What does the Irish insolvency register offer?

Ireland does not have a separate company insolvency register. Information on company insolvency is available in records of the Company Registration Office.

The Personal Bankruptcy Register is a manual register kept in the Examiner’s Office of the High Court. It contains details of bankruptcies declared by the High Court of Ireland. The register is a record of all bankruptcies, including those that have been discharged. However a person conducting a search against the register is told only the status of the bankrupt 'discharged' and the date it was discharged. No information is given about the former bankrupt.

The Register of Personal Insolvencies is also a manual register. It is subject to statutory instrument S.I. No. 334 of 2002 – European Communities (Personal Insolvency) Regulations 2002, and contains details of personal insolvencies declared by the courts of the other member states of the European Union (as notified to the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy).

Is access to the Irish insolvency register free of charge?

No. There is a fee payable per search. Details of the fee are available in the Rules & Fees section of the Courts Service website. The fee applies even when the search returns a negative result – that is, where there is no entry matching the search criteria on the registers.

How to search the Irish insolvency register

Searches of the Personal Bankruptcy Register can be conducted only by attending in person at the Examiners Office, 2nd Floor Phoenix House, Phoenix Street North, Smithfield, Dublin 7.

History of the Irish insolvency register

The Personal Bankruptcy Register contains information dating from 1922.