What is the Individual Insolvency Register (IIR)?
The Individual Insolvency Register is a publicly available list of individuals who have been declared insolvent, run by the Insolvency Service.
Why search the Insolvency Register?
If you are owed money by a debtor and are considering applying to bankrupt the debtor by serving a bankruptcy petition, you must first check whether there are other bankruptcy petitions or orders active against the debtor.
A creditor owed money must do a search to ascertain whether the debtor has any bankruptcy petitions against them in the past 18 months.
If a debtor is declared bankrupt, details of the bankruptcy will be published by the Insolvency Service.
Search the Individual Insolvency Register
The search is free of charge and the only information you require is the individual’s name or trading name.
What details are in the Individual Insolvency Register?
The IIR contains up to date information on the details of:
- any individuals currently subject to bankruptcy orders;
- any individuals whose bankruptcies have ended in the past 3 months; and
- current Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs).
The IIR does not contain details of company insolvencies, disqualified directors or insolvencies in Northern Ireland (search the DRO, BRO and IVA Register at the Department for the Economy) or Scotland (for which you must search the Register of Insolvencies at Scotland’s Insolvency Service)
What details are available from the Individual Insolvency Register?
According to the Insolvency Service, a search for a bankruptcy order against an individual contains the following information:
- the bankrupt’s name (including any other known names);
- their occupation and trading details;
- their date of birth;
- their last known address;
- their gender;
- details of the current bankruptcy order;
- the automatic discharge date or date the discharge period was suspended;
- the name and address of any insolvency practitioner appointed as trustee;
- the Official Receiver’s address;
- details of any Bankruptcy Order made in the 6 year period prior to the latest bankruptcy order.
Next steps if the person that owes you money is already bankrupt
If the search of the register reveals that the individual that owes you money already has a bankruptcy order against them, then the most cost effective option would be to register as a creditor.
To register as a creditor you will need to provide confirmation that you have carried out the relevant searches, including a search of the Individual Insolvency Register.
Instruct Expert Bankruptcy Solicitors and Barristers
We are a specialist City of London law firm made up of Solicitors & Barristers and are based in the legal heart of London in Middle Temple (one of the four prestigious barristers’ Inns of Court) adjacent to the Royal Courts of Justice. We are experts in dealing with matters surrounding bankruptcy including defending bankruptcy petitions; managing bankruptcy applications (including annulments); advising on bankruptcy petitions and offences; and liaising with the Official Receiver. Whilst we are based in London we provide national coverage across all Courts in England & Wales.
