Ireland – Personal Public Service (PPS)
The Companies (Corporate Enforcement Authority) Act 2021 contains a provision requiring the director’s shareholder’s of Irish companies to provide their Personal Public Service (PPS) number on certain documents submitted to the Companies Registration Office to allow for verification of the officer’s identity.
Application
All named director’s, beneficial owners of Irish companies will be required to provide their PPS number to the CRO when filing the following forms:
- Form A1 – Incorporation application.
- Form B1 – Annual return.
- Form B10 – Change of company officers or their particulars; and
- Form B69 – Notice of cessation of company officer where a company has failed to file the notice.
PPS number verification
The CRO will verify the officers first name, surname, date of birth and PPS number submitted electronically with the data held by the Department of Social Protection.
PPS retention
When the PPS number filed with the CRO has been validated, it will be retained securely in an irreversible hashed/encrypted format and stored securely, and they will never be shared with any third party.
Directors with no PPS number
If a director, beneficial owner does not have an Irish PPS number, they must apply for a Identified Personal Number (IPN) by completing and filing the appropriate form with the CRO, this forms part of our service to you.
The application form must state the officers name, date of birth, nationality, and address, and it must be sworn in the presence of a notary in the persons home country.
If a director, shareholder does not have a PPS number but has previously been issued a Register of Beneficial Ownership number for filings made with the Central Registrar of Beneficial Owners, then that person can use their RBO number as their IPN for CRO filings.
Non-compliance
If any person fails to comply with this new requirement, they shall be guilty of a category four offence resulting in a fine of €5,000.
It will also mean a company cannot complete their filings and could suffer late filing penalties and possible loss of audit exemption.