Business Names Registration (Leaflet 14)

A Business Name is a name used to carry on business by any individual, body corporate or partnership (whether of individuals and/or bodies corporate), which has a place of business in the Republic of Ireland, and which name is not the same as their own true name(s).

The Registration of Business Names Act 1963 applies to:

an individual who trades under a name which is not his/her true surname. It makes no difference whether the individual’s first names or initials are added. So the Act would apply to Mr. John Murphy if he traded as “Murphy Builders” but not if he traded as “Murphy” or “John Murphy”
a partnership which does not trade under the true names of all partners who are individuals and/or the full corporate name of all partners which are bodies corporate
a company which trades under a name which is not its full corporate name, for example “Murphy Construction Limited” trading as “Murphy Builders”
a person who, having a place of business in the State, carries on the business of publishing a newspaper

The applicant must have a place of business in the State and carry on business under a business name.

An application for registration must be submitted to the CRO within one month of the date of adoption of the business name.

The forms for registration are:

Applications can be filed electronically on CORE.

You should note that registration of a business name does not:

give protection against duplication of the name
imply that the name will necessarily prove acceptable subsequently as a company name
authorise the use of the name if its use could be prohibited for other reasons. It should not for instance be taken as an indication that no rights (e.g. trade mark rights) exist in the name

Checks you should make before applying to register a Business Name
The CRO does not check proposed business names against names on the registers of companies, business names or trade marks. You are, therefore, advised to investigate the possibility of others having rights in the name you propose to use before incurring expenditure in stationery, etc.

Applicants are advised to check those registers to ensure the proposed business name does not conflict with a company name or trade mark since any person claiming to have a right to that name could take an infringement action or a passing off action to defend his/her interest.

You can check the register of companies and register of business names free of charge on CORE.

You can undertake a search of the trade mark register at:

Tel: 056 772 0111
E-mail: ipinfo@ipoi.gov.ie
Web: www.ipoi.gov.ie

Do you need business permission?
If you are a non-EEA national (the European Economic Area is comprised of the Member States of the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway) who intends to come to Ireland to establish a business, you will require the permission of the Minister for Justice and Equality to do so.

When applying to register a business name, a copy of the Certificate of Registration Card or Green Card/Green Book (front and back), must be filed along with the registration form.

CRO charges to register a business name
The CRO registration fee is currently €40 for paper applications and €20 for electronic applications filed on CORE.

What you receive from the CRO following registration of a business name
The Registrar issues a Certificate of Registration for each business name registered to the email supplied on the application form.

The original certificate of registration must be exhibited in a conspicuous position:

in the case of a firm or individual, at the principal place of business, with an official duplicate certificate so exhibited in every branch office or place where the business is normally carried on
in the case of a body corporate, at its registered office in the State with an official duplicate certificate so exhibited in every branch office or place where the business is normally carried on

The information that must be shown on documents on which the business name
appears
In all business letters, circulars and catalogues on or in which the business name appears, and which are sent by the owner of the business name to any person, the following must be legibly stated in relation to the owner:

in the case of an individual, his/her present name, any former names, and his/her nationality, if not Irish
in the case of a firm, the present name and any former names, and the nationality, if not Irish, of all the partners in the firm, or in the case of a body corporate being a partner, the corporate name
in the case of a body corporate (other than a company registered under the Companies Acts), the full name of the company (note that the only permitted abbreviation is “Ltd” for Limited, “PLC” for “Public Limited Company” etc.), the names and any former names of the directors, and their nationality, if not Irish

All Irish-registered companies are required to mention the name of the company in legible characters in all business letters of the company and in all notices and other official publications of the company, and in all bills of exchange, promissory notes, endorsements, cheques and orders for money or goods purporting to be signed by or on behalf of the company and in all invoices, receipts and letters of credit of the company.

The following additional particulars are required to be displayed by an Irish-registered limited company on its business letters and order forms:

the legal form of the company
place of registration e.g. registered in Dublin, Ireland
registered number i.e. number of Certificate of Incorporation
address of the registered office (where this is already shown on the document, the fact that it is the registered office must be indicated)
if the share capital of a company is mentioned in the business letter and order forms, the reference must be to the paid-up share capital

What to do if changes occur to the particulars you have registered
A change in any of the particulars of a registered business name (e.g. change of business name or business address) should be notified to the Registrar within one month of the date of the change.

The forms for notifying changes are:

What the CRO charges to change the registered particulars
The CRO fee is currently €15. However change of address details can be filed electronically for free
at CORE.

What to do when the business under a business name ceases
When an individual, partnership or body corporate ceases to carry on business under a business name, a Form RBN3 should be filed with the CRO within three months after the business has ceased.

The form should be signed as follows:

A fee does not apply to Form RBN3.

How to obtain a duplicate certificate of registration of a business name
You can now retrieve a free duplicate certificate from www.cro.ie. This certificate is valid solely for public service use, for example for submission to the Revenue Commissioners. Once requested, the duplicate certificate is instantly e-mailed to you.

Alternatively, a certified copy of the certificate can be ordered from the CRO in the following ways:

by post with cheque for the appropriate fee

The cost of a certified copy is €12.

How to avoid delays in registering a document with the CRO
It is essential you submit the correct form and that you accurately complete it. Take the time to read the guidance notes that accompany each form. Erroneously completed forms are returned for correction, resulting in a delay in registration.

Some types of business may not be conducive to being operated from a residential address. A brief note outlining how the home address is appropriate for the business activity must be filed with the RBN signature page/form. If the note is not attached to the RBN form, the application will be returned to the presenter for rectification.

You can register on CORE.

See here for help in using CORE.

Business Names Registration (Leaflet 14)

What is a Business Name?

Registration Requirements

Registration