The Companies Registration Office records 1,481 involuntary company strike-offs in the third quarter of 2026, alongside 1,086 voluntary strike-offs. Those figures cover July to September, not September alone, and the two categories should be kept separate. [1]

For an Irish business considering an order or a new customer account, the useful next step is to identify the company and understand its current record. A headline total cannot tell you whether a particular supplier has missed a filing, is closing voluntarily or has already been removed from the register.

Start with the company behind the trading name

Ask for the full registered name and company number, then use the CRO’s CORE service to match the entity. Do not assume that a similar name belongs to the business on your quotation or invoice.

The CRO says CORE provides registration status and a company’s last and next annual return dates, where applicable. It also provides access to certain submissions filed by or concerning a company. [2] Keep the company number, the date of your check and any documents you consulted together, so an old screenshot does not become your only reference.

An annual return date is not the whole filing deadline

The CRO’s Form B1 is a recurring company filing, required whether the company is trading or not. For most companies, the return includes financial statements and the other required documents. The first return is made up six months after incorporation and does not require financial statements. [3]

Each company has an Annual Return Date, or ARD, which can be checked on CORE. The CRO says a return must be filed within 56 days of the date to which it is made up. [4] Passing the ARD alone therefore does not establish that the filing is late.

The CRO also explains that, when financial statements are required, their year-end can affect the applicable deadline: the earlier of ARD plus 56 days or financial year-end plus nine months and 56 days applies. Non-working-day rules can also affect the final date. [3] Use the official guidance and the actual filing record rather than calculating lateness from a single field.

Read the status as well as the history

The CRO’s status list distinguishes Strike Off Listed, Struck Off and Dissolved. [5] A pending listing should not be described as a completed removal, and a dissolved company should not be described as merely having paperwork outstanding.

For failure to deliver an annual return for a year, the CRO says the Registrar may start removal proceedings. Its guidance describes notices followed by Gazette publication; delivering all outstanding returns during the process can prevent that annual-return-based strike-off. [6]

That is narrower than saying any listed company can fix its status by filing one return. The reason for the process and the stage reached matter. After removal, the CRO sets out a separate restoration process with conditions. [7] A promise to file soon is not evidence that restoration has happened.

Use repeated gaps to ask questions, not to make accusations

If the available history appears inconsistent, ask which return is outstanding, when it was submitted and what evidence confirms its present status. Distinguish a filing that has been lodged from an assurance that it will be lodged.

An isolated late return or a pattern of delays does not, by itself, establish why the delay happened. Neither proves insolvency, fraud or a future failure to deliver an order. Equally, a normal registration status cannot establish that a business can meet a particular payment or delivery commitment.

Before a substantial transaction, match the company on the register to the entity on the proposed contract and clarify unresolved status questions. Recheck if time has passed or the business says its record has changed. Where removal, dissolution or an existing debt is involved, the appropriate next step depends on the circumstances and may require professional advice.

This guide explains public register checks; it does not assess an individual company’s creditworthiness or give a legal opinion on a transaction. Sources were checked on 14 October 2026.