New Companies Office requirement for PPS numbers 

The Companies Office will shortly implement Section 35 of the Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021 which contains a requirement for all directors of Irish companies to provide their PPS numbers when filing an Annual Return (Form B1), the appointment or resignation of a director (Form B10) or an application to incorporate a new company (Form A1) in an effort to assist with the identification of directors and the prevention of fraud and identify theft.

The Companies Office is in the process of updating the B1, B10 and A1 forms to enable this new requirement and to ensure that PPS numbers will not be publicly available once the submissions are uploaded to the public record.

Irish directors must ensure that their first name, surname and date of birth provided to the Companies Office are correct. The Companies Office will crosscheck this information against the details held by the Department of Social Protection (DSP). Whilst minor discrepancies in the spelling of an individual’s first name will be accepted, e.g. Chris instead of Christopher, if there is a discrepancy in any of the other personal details, the filing will be rejected. This could lead to delays in meeting the Annual Return filing deadline, the imposition of a late filing fee and possible loss of audit exemption (where applicable) for the next two financial years. It could also lead to difficulties with the operation of bank accounts or in dealing with other third parties if there is a delay in registering the appointment and/or resignations of directors on the public record.

Requirement for directors without a PPS Number

Irish Resident Director – an application must be made for a PPS number which can be completed online at www.mywelfare.ie.

Non-Irish Resident Director – an application must be made for an identification number. Although the Companies Office has not yet finalised the process for making such an application, it is envisaged that it will involve the completion of a form which must then be sworn in the presence of a notary in the home country of the overseas director. The form will be uploaded to the Companies Office and an ID number will be issued once the application has been processed. This number should be retained carefully as it is unique to each director and will be required to complete all future Form B10, Form A1 and Form B1 filings for any company to which the director is appointed. We can assist in making these applications once the process has been finalised.

As Crowe are unable to check the information held by DSP due to GDPR regulations, we would recommend that directors take steps now to confirm the details held by DSP to avoid the potential delays outlined above.

For assistance in relation to the above, please contact our team below.