Company Name CRO Guidelines

These are the official naming guidelines according to the CRO.

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Reserve A Company Name

This service is only available online at https://core.cro.ie. Registration with CORE is free. The name can be reserved for 28 days and the cost of this application is €25.00. See Reserve Company Name page for more information. You can check the suitability of a company name using this facility for free.

The CRO may have to refuse a name, if:

• it is identical or similar to a name already appearing on the register of companies;
• it is offensive;
• it would suggest state sponsorship.

Applicants are, therefore, advised not to incur expenses relating to the proposed name (e.g. preparing signs, headed note-paper, stationery, etc.) in advance of receipt of the certificate of incorporation which will be confirmation that the company is registered.

Please note also that Section 30 of the Companies Act 2014 states that if your chosen name is too similar to the name of another company, and is accepted for registration by the CRO, through inadvertence or otherwise, an objection on grounds of similarity could be made in writing to the Registrar of Companies within six months following the incorporation of your company and you could be directed by the Registrar to change the company name. In considering whether names are too alike, the Registrar will take account of all relevant factors suggesting similarity and leading to confusion between the names of the two companies.

If the Registrar, pursuant to section 30 Companies Act 2014, directs a company to change its name, such change must take place within six weeks of the date of the Registrar’s direction or such longer period as she may allow. A company that fails to comply with the direction will be eligible for prosecution.

Guidelines

The following guidelines are to assist in assessing the acceptability or otherwise of company names:

• Names containing certain words cannot be used unless approved by relevant bodies. For example, the words “bank”, “banker”, “banking”, “banc”, may only be used with the permission of the Central Bank of Ireland. This also applies to names such as “hollybank”, “sweetbank”, “canal bank”, “bancorp”, etc. and the surname “Banks” not withstanding the fact that the company may not intend to carry on banking business.
• Words such as “society”, “co-op” or “co-operative” cannot be used unless prior permission has been sought from and granted by the Registrar of Friendly Societies.
• The words “University”(Ollscoil), “Regional Technical College”(Ceardcholáiste Réigiúnach) and “Institute of Technology” (Institiúid Teicneolaíochta) cannot be used unless permission has been sought from and granted by the Department of Education.
• If a name includes words which imply specific functions e.g. “holding company”, “group” etc., further information may be required by the CRO to support the application.
• In the case of the word “Charity”, further information may be sought by the CRO to support the application.
• The use of the word “standard” is prohibited.
• The word “architect” either alone or in combination with any other words or letters, or name, title or description implying that the person is so registered, cannot be used unless a Notice of Determination has been issued by the Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI). This does not apply to the names “landscape architect”, “naval architect”, “architectural technician”, “architectural technologist”, and “interior design architect” and similar terms.
• Please note that there may be a requirement for some management companies to include Owners’ Management Company in the company name. S.14(3) of the Multi-Unit Developments Act 2011 provides ” The words “owners’ management company” shall be included in the name of every owner’s management company to which this section applies, which words may be abbreviated to “OMC”. S14(4) “This section applies to owners’ management companies of multi unit developments in respect of which no contract for the sale of a residential unit has been entered into prior to the enactment of this Act”. Section 14 was commenced on 24th January 2011.