You check the CRO record and find that your Irish company is dissolved. Perhaps the accountant changed, annual returns were missed or official post went to an old address. The immediate question is no longer simply how to file a late B1: it is whether and how the existing company can be restored.
This guide helps owners of struck-off Irish companies prepare for that assessment. It distinguishes the ordinary administrative route from court restoration, identifies the evidence to gather and explains why accounts, tax and officer records need separate attention. Official sources were checked on 22 October 2026. Obtain case-specific legal and accounting advice before acting, particularly where deadlines, assets, debts or continuing trade are involved.
First establish whether the company is actually dissolved
Do not confuse a strike-off warning, an impending-strike-off Gazette entry and the final dissolution record. The CRO explains that a company ceases to exist as a legal entity when the notice of its strike-off is published in the CRO Gazette. Establish that date from the official record, not from when an email reached you.
Save the company number, current status, relevant Gazette notice and complete filing history. Keep the original notices and correspondence with their dates. If the company has only received a warning and remains on the register, use our linked strike-off notice checklist instead: the remedial work and urgency are different.
Tell the adviser immediately if the business has continued signing contracts, issuing invoices or accepting orders after dissolution. Do not backdate documents or describe an application in progress as a completed restoration. Give a factual timeline so the legal consequences can be assessed.
Choose the route before preparing a filing order
The following table is a triage tool, not an eligibility decision. The appropriate route depends on the facts and the applicant. A company struck off after filing defaults, a creditor seeking recovery and a company dissolved after liquidation should not all be treated as the same H1 order.
CRO guidance requires the H1 application to arrive no later than the day before the dissolution anniversary. Its separate 15-month period concerns completion of the other conditions, including necessary amendments. It is not an extra three months in which to start the H1 application.
Have both dates independently checked and allow time for incomplete records and corrections. A draft saved online or an instruction sent to a provider is not evidence that the Registrar received a valid application in time.
| Position | Route to assess |
|---|---|
| Warning only; not dissolved | Remedy the actual notice |
| Ordinary H1 route open | Application within 12 months |
| H1 received in time | Conditions within 15 months |
| H1 deadline missed | Court restoration advice |
| Creditor making application | Court route; not H1 |
| Dissolution after liquidation | Separate legal procedure |
Who can apply, and what else must be in order?
Section 737 permits an application by someone who was a member or officer at dissolution. The Registrar must have reasonable cause to believe strike-off disadvantaged the applicant. The current statutory conditions include outstanding returns, director-residence compliance, officer notifications, registered-office and secretary compliance. The relevant strike-off ground may also require Revenue or RBO confirmation.
Do not assume the person who pays an invoice is automatically the eligible applicant or authorised signatory. Establish who held the relevant position, who can supply evidence and which professional will coordinate the case. Where ownership or authority is disputed, explain the dispute before any filing instructions are accepted.
Review the practical gaps separately. Section 50 requires a registered office in the State, while section 129 requires a secretary and prevents a sole director from also holding that office. Ask how any required changes should be made in the restoration process rather than simply inserting today's preferred details into historical returns.
Prepare the missing accounts year by year
The CRO requires outstanding annual returns with the financial statements that must accompany them. Its restoration guidance says statements must relate to individual financial years and must not be amalgamated across years. One combined balance sheet is not a substitute for reconstructing the required sequence.
Give the accountant the last filed return and accounts, subsequent bank and payment-processor records, sales and purchase information, payroll, loans and relevant agreements. Identify missing periods explicitly. A business that had no sales may still have paid fees, owned assets, incurred expenses or owed money; do not equate no turnover with no records to examine.
Ask which accounts, audit work, approvals and attachments are required for each period. Do not assume audit exemption from the company's small size alone. Obtain a schedule distinguishing accounts preparation from B1 preparation, identity validation, signatures, submission and completion evidence. Each task needs an owner and an agreed scope.
Keep Revenue work separate from CRO filings
Revenue's court-restoration guidance requires outstanding tax returns for both pre-dissolution and dissolution periods, together with accounts and computations, before a no-objection letter can issue. It also specifies service of legal documents and undertakings. Ask the solicitor and tax adviser to coordinate those requirements rather than treating a CRO upload as tax clearance.
Prepare a separate tax schedule showing relevant registrations, last filed periods, outstanding information, correspondence and payments needing review. Label uncertain figures and unresolved transactions for the accountant. Do not invent zero returns to make a checklist look complete or share ROS passwords through ordinary email.
If the strike-off arose from Revenue non-compliance, tell the adviser at the beginning. An administrative case may require Revenue confirmation under its own applicable conditions; a court petition has a separate procedural framework. Clearing the company register does not automatically establish that every tax obligation has been met.
Court restoration: the order is not the final handover
Section 738 provides for a court application within 20 years of dissolution where strike-off disadvantaged the applicant and restoration is just and equitable. It identifies eligible applicants, including creditors and people who were members or officers at dissolution. The existence of that window does not make restoration automatic or remove the need for legal advice.
The same section ties the restored company's deemed continuity to the Registrar receiving a certified copy of the order within 28 days after perfection. The CRO also highlights this filing requirement and any outstanding-return conditions in the order. A successful hearing alone is not the end of the process.
Ask the solicitor who obtains the perfected order, checks its conditions, delivers the certified copy and verifies registration. Put the actual dates into a shared action list. Do not rely on an old general webpage or an estimate from the hearing date in place of the governing order and current statutory requirement.
Cases that should not be forced into an ordinary H1 template
A creditor cannot use H1 and does not have to wait for the initial 12 months to expire before seeking court restoration. If your purpose is recovering a debt from a dissolved company, say so. That is a different engagement from an owner arranging routine compliance work.
Owners' management companies have specific restoration provisions and forms, with conditions of their own. Dissolution following liquidation also requires a different legal assessment. Do not apply the ordinary strike-off timetable to those situations merely because the search result says dissolved.
Likewise, identify every stated strike-off ground rather than assuming the latest missing B1 was the only cause. Supply earlier Revenue, CRO or beneficial-ownership correspondence. A restoration plan must address the applicable conditions, not just the easiest filing to purchase.
What about bank accounts, property and new contracts?
The CRO warns that company assets vest in the State on dissolution and that continuing the former business can expose those acting to personal consequences. Do not assume the founder can withdraw the old company's funds, transfer its equipment or sign away its property while restoration is pending.
Make an inventory for the solicitor: bank balances, receivables, property, leases, intellectual property, equipment, secured borrowing and live claims. Flag an urgent asset sale, payment request or contract deadline. Ask who must be contacted and what must not be done while the legal position is reviewed.
Incorporating a fresh company does not restore the old one or automatically transfer its contracts, property or debts. Nor does a new registration make it appropriate to invoice old-company work under the new entity without advice. Keep the identities and accounting records separate while the options are assessed.
Two examples: why finding the problem early matters
Imagine a fictional consultancy whose owner discovers dissolution eight months after it occurred. Two annual returns are outstanding, records are held by an outgoing accountant and the company has moved address. The sensible first step is a dated restoration assessment and records handover, not a single B1 order based only on the latest year.
In that example, the reviewer checks whether H1 remains available, identifies the eligible applicant and agrees how returns, accounts and current compliance will be completed. The owner obtains copies and completion evidence instead of assuming that paying for the work secures the deadline.
Now imagine discovery after thirteen months. Preparing identical documents does not reopen the ordinary H1 window. The owner needs court-route advice and a separate accounting plan. Neither example promises success or a fixed turnaround; the point is to distinguish the time available, evidence needed and person responsible before committing to work.
The information pack to assemble before an enquiry
A concise, secure handover reduces time spent untangling old messages. Start with the company's identity and dates, then separate legal status, CRO filings, accounts, tax and assets. Provide original records where available and identify what is missing rather than quietly substituting estimates.
Agree a lead contact who can obtain answers from the directors, members, former accountant and relevant providers. Keep access credentials separate from the document pack, and use an agreed secure channel for identity evidence or sensitive financial records.
- Exact legal name, company number, CRO status and dissolution date.
- Gazette entries, strike-off grounds, notices and relevant correspondence.
- Evidence of the proposed applicant's position at dissolution.
- Last filed B1, accounts and a list of every outstanding period.
- Current and historical officer, secretary, address and director-residence information.
- Tax filings, accounts, computations and unresolved agency requests.
- Assets, debts, guarantees, claims and any activity after dissolution.
- Any urgent deadline, proposed transaction or court document already received.
After restoration, verify completion and rebuild the calendar
Restoration under section 737 carries a deemed-continuity effect, but it does not simply erase intervening rights and liabilities. Have the solicitor assess transactions during the gap. Do not rely on a hoped-for retrospective effect as permission to continue trading before the case is resolved.
Obtain evidence that restoration has actually been registered and check the current CRO record. Revenue says that, once restored, the company should apply to reactivate the relevant tax heads. Ask the adviser what other operational permissions or provider checks remain before restarting activity.
Create a handover covering the next return, accounts timetable, tax work, official post and company contact details. Assign a person to check completed submissions rather than merely approve drafts. A restoration project should leave a workable compliance routine behind it, not another unmonitored inbox.
Ask about restoration first, then scope filing support
StartCompany.ie's annual-return service covers B1 preparation and filing support as described on the service page. A routine annual-return order does not include company restoration or court proceedings. Contact the team first if the CRO record shows dissolved, so availability, the required specialists and any suitable filing support can be discussed.
Where support can be arranged through the team and authorised partners, confirm who handles accounts, tax and legal work, what evidence will be supplied and the total payable. Do not assume a single filing price covers historic accounts, multiple years, penalties or a solicitor's engagement. An enquiry or purchase does not suspend a deadline or guarantee restoration.
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Official information and next steps
Official sources checked on 22 October 2026. This guide concerns companies struck off the register, not a universal procedure for every dissolution. Eligibility, dates, court conditions and individual liabilities require professional assessment.