Re: can I use a name that already exists
I am ready to go with a new business venture and I am now in the process of ordering stationary, business cards etc.
Don't go ahead and order stationary e.g. headed paper etc until you have registered with CRO as you need to put your company/business number on the page.
I have decided on a name and have searched internet to see if it already exists. It does exist but not in my county.
To see if it is registered in Ireland, go to
www.cro.ie and go to the company search facility.
Am I right in thinking I can still use the name if I am not located near the other business?
If your business name is already on the cro website, there is still no problem in using that name as there is no restriction on the amount of sole traders that can trade under the same name. Restrictions on what name you can use only come into play if you are registering a limited company. But as the previous poster mentioned, it might be worthwhile checking the trademark register, just to ensure you are not registering a name that is trademarked (FYI - Companies Office do not check the TM register for you). You can check it out at
www.patentsoffice.ie and just click on the trademark section.
Also if I am a sole trader setting up a business do I have to register the name as a business name
If you are trading under your own name e.g. John Murphy, then you do not need to register with CRO. If you are trading under any name that differs from your personal name e.g. Murphy Construction, then you need to register with CRO. You can do this by filling out an RBN1 form from the following link: [broken link removed]
You also need to register with Revenue by filling out a TR1 form which you can get here [broken link removed]
do I have to charge vat at the start
You can only charge Vat if you are vat registered (which you can register for on the above TR1 form also). Just check whether you HAVE to register for Vat according to how much turnover you think you will have. You can read the Vat info leaflet here - [broken link removed]