In 2016, the Companies Registry set up a digital Business Registration Service (BRS), which is hosted on the E-citizen portal.

Since the BRS system has gone live, all company incorporations have been done online and a company is automatically linked to the E-citizen portal when incorporated. Entities established prior to 2016, under the manual system, now need to be linked to the E-citizen portal.

The requirement to link to the E-citizen portal applies to all companies, including public limited companies, companies limited by guarantee, foreign companies as well as limited liability partnerships and sole proprietorships.

It will no longer be possible to undertake the following at the Companies Registry if a company has not been linked to the portal:

a)      Carry out a company search;

b)      File changes such as changes to shareholding, directorship, registered office and share capital; and

c)      File annual or interim returns.

For a step by step guide on how to carry out a company search click here.