8 requirements for setting up a company in Ireland

Incorporating a company in Ireland can be very exciting, but it can also be an extremely daunting task where mistakes can become costly. This is why many people choose to outsource their company formation to a company formation agency like Register a Company in Ireland (RACII). Register a Company in Ireland can have your company incorporated in 2 -3 working days. To get started with your company formation, we need 8 items of information from you before we can proceed with your Irish company setup.

1. Company Name: Your Irish company name must be unique and distinguishable from any other company registered in Ireland. There are certain guidelines you must follow to choose a name that will be accepted by the Companies Registration Office (CRO).

• Special Permission: Words such as “Insurance”, “Bank”, and “Group” will require special permission beforehand if a company requires any of them in their name.
• Offensive: Any word which is deemed to be offensive will not be accepted.
• Non-Descriptive: Words such as “Solutions”, “Services”, “Holding” and names of places are considered non-descriptive and therefore are discounted as they do not carry any weight. If you would like a free company name check, please do not hesitate to contact us. We can let you know whether or not your company name should be accepted by the CRO.

2. Company Type: The most common type of company in Ireland is a Private Company Limited by Shares (LTD). For more information on the different company types available in Ireland, please click here.

3. Constitution: Since the introduction of the Companies Act 2014, a Private Limited Company (LTD) no longer requires a Memorandum and Articles of Association. Instead, the Constitution has been introduced, which essentially lets a company trade in any legal business they desire. However, when incorporating an LTD company, you will still be required to select a suitable NACE code for your type of business.

4. Registered Office: Every Irish LTD company must have an official company address located in the Republic of Ireland. Company directors who are resident in the Rep. of Ireland may use their home address if required. RACII can provide a registered office service for non-resident directors. This service is ideal for company directors who do not have a physical presence in the country. For more information, please click here.

5. Company Directors: Company directors are those who are appointed by the shareholders of the company to manage the company on their behalf. A Private Limited Company (LTD) is required to have at least one company director. To proceed with the company formation, the following information of the nominated director is required:

• Full Name
• Nationality
• Residential Address
• Date of Birth
• Business Occupation
• The name(s) of any other company where the individual stands as a director

6. Shareholders: The Shareholders are essentially the owners of the company. Each shareholder is designated an amount of shares which reflects their proportion of ownership of the company. A shareholder is required to be at least 18 years of age. To proceed with the company formation, the following information of the shareholder is required:

• Full name
• Usual Residential Address
• The number of shares that are proposed to be held in the shareholder’s name.

7. Company Secretary: Every company in Ireland must appoint a company secretary who is responsible for ensuring the statutory obligations of the company are met. This includes filing the Annual Returns, maintaining the company’s books and ensuring that statutory obligations are met. A company secretary can be one of the company’s directors, a corporate entity or a separate individual altogether. However, if the company has only one director, a separate company secretary must be appointed.

8. Authorised and Issued Share Capital: The Authorised Share Capital of a company is the amount of shares a company can issue if required. We would normally suggest that a company should have an Authorised Share Capital of €100,000 divided into 100,000 shares valued at €1 each. The Issued Share Capital is the number of shares that have been allotted and paid for by the shareholders. We would normally suggest issuing 100 shares at €1 each. The 100 shares would then be distributed among the shareholders to reflect ownership. For example, 50/50, 70/30, etc.