You have chosen a company name and a formation package, then someone asks for identification, residential-address evidence or a certified copy. Is that part of the CRO application, a provider's onboarding check, or something needed later by a bank? Confusing those requests can mean unnecessary appointments, duplicated documents and a stalled application.
This guide helps resident and overseas founders prepare for identity and address checks when using an Irish company formation service. It complements the Form A1 document checklist rather than replacing it. Sources were checked on 18 October 2026. The examples are fictional; this is not a universal acceptance policy or personalised legal advice.
Separate the checks before collecting documents
Form A1 records the proposed company and its people. A service provider may also need customer due diligence, often called KYC, before providing a service. Section 33 of the anti-money-laundering legislation covers identifying customers, relevant beneficial owners and people authorised to act for a customer.
Create a request list with four columns: recipient, purpose, evidence requested and acceptance status. A document sent to a bank is not necessarily available to the formation presenter. Likewise, a successful CRO identity-number step does not tell you whether a provider has finished its own review.
| Process | Confirm with |
|---|---|
| Provider onboarding | Receiving service provider |
| PPSN / IPN | CRO filing presenter |
| VIF witnessing | Current form and witness |
| Business account | Chosen account provider |
Know who is receiving the information
Before sending sensitive documents, establish the legal identity of the service provider and any partner performing the relevant work. CRO states that formation agents or third-party presenters are expected to provide evidence of TCSP authorisation or a practising certificate from a prescribed professional accountancy body. Supervision routes differ; do not assume every provider has the same regulator.
StartCompany.ie works with authorised partners to provide its services. Ask who will present your formation and who will receive identity information for each step. That wording is not a claim that StartCompany.ie itself is a CRO-approved Registered Office Agent. A registered-office service, a formation presenter and an identity-check platform can have different roles.
Use contact details from the provider's established website to confirm an unexpected request. A familiar logo in an email is not sufficient evidence of where a passport upload is going.
Request an individual checklist, not a guessed universal list
Ask which people need checks and what is required for each role. The customer, a person placing the instruction, directors, shareholders and ultimate owners need not be the same people. A corporate shareholder can add another layer of records and authority evidence.
For identification, ask whether the recipient accepts a passport, national identity document or another specified route; confirm validity, image quality and any certification conditions. Do not assume that because one provider accepted a driving licence, another must do so. This guide does not impose a single document combination on every applicant.
If a co-founder is completing their own check, give them the official instructions instead of collecting their documents into a casual group chat. Keep a simple completion tracker without storing unnecessary copies in several places.
- Who is being checked, and in what capacity?
- Which identity and residential-address evidence is accepted?
- Are originals, certified copies or a verification service required?
- What are the document-age and language requirements?
- How should each person submit information securely?
Prepare proof of your actual residential address
Ask for the recipient's accepted address documents, age limit and electronic-document policy. A bank statement, utility record or official correspondence might be considered, but acceptance depends on the instructions and the applicant's circumstances. Do not present a three-month rule as a universal CRO requirement for all provider onboarding.
Use the person's real current residential address where that is what is requested. The Irish company's registered office is a different address concept. Buying a professional company address does not turn it into the founder's home or establish personal residence there.
If you recently moved, live with relatives or have no utility account in your name, explain that before paying for certification. Ask what alternative evidence the recipient can assess. Do not edit a statement, borrow another person's document or insert the new company's address into personal records.
Resolve name and document differences honestly
Compare names, dates and addresses across the records requested. Common issues include omitted middle names, different transliterations, married names and an address format that differs across countries. Create a short explanation and ask what supporting evidence is needed rather than silently changing the spelling on a document.
For CRO identity-number work, the details must follow the relevant official matching requirements, including the Department of Social Protection record where a PPSN is used. A passport's presentation and a government database entry may need reconciliation. Refer the mismatch to the presenter instead of repeatedly trying alternative numbers or dates.
Ask whether a translation is required, who may prepare it and whether certification applies to the original, translation or both. Do not buy a translation package merely because the document is foreign; establish the actual receiving requirement first.
Certification, notarisation and apostille are different questions
A scan reproduces a document. A certified-copy request asks for a particular attestation about a copy; a notarial step involves a notary performing the requested act. An apostille concerns the cross-border use of qualifying public documents under the Hague Convention, with designated authorities in the place of origin issuing it. These terms are not interchangeable.
Before booking, send the proposed certifier the recipient's instructions. Confirm whether that person's profession and location are acceptable, whether the original must be inspected, which wording and contact details are required, and whether the recipient needs paper or an electronic file.
Ask which document or signature actually needs authentication and why. A notary's invoice does not establish that the result meets a formation provider's checklist. Similarly, an apostille does not replace the provider's decision about whether the evidence is adequate. Avoid paying for every possible stamp in the hope that one will work.
Keep remote onboarding separate from VIF witnessing
A provider may offer an approved electronic route for its own checks, but do not infer that a video call is sufficient for every statutory document. Confirm the method with the receiving organisation and follow the current form's instructions.
The CRO's VIF update says that from midnight on 30 April 2026 it stopped accepting online-witnessed VIFs. The witness and declarant must be physically in the same room when verification is witnessed and signed, and older form versions received after that point are rejected. Obtain the current form through CORE before arranging an appointment.
Check eligibility for the IPN route as well. CRO says Irish citizens resident in the State, including part-time residents, must obtain a PPSN rather than use that route. Tell the presenter if you may already have a PPSN or IPN. Do not apply for a second identity simply because you are forming another company.
Explain ownership, authority and the intended business
An ID document answers only part of the onboarding question. A provider may need to understand who ultimately owns or controls the customer and who is authorised to give instructions. For a corporate shareholder, prepare a clear ownership chain and ask what registry records or authority documents the recipient needs.
Section 35 requires risk-appropriate information about the purpose and intended nature of the relationship. Explain the planned activity in ordinary terms: what the company will supply, the expected customer markets and why the Irish entity is being formed. Avoid copying a broad industry description that conceals the actual model.
If asked about formation funds or investment, explain the genuine arrangement and request a specific evidence list. Do not assume every founder must submit a complete personal financial history. Equally, a payment card used by an intermediary does not explain the underlying ownership or the authority to act.
Two fictional preparation examples
A first-time founder rents a room and has a current passport but no household bill in their name. Instead of changing a utility PDF, they contact the provider before ordering, describe the living arrangement and ask which alternative address records can be reviewed. They also check whether their existing PPSN is appropriate for the CRO step.
In a second example, an overseas parent company will hold the new LTD's shares. Its employee places the instruction, but is not the ultimate owner. The team prepares an ownership chart, confirms the employee's authority and asks who must complete individual checks. Sending only the employee's passport would leave important questions unanswered.
Neither example guarantees acceptance. The useful lesson is to disclose the situation early and obtain instructions tied to the real structure. Separate 'documents gathered' from 'checks completed' in your launch plan, and leave time for clarification rather than promising a customer an incorporation date.
Share documents securely without oversharing
DPC guidance emphasises minimisation, appropriate security and restricted access. Ask for the agreed upload route, the receiving organisation's privacy information and a contact for questions. Confirm an unfamiliar upload domain through an established channel before using it.
Send only what has been requested. If a statement contains unrelated transactions, ask whether redaction is permitted and what must remain visible; do not remove verification details unilaterally. Never alter identity facts, document dates or security features. A clearer scan can fix readability, but it cannot fix inaccurate evidence.
Do not share bank logins, ROS certificates, account passwords or one-time codes with someone asking for formation identity evidence. Enable protection on the accounts you use to submit documents and keep unnecessary copies out of public links, shared chat threads and open team folders.
Understand retention and requests for updated evidence
Do not assume a provider must delete identity records immediately after incorporation. Section 55 imposes statutory record-retention duties on designated persons, generally at least five years from the applicable end-of-service or transaction trigger, with specific provisions for extended retention and eventual deletion. It is not simply five years from the day you uploaded a passport.
The DPC explains that GDPR does not set one retention period for every type of information and that statutory obligations matter. Ask how the recipient determines its period, who can access the records and what happens when retention is no longer justified.
Customer due diligence can also be revisited when circumstances change, and relationships are subject to risk-appropriate monitoring. If an address, ownership arrangement or key document changes, ask the provider what needs updating. A new request should still have a clear purpose and secure delivery method.
Choose a formation package with the onboarding work understood
Compare StartCompany.ie's current formation packages for the services your structure needs, then confirm any individual identity-number or document work before instructing it. Ask whether certification appointments, translations, courier charges or additional checks are included or arranged separately. Confirm the total payable rather than assuming every external document cost is part of incorporation.
Paying for formation does not bypass onboarding or guarantee CRO acceptance, banking, tax treatment or immigration permission. Where required information has not been provided and the provider cannot complete the applicable checks, Section 33 restricts it from continuing the service while that failure remains. Payment and verification are separate milestones.
Use an initial enquiry to explain your location, proposed ownership and any document gap, without attaching sensitive IDs. Once the correct process is confirmed, complete the requested checks through the agreed channel. Formation applications and company names remain subject to CRO approval.
- Confirm the people, ownership structure and service scope.
- Obtain the current written document and appointment instructions.
- Resolve address, name and language questions before certification.
- Track provider verification separately from PPSN/IPN and VIF steps.
- Agree the total payable and realistic next steps before a launch commitment.
StartCompany.ie service
Irish Company Formation Packages
Official information and next steps
Primary sources checked on 18 October 2026. Follow current CRO forms and the receiving provider's instructions. Evidence acceptance, certification and retention depend on the applicable process and circumstances.
- CRO: director identity matching and mismatch feedback
- Criminal Justice Act 2010, Section 33: identity and beneficial-owner checks
- Criminal Justice Act 2010, Section 35: purpose of the relationship and monitoring
- Criminal Justice Act 2010, Section 55: record retention
- CRO: formation presenters and incidental obligations
- CRO: IPN eligibility and beneficial owners without PPSNs
- CRO: current VIF physical witnessing requirement
- HCCH: Apostille Convention and competent authorities
- Data Protection Commission: principles of data protection
- Data Protection Commission: data security guidance
- Data Protection Commission: retention periods and legal obligations