UK Insolvency Register Search

Search the UK Official Individual Insolvency Register for bankruptcies, Individual Voluntary Arrangements (IVAs), Debt Relief Orders (DROs) and Bankruptcy Restrictions Orders.

Returns structured data including name, address, case number, insolvency type, date and court. All data is public from the Insolvency Service and licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

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What this actor does

• Searches the official Individual Insolvency Register at insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk
• Supports searching by individual name or sole trader trading name
• Returns complete insolvency history records
• Filters by insolvency type (bankruptcy, IVA, DRO, BRO)
• Automatic pagination through result pages
• Clean structured JSON/CSV output

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Example use cases

Credit teams — Screen potential customers or suppliers for insolvency history before extending credit or entering contracts.

Debt recovery agencies — Identify bankruptcy filings and insolvency appointments for enforcement decisions.

Claims management firms — Find individuals with recent IVA or DRO filings for potential client outreach.

Due diligence & background checks — Verify financial history of directors, partners or key individuals in M&A, investment or hiring decisions.

Suppliers & trade credit — Monitor key customer accounts for early warning signs of financial distress.

Legal & compliance — Bulk check directors or beneficial owners against insolvency register for AML/KYC compliance.

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Output fields

Each result contains:

Field	Description
Identity
01_title	Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms
02_forename	First name(s)
03_surname	Last name
04_fullName	Complete name as listed
05_gender	Male/Female
06_dateOfBirth	Date of birth
07_alsoKnownAs	Alternative names/aliases
Address & Occupation
08_lastKnownAddress	Full address with city
09_postcode	UK postcode
10_tradingName	Business name for sole traders
11_occupation	Job/profession if listed
Insolvency Details
12_insolvencyType	Bankruptcy, IVA, DRO or BRO
13_caseNumber	Official case reference number
14_status	Current status (discharged, active, suspended)
Dates
15_orderDate	Date bankruptcy order made
16_arrangementDate	Date IVA arranged
17_notificationDate	Date notified to register
18_year	Year of insolvency
Court & Officials
19_court	Court that made the order
20_insolvencyServiceOffice	Handling office location
21_insolvencyPractitioner	Appointed IP name
22_firm	IP's firm name
Other
23_caseDescription	Full case summary
24_detailsUrl	Link to full record

Note: Column names include numeric prefixes to ensure correct display order in exports and previews.

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Insolvency types explained

Bankruptcy — Court order where individual's assets are sold to pay creditors. Stays on register for 3 months after discharge (typically 12 months from order).

Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) — Formal agreement to repay creditors over time (usually 5-6 years). Stays on register for 3 months after completion.

Debt Relief Order (DRO) — For people with debts under £30,000, minimal assets and low income. Lasts 12 months. Stays on register for 3 months after end date.

Bankruptcy Restrictions Order/Undertaking (BRO/BRU) — Additional restrictions for bankrupts who acted improperly. Can last 2-15 years.

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Data source & licence

All data sourced from the Individual Insolvency Register maintained by the Insolvency Service.

Published under the Open Government Licence v3.0 — commercial use permitted with attribution.

Attribution: Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Full licence: nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3

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Performance

• Typical run for 50 results: 30-60 seconds
• Pagination supported for larger result sets
• Rate-limited to respect government servers

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Notes

• Searches England, Wales and Northern Ireland only (Scotland has separate register)
• Records remain on register for 3 months after discharge/completion
• Historic records may not be available
• Name matching is exact — use accurate spelling