When we are contacted regarding forming a new company for a client living outside Ireland, one of the many questions they ask is what is a PPS number? A Personal Public Service Number or PPS number, also referred to as a PPSN. The number is required by Irish Directors who own more than 15% of the shares of a company. If you were born in Ireland after 1971 a PPSN is issued to you automatically on birth registration. It is also issued to you if you work or claim social welfare in Ireland. If you formed a new company and are moving to Ireland, you can apply in person. If you are not coming to Ireland and you registered a company we can register a PPSN for you remotely. You will not need to apply for this number immediately when you register your company in Ireland.
The PPSN is used to access a number of public services in Ireland. There is a list of public bodies that are allowed to store your PPS number. This list is maintained by the department of social protection.
Due to COVID-19, as of November 2020 the department has temporarily postponed the current PPSN allocation process. Any orders that are received by us will be placed and processed with the Department of social protection once they start processing again.