You've decided to open a company in Ireland, and you're running things from the UK. Most guides explain why this makes sense for EU market access, but skip the mechanics: what the Companies Registration Office (CRO) actually asks for, who can be a director, where your registered office has to sit, and how long each step takes. Here's the process in order, written for someone doing this remotely.
In short
Step 1: Choose the vehicle
For most UK owners, the default choice is a private company limited by shares, an LTD, incorporated under the Companies Act 2014. An LTD uses a one-document constitution instead of the old memorandum and articles, has no objects clause restricting its activities, and can be run with just one director. The shape will feel familiar if you've run a UK Ltd; the residency rules are where it differs.
Step 2: Decide on your name and who's involved
Check your proposed name is available before you build a brand around it. The CRO can refuse a name that's identical or similar, including phonetically similar, to one already on the register.
Then sort out directors. At least one director must be resident in an EEA state (the EU plus Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway). The UK left the EEA resident area on 31 December 2020, so a UK-resident director does not satisfy this rule on their own. Without an EEA-resident director, the company must instead hold a Section 137 bond worth €25,000, valid for a minimum of two years. A Section 140 certificate, confirming a real and continuous economic link to Ireland, is available later once you're trading with a track record; it doesn't help you at incorporation, so for a brand-new company the bond is the practical route.
If you go with a single director, you also need a separate person registered as company secretary. The sole director can't hold both roles.
Step 3: Sort identity numbers and your registered office
Every director needs a PPS number on CRO filings. If a director doesn't have one, which is normal for someone who has never lived or worked in Ireland, they file Form VIF and are issued an Identified Person Number (IPN) instead. Sort this before you file the A1, not after.
You also need a registered office in Ireland, and it must be a physical address, not a PO box and not your UK trading address. Many UK owners use their accountant's or company secretarial provider's address instead.
Step 4: File the A1 online
Incorporation happens through CORE, the CRO's online filing system. The A1 form costs €50 to file electronically; paper filing isn't available any more. How fast your Certificate of Incorporation arrives depends on the scheme: the Fé Phráinn scheme targets 5 working days, while the ordinary online scheme runs to 10 working days. Once the certificate issues, the company legally exists and you move on to the Revenue side.
Step 5: What happens after incorporation
Once you have your certificate, register for Corporation Tax with Revenue using Form TR2 through ROS (an accountant can do this as your agent). When you actually start trading, section 882 requires a Statement of Particulars within 30 days of that date, so track incorporation and trading dates separately if they don't line up.
VAT isn't automatic. Revenue runs a two-tier system, so you choose between a Domestic-only or an Intra-EU registration when you apply. If you're trading goods into or out of the EU, you'll also need an EORI number; one issued in Ireland is valid for customs purposes across the whole EU. If a director will take a salary, the company must register as an employer and run PAYE on that income, even with no other staff.
Two dates run on their own clocks from incorporation, not from your trading start date: beneficial ownership registration with the RBO is due within 5 months, and your first annual return (Form B1) is due at exactly 6 months. That first B1 doesn't require financial statements, which surprises a lot of new directors.
What this means in practice
Say you incorporate on 1 September using the Fé Phráinn scheme. Week 1 is groundwork: confirming your name is available, lining up an EEA-resident director or arranging the €25,000 bond, sorting PPS numbers or IPNs for any director who needs one, and confirming a registered office in Ireland. In week 2 you file the A1 through CORE and pay the €50 fee; because you used Fé Phráinn, the certificate should land within about 5 working days, so the company legally exists by roughly the start of week 3.
Weeks 3 to 6 are Revenue and operational setup: registering for Corporation Tax through TR2/ROS, applying for VAT (Domestic-only or Intra-EU), getting an EORI if you're moving goods, and registering as an employer if a director draws a salary. Two dates go into your diary regardless of how the rest unfolds: your RBO filing is due by 1 February (5 months on), and your first B1 is due 1 March (exactly 6 months on), with no financial statements required for that one.
Common mistakes
Next steps
If you're ready to move from planning to filing, we handle Irish company formation for UK-based owners regularly: the A1, director and secretary paperwork, Revenue registration, VAT, and the RBO filing people forget about. Get in touch and we'll walk you through what applies to your setup.