How Much Does It Cost to Change a Company Name in Ireland?

Company name change costs at a glance

A direct CRO filing price covers the statutory submission. A professional service covers agreed preparation and administration around the change. Compare the work and responsibility included rather than treating the difference as a markup on a name. Both routes remain subject to the Registrar accepting the application.

The table contains published prices, not an estimate of all Irish providers. Design work, website changes and legal advice on a disputed brand can have very different scopes. Ask for actual quotes for those items rather than expecting a single government fee to cover every consequence of the change.

• CRO company filing fees
• Our company-name change service

What does the legal change involve?

The CRO requires Form G1Q, an amended constitution and the filing fee for a company-name change by special resolution. The Registrar's approval is needed. This is not just an edit to the spelling on a website, and the correct name-change form is G1Q rather than treating a generic G1 filing as the complete procedure.

Gather the company's current constitution and registration details before preparation starts. Check that the proposed name is consistent across the approval paperwork and amended document. A founder using several versions of a new brand should decide which exact legal name is being requested before asking the shareholders to approve it.

The administrative work is easier to scope when the provider knows the company type, the existing documents and whether other changes are intended at the same time. A name-only change and a wider constitution revision may not be the same engagement.

• CRO company-name change procedure

Check whether a trading name would fit instead

If the company wants to launch a new customer-facing brand, a business-name registration may be the relevant option rather than replacing the company's legal name. If you want contracts and statutory company records to use a new company name, consider the legal change. Explain the intended outcome before choosing the lower-priced service.

For example, a company might run several product brands while retaining one legal identity. Another business may want its registered name to match the brand used in all communications. Those situations have different practical consequences. The cheaper filing is not necessarily the correct route, and registering a trading name does not itself change the company's name.

Compare our business-name cost guide with this one and list the records you actually want to change. That makes the service discussion more concrete than asking whether a new name can be bought for a particular amount.

• CRO explanation of business name registration

What does professional support include?

StartCompany.ie's published service includes a name check, drafting of the special resolution, CRO filing support and provision of the certificate after approval. Before ordering, confirm the total payable and the precise work agreed for your company. Do not automatically add the separate CRO comparison fee to the published €550 service price.

Ask whether preparation of the amended constitution and handling of routine CRO queries are covered. Identify anything outside the standard job, such as overdue annual returns, a shareholder disagreement, wider constitutional amendments or a name-rights dispute. These issues can require their own work and should not be hidden inside a vague promise of complete compliance.

A useful quote names the documents to be prepared, who approves and signs them, who submits the application and who delivers the final evidence. You should also understand how a rejected name or returned document will be handled before committing to a public launch date.

• Published company-name change support

Name checks are cheaper than correcting a failed launch

A proposed name must be acceptable to the Registrar. CRO guidance warns about names that are identical or too similar, restricted wording and possible conflicts with business names or trade marks. A free search can inform your shortlist, but a result is not a legal clearance opinion or a guarantee of approval.

Do preliminary checks before commissioning signs, uniforms or a complete website redesign. A domain being available tells you about that domain, not whether the legal company name will be accepted or whether another business has rights in the brand. If the new identity is central to your business, consider the level of specialist advice appropriate to the risk.

Keep two or three realistic options and confirm which name the paperwork will use. This is especially useful when several shareholders or a designer are contributing ideas. A single agreed spelling avoids inconsistent documents and unnecessary revision work.

• CRO name-choice guidance

Check annual returns before applying

The CRO says it will not approve a name change where the company is not up to date with annual returns, or where relevant non-filing enforcement remains unresolved. Check the company's status early. A rebranding budget should not assume that a standard name-change service also clears historic filing problems.

If there is outstanding work, ask the responsible adviser for a separate plan and quote. Identify which filings need attention, what information is missing and when the company will be ready to request the change. Keep that work distinct from the design schedule so a marketing deadline does not conceal an unresolved company administration issue.

Even a dormant or recently acquired company deserves this check. Obtain the actual records rather than relying on someone's memory that everything was filed. It is easier to set a sensible timetable after confirming the position than after announcing a new name publicly.

• CRO annual-return prerequisite for name changes

Shareholder approval is part of the work

A name change requires a special resolution. CRO guidance describes the meeting threshold as 75% of votes cast by members entitled to vote, not simply 75% of the number of people listed as shareholders. Written resolutions and meeting procedures have their own rules, so the approval route should suit the company rather than being copied from a generic template.

Tell the preparer about different share classes, who can vote and whether all relevant members agree. Do not assume that a director's preference is the required shareholder approval. If there is disagreement, resolve the governance question before treating the filing service as an answer to it.

Keep the approved resolution with the company's records and ensure the amended constitution reflects the agreed name. Good record keeping supports later bank or supplier requests and makes the change easier to explain to a new accountant or company secretary.

• CRO resolutions and meetings guidance

Changing the name does not create a new company

Section 30 of the Companies Act 2014 states that a name change does not affect the company's rights or obligations. It is a change of the existing entity's name, not a method of erasing debts, replacing ownership or starting a new legal history. Keep the old and new certificates together so counterparties can understand the continuity.

That does not mean every commercial record updates automatically. Ask your bank, insurer, payment provider and important suppliers what evidence and steps they require. Review contracts for notification provisions and take legal advice where the consequences are material. Do not assume that changing the company name changes the contracting party to a different entity.

For customers, a concise explanation of the new name can reduce payment confusion. Use the company's official evidence when updating accounts and agree a coordinated communication plan rather than sending different versions of the change from several departments.

• Companies Act 2014, section 30

Budget for the rebrand outside the filing

The wider project can include stationery, signage, a domain, website copy, email addresses and customer notifications. Some businesses need only a few administrative updates; others have substantial printed stock or multiple locations. Get quotes based on your own inventory instead of relying on a generic rebranding estimate.

Create a list with the item, owner, supplier cost and target date. Include internal systems that might be overlooked, such as invoice templates, purchase orders, marketplace profiles and payment receipts. If a domain changes, plan redirects and email continuity carefully; buying a new domain is not itself a migration plan.

Avoid replacing everything before approval. Prepare the materials where sensible, but coordinate public use with the effective legal change and the evidence each platform requires. Staging the rollout can reduce waste if the application needs a different name or takes longer than you expected.

• Inventory the documents and accounts that show the existing company name.
• Ask each supplier for a defined update or design quote.
• Decide who will notify customers and counterparties.
• Keep existing email and website access available during the transition.
• Verify the new wording on invoices and payment receipts after updates.

When can you start using the new name?

The CRO states that the company may not use the new name until the certificate is issued; the change takes effect on the certificate date. Submission, payment and shareholder approval are not the same milestone as registration. Plan around the issued evidence, not an assumed fixed number of processing days.

If you have an event, launch or customer contract approaching, mention it when discussing the engagement. Preparation can be planned, but no article can guarantee the CRO's completion date for a particular case. Leave time to resolve queries and complete the account updates that follow approval.

• CRO certificate and effective-date guidance

Before you order company-name change support

Provide the existing company name and number, the proposed name, the current constitution and a clear explanation of the intended change. Tell us if annual returns are outstanding or if additional constitutional work is planned. These details help establish whether a routine change is the right service.

Review the total payable, document preparation, approval route and handling of queries before authorising work. Then keep the certificate, amended constitution and resolution together and follow your account-update checklist. A successful change should leave the company records and customer-facing identity consistent, not just replace a heading on one page.