Employment Permits Online (EPOS) launched on Monday 28 April 2025 and replaced the old permits system entirely; the previous portal went offline at 6pm on 17 April 2025 and unsubmitted drafts did not migrate. It also replaced the Trusted Partner Initiative, which is discontinued. There is no separate fast-track register any more: every employer now verifies once at account level, by uploading Revenue documentation and a CRO number that the employment permits team validates before a single application can be submitted.
That makes the account itself the first gate of every hire. An unverified account means no filing, a lapsed verification stalls a renewal, and a draft application left sitting is deleted after 28 days. We set the account up properly, walk your team through the portal, from e-signatures to fee payment to live status tracking, and put the revalidation dates in your calendar so the gate is never the thing that delays a start date.
Do you qualify?
EPOS verifies the company before it ever looks at a candidate. These are the conditions your business must meet for an employer account to be set up and validated.
Your company will need
- Registration as an employer with Revenue
- Registration with the CRO, or the Registry of Friendly Societies where applicable
- To be genuinely trading in the State
- Current Revenue documentation and your CRO number, ready to upload for validation by the employment permits team
- An email address for the account, which becomes the Administrator, plus a password and a mobile phone for multi-factor authentication
- A plan for who else needs access: multiple administrators are allowed, and unlimited additional contact points can all prepare and submit applications
Account setup will not help if
- Your company is not yet registered with Revenue or the CRO; incorporation and tax registration come first, then the portal
- You are looking for the old Trusted Partner fast track; it is discontinued, and account verification is the process that replaced it for every employer
- The candidate already holds Stamp 4 or Stamp 1G; they can work for you with no permit and no EPOS filing at all
- You want to engage the person as a self-employed contractor; permits require a direct employer-employee relationship
- More than half your workforce is non-EEA and no waiver fits; the account will verify, but the permit applications behind it will be refused under the 50:50 rule
Before and after 28 April 2025
The old system
- Portal
- Previous online system, offline from 6pm on 17 April 2025
- Fast track
- Separate Trusted Partner Initiative
- Drafts
- Unsubmitted drafts were not migrated to EPOS
- Signatures
- Outside the portal
- Status today
- Gone. Nothing filed there any more
Employment Permits Online
Current- Portal
- employmentpermits.enterprise.gov.ie, live since 28 April 2025
- Verification
- Once, at account level: Revenue documents plus CRO number
- Access
- Email, password and mobile multi-factor authentication
- Signatures
- Employer and employee e-sign inside the portal
- Coverage
- New applications, renewals, change of employer, reviews, withdrawals, cancellations
Our agency guides you through EPOS setup
As per your conversation with your employee, follow the steps below to set up your EPOS employer account so we can act as your agent.
- 01
Gather the verification documents
Three documents are required to verify your company on the Employment Permits Online (EPOS) section: your Tax Clearance Certificate (from your ROS account); a letter from Revenue confirming your registration, the date of registration and your Employer Registered Number (ERN); and your last 3 months' PAYE return submissions (a screenshot from ROS).
- 02
Create your EPOS employer account
Step 1To avoid sharing sensitive documents with anyone, we recommend the employer creates the account on the EPOS portal directly. See pages 6–7 of the step-by-step PDF below, or watch the short video walkthrough.
- 03
Fill in your company details
Step 2Once the account is created, complete all the relevant company details. This is where the documents gathered above are used.
- 04
Create a verification request
Step 3Submit a verification request using your documents. See pages 15–16 of the PDF below.
- 05
Approval, then add us as your agent
Step 4Approval usually takes a day or two. Once approved, add us as an agent on your account.
- 06
We apply on your behalf
Step 5Agent access lets us complete employment permit applications on your behalf. It does not give us access to any of your other sensitive company information.
What to gather
Start collecting these early. Weak or missing documents are the most common avoidable cause of delays and refusals.
Revenue registration documents
Current documentation, uploaded for validation
CRO number
Or Registry of Friendly Societies registration where applicable
Administrator email address
The first registered email becomes the account Administrator
Mobile phone number
For the multi-factor authentication every user needs
Additional users list
Extra administrators and contact points who will prepare and submit applications
Employment contract
For your first filing: signed by both employer and employee
Full job description
Ready before a draft opens, so the 28-day clock never bites
Salary breakdown
Annual salary plus hourly and weekly rates and weekly hours
Non-EEA headcount figures
DETE checks the 50:50 workforce rule at application
Labour market test evidence
GEP only: both 28-day adverts, if the test applies to the role
Every case is different. We confirm your exact list at consultation.
What it costs
| Item | Cost | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| EPOS employer account | No DETE fee | DETE's published fees are per permit application; the fees arise when you file, not when you register. |
| General Employment Permit, new | €500 / €1,000 | €500 up to 6 months, €1,000 for 6 to 24 months, paid in EPOS on submission. |
| Critical Skills Employment Permit, new | €1,000 | Covers the full 24-month permit. |
| GEP renewal | €750 / €1,500 | €750 up to 6 months, €1,500 up to 36 months, filed through the same account. |
| Refund if refused or withdrawn | 90% back | Refunds issue to the applicant, even if you paid on their application. |
| Recovering costs from the worker | €0, ever | Section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 prohibits deducting or recouping any permit costs from the employee. |
| Our setup and walkthrough | Fixed fee | Agreed up front at booking, no surprises. |
Government fees are set by DETE and can change. The account is where every one of them is paid, which is one more reason to have it verified and working before a hire is on the line.
How long it takes
Guide figures from current official processing information. Individual cases vary.
Account validation
Before filing
Nothing can be submitted until the permits team validates your Revenue and CRO documents. Do it before the paperwork, not after.
Draft applications
28 days
A draft not submitted within 28 days of being started is deleted. Open drafts only when the file is complete.
Application lead time
12 weeks
DETE asks for applications at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date.
Verification renewal
3 months
The account shows Pending Renewal 3 months before verification expires, with automatic expiry alerts and a Company Registration Renewal upload option.
Why applications get refused
Most refusals are preventable. These are the patterns we see and design out of every application.
Filing attempted before the account was validated
An employer account only works once the permits team has validated your Revenue documentation and CRO number. Teams that leave the account until the candidate is signed discover the gate at the worst possible moment.
Avoid it: Make account setup step one of any international hiring plan, in parallel with the job offer, never after it.
Revenue or CRO details out of date
Verification is built on your current Revenue and CRO details. A company name change, restructure or stale registration document leaves the account resting on information that no longer matches the official records.
Avoid it: We reconcile the portal against your live Revenue and CRO records at setup, and again whenever the company changes shape.
The Pending Renewal flag was ignored
Verification is not permanent. The account flips to Pending Renewal 3 months before it expires, and an employer who lets it lapse is back behind the gate with a renewal or a new hire waiting.
Avoid it: Diarise the revalidation the day the account is first verified, and upload the Company Registration Renewal documents as soon as the option appears.
A draft application timed out
Draft applications are deleted 28 days after they are started. Opening a draft before the contract, the job description and the salary breakdown are ready is how complete applications quietly vanish.
Avoid it: Build the full file first. The draft should be a transcription exercise, finished in days, not a workspace that sits for weeks.
Trusted Partner status treated as current
The Trusted Partner Initiative is discontinued. There is no separate fast-track register under EPOS, and old Trusted Partner credentials do not file anything.
Avoid it: Verify once at account level like every other employer. The good news is the verification carries across all your applications.
Company-side eligibility the account cannot fix
A verified account does not make an application grantable. Permits still fail where more than half the workforce is non-EEA, the salary is below the threshold, or the company is not genuinely trading in the State.
Avoid it: Check the workforce mix and the salary maths before filing. Startups within 2 years of registration can seek a 50:50 waiver with an Enterprise Ireland or IDA support letter.
Common questions
What exactly is EPOS and do we really need an account?+
Employment Permits Online is DETE's portal for the entire permits system, live since 28 April 2025 at employmentpermits.enterprise.gov.ie. Every application, renewal, change of employer, review, withdrawal and cancellation goes through it, and an employer cannot submit anything until the account is set up and the Revenue and CRO documents are validated. So yes, if you plan to sponsor a permit, the account comes first.
We were a Trusted Partner. What happened to our status?+
The Trusted Partner Initiative is discontinued. Under EPOS there is no longer a separate fast-track register: every employer verifies once at account level with Revenue documentation and a CRO number, and maintains that verification with automatic renewal reminders. The old registration does not carry over as a credential, so the account setup is the same for you as for a first-time sponsor.
Who in the company can use the account?+
The first registered email becomes the account Administrator. You can have multiple administrators and unlimited additional contact points, and all of them can prepare and submit applications. We recommend a durable company address as the founding email, with named colleagues added afterwards, so access never depends on one person's inbox.
How are applications actually signed and paid for?+
Inside the portal. The employer and the employee both e-sign the application in EPOS, and the fee is paid there on submission: €500 or €1,000 for a new General Employment Permit depending on duration, and €1,000 for a Critical Skills permit. Either the employer or the employee can apply and pay, but section 55 of the Employment Permits Act 2024 means none of the cost can ever be recovered from the worker.
How long does a draft application last?+
28 days from when it is started, after which it is deleted. That is why we assemble the complete file, contract, job description, salary breakdown, headcount figures and any labour market test evidence, before opening the draft at all.
How do we keep the account verified over time?+
Verification expires and must be renewed. The account status changes to Pending Renewal 3 months before expiry, a Company Registration Renewal upload option appears, and the portal sends automatic expiry alerts. Upload current Revenue and CRO documents for the permits team to validate and the account carries on without a gap.
Does a verified account mean our applications will be approved?+
No. Verification clears the gate, not the assessment. Each application is still tested on its merits: the 50:50 EEA workforce rule, the salary threshold for the permit type, the occupation lists, and the labour market needs test where it applies. What a verified account does is remove the one failure that is entirely avoidable.
How long should we allow between account setup and a start date?+
Work back from DETE's own guidance of filing at least 12 weeks before the proposed start date. Critical Skills applications are currently decided in about 2 to 3 weeks and new General Employment Permits in about 6 weeks, and a GEP usually needs the 28-day advertising run first. The account setup and validation belongs at the very front of that sequence. For technical portal issues DETE's support is epos@enterprise.gov.ie, with employmentpermits@enterprise.gov.ie for general queries.
Grounded in official sources
Ready to talk through your next step?
Book a consultation with our team and leave with a clear, personal plan grounded in the official rules.
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