, search the company name in the box above and open the matching result. The CRO number appears next to the registered legal name, company type, and incorporation date. If you already have the number, type the full digits for an exact match instead of a name.
This is a snapshot of the open register, so it is the fast way to confirm a number and a legal name. For live filings, annual returns, or to order official documents, use the CRO's own portal at core.cro.ie, which holds the authoritative live record. When a company you look up here also supplies Irish public bodies, you will see a link through to its tenders and awards on Tenderwatch.ie.
Source and licence
Data is sourced from the CRO Open Data Portal (opendata.cro.ie / data.gov.ie), published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. This tool searches active companies only; dissolved or struck-off entities are excluded. The index is rebuilt weekly by a GitHub Actions workflow and deployed with the site.
Contains Irish Public Sector Data licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. Source: Companies Registration Office (CRO), opendata.cro.ie.
How to check an Irish company is legitimate
The registration status on a CRO record is the first thing to read. A status of Normal means the company is active and in good standing on the register. Strike-Off Listed means the CRO has begun involuntary strike-off, usually because annual returns are overdue, and the company risks being removed. Dissolved means the company is no longer a legal entity. This tool lists only Normal-status companies, so a match here confirms the entity is currently active under the exact legal name shown, with a registered office in Ireland.
For a fuller check before you pay an invoice or sign a contract, confirm that the legal name and registered address match what the supplier gave you, then cross-check the company's VAT registration with the VIES VAT Number Checker. A registered company with a valid VAT number and a matching legal name is a far stronger signal than an email domain alone.
Reading a CRO record
Each record shows the company type, which tells you how the business is structured. LTD is a private company limited by shares, the default for most Irish SMEs. DAC is a designated activity company, often used where a defined objects clause is needed. CLG is a company limited by guarantee, common for clubs, charities, and non-profits. ULC is an unlimited company, and PLC is a public limited company that can offer shares to the public.
The registration date is the date of incorporation, so it tells you how long the company has existed on the register. The registered address is the official address for legal correspondence and CRO filings; it is not always the same as the trading address, so a serviced-office or accountant's address is normal and not a red flag on its own.
Where to find a company's CRO number
The CRO number is the unique identifier the Companies Registration Office assigns at incorporation, and it stays fixed for the life of the company. Under the Companies Act 2014 an Irish company must show its registered name and number on its business letters, order forms, and website, so the CRO number usually appears on invoices, email footers, letterheads, and the certificate of incorporation. If you cannot find it on a document, search the company name in the box above and the number appears next to the legal name.
For the full definition of the CRO number and how it differs from a Revenue Tax Reference Number, see the Companies Registration Office glossary entry.
Questions
What data does this search?
The search covers the CRO open data snapshot - a daily-updated record of all companies registered with the Companies Registration Office. This tool searches only active (Normal status) companies. Dissolved, struck-off, and in-liquidation companies are not shown.
How current is the data?
The snapshot is updated daily by the CRO and published on data.gov.ie under a CC BY 4.0 licence. This tool reflects the snapshot committed to the site; the ingest script can be re-run to pull a fresh copy.
Can I search by CRO number?
Yes. Type the full 6-digit CRO company number (e.g. 681141) for an exact match. For name searches, prefix matching starts from the first two characters.
How do I find a company registration number (CRO number)?
Search the company name in the box above and open the matching result. The CRO number is shown next to the registered name, along with the company type and incorporation date. If you already have the number, type the full digits for an exact match. The CRO number is the unique identifier the Companies Registration Office assigns to every Irish company, and it stays fixed for the life of the company.
Is this the same as the CORE / cro.ie search?
Not quite. CORE (core.cro.ie) is the CRO's official live portal, where you can order documents and see the most current filings. This tool searches a free open-data snapshot of the register, published under a CC BY 4.0 licence, so it is faster for a quick name or number lookup but reflects the last published snapshot rather than live filings. For legal or filing purposes, always confirm on core.cro.ie.
Does this include all Irish company types?
Yes - the CRO register covers all registered company types: private limited (LTD), designated activity companies (DAC), unlimited companies (ULC), companies limited by guarantee (CLG), public limited companies (PLC), and others. Sole traders and partnerships are not registered with the CRO and are not shown.
Why does my company not appear?
Only active (Normal status) companies are indexed. If a company was recently struck off, dissolved, or placed in liquidation it will not appear here. If a new company was registered in the last 24 hours it may not yet be in the snapshot. Check core.cro.ie directly for the most current status.
Is this free and can I reuse the data?
Yes. The underlying CRO data is published under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence, meaning it can be freely reused with attribution. This tool is free to use with no signup required for search results.
Is there a free Irish company register search?
Yes. This tool is a free search of the CRO open data register, with no account or subscription needed. It covers active (Normal status) Irish companies and returns the legal name, CRO number, company type, registration date, and registered address. For live filings or to order official documents you would use the CRO's own portal at core.cro.ie, but for a quick free lookup of a company name or number the open register is enough.
Results are indicative only and based on the information provided. Data may not reflect current vendor offerings and is subject to change. Always verify details directly with vendors before making purchasing decisions.