In 2016, an online Bankruptcy Application was introduced in England and Wales. When you submit the online Application it is checked by the Insolvency Service Adjudicator who makes the Bankruptcy Order.
The online application is a huge improvement on the old court forms! As a result, more people are now choosing bankruptcy, see Court-free clickable bankruptcy ‘removes stigma’.
The online application is pretty long and you may need to find some information for parts of it.
You don’t have to complete it all at once, you can save and come back. But there are eight parts and you can’t move from one part to the next without entering something in the current part. As a result, you can’t easily look at the whole thing before you start – or when you are just thinking of going bankrupt and want to know what you might be asked.
This article looks at the online application to give you a feel what is involved – and there is a link to a page which looks at each section of the application.
Starting a bankruptcy application
To start a bankruptcy application, you need to supply your name, email address and answers to three security questions you select:
- if this is going to be your “real” bankruptcy application, you should choose an email address which you check regularly, as this is the address the Insolvency Service Adjudicator may need to contact you on.
- if you just want to have a look around, you can use a fake name – I have used John Deer to get the screenshot on this page.
You are then emailed a 12 character application number that looks something like KZR3-HRLK-PUMG. You then use this to login to your bankruptcy application.
The Application Overview page
The Application Overview page shows you the status of each of the eight different sections and also how much of the bankruptcy fees you have paid so far. You can always go back and change or add to the answers to the sections you have already done.
Here is a screenshot showing what it looks like when the first two sections have been completed and no money has been paid towards the bankruptcy fees:
The 8 sections
See The 8 sections of the bankruptcy application for a detailed look at what you need to put in each section.
When you have completed all the sections…
When you have gone through all the section you will see the above box.
You may not actually have completed everything! You may still have bits to add to some sections, so it’s a good idea to keep a list of things you want to go back and add to, especially if it is taking a while to get all the information.
And if it has taken a few months to save up the bankruptcy fees, don’t forget to go back and check that none of the information you have put in has changed. Have you moved? Sold a car? Got a new bank account? etc
Once you have completed everything and paid the fees, when you click on the Submit your application you will be asked to verify some information including that:
- you are the are the person named in the application
- the information provided is accurate to the best of your knowledge
- you consent to a credit search being run using the details provided in the application.
What is this information needed for?
There are four main reasons for asking all these questions:
- verifying who you are. Not many people will submit a bankruptcy application and pay the fees for someone else maliciously, but the Adjudicator is going to want to spot this if it happens!
- getting the Adjudicator the information needed to decide if your bankruptcy order should be made or (very unlikely) your application should be rejected. If you have lived abroad until recently and most of your creditors are abroad, the Adjudicator will consider whether England and Wales is the right place for you to go bankrupt. The Adjudicator will look at a summary of your assets, debts, income and expenses to see if you are “insolvent”. If you are worried about whether you are, the best thing you can do is take some good debt advice before submitting your form.
- getting a full picture of your personal and business affairs. After your bankruptcy order is made, the details are passed to an Official Receiver’s office who will interview you about these. A few people try to conceal assets, debts, businesses they have been involved with, the fact they transferred their house into their wife’s name two years ago etc. The only way for the OR to spot the people who are deliberately doing this is to ask everyone a lot of questions.
- getting a fair picture of your expenses The details of who lives with you and how old they are will help the Official Receiver later in trying to decide if an Income Payments Agreement is required.
Help – I don’t have some / a lot of this
Many people won’t!
Apply a bit of perspective for old stuff. If you opened your main bank account in the late 90s and don’t have any documentation saying when, just put down Jan 1997 as the date it was opened the account, the OR isn’t going to care. Of course, your bank could probably tell you the information if you phoned them up – it would be worth doing this if the event was much recent.
The OR will also be used to dealing with people who haven’t kept details of everything for the past 5 years. You may have moved house a lot, separated from a partner, have been out of the country, had mental health problems or just not be very good at filing paperwork… Self-employed people who are going bankrupt because their business has failed often don’t have perfect business records.
Just do your best to fill in the application and make some notes about any areas where you really weren’t sure what to put down and mention them to the Official Receiver at your interview.
Problems using the application
If you find you can’t start the next section on the main Overview page, it’s probably because there is a question in the previous section you haven’t yet answered.
If you have problems, you could call the Insolvency Service on 0330 331 0020 or email them at onlinedebtsolutions@insolvency.gsi.gov.uk . They can only answer factual questions, they can’t advise you on what to put on your application.
When will your bankruptcy start?
When you have paid the fees and submitted your application it goes to the Adjudicator’s Office. They approve 95% of applications within 2 working days and many are approved the next working day.
You should check your emails regularly – it is possible the Adjudicator may want to ask something, although this is rare. When the adjudicator has made the decision, you will be informed by email.
You can check if your application has been accepted by logging into the application – if the application has been approved, there will be a copy of your Bankruptcy Order and its date – this is the date you bankruptcy starts.
kev says
How should I answer home asset questions?. I live with family not a partner or spouse and have no financial interest in the property .
Weatherman says
Hi Kev
It sounds like you can just answer ‘no’ to the question about property. Is there any reason you’re not sure that’s the right way to answer?
Kev says
When I put no it asks me to change the answer and won’t let me continue .
Weatherman says
Hmmm. If you click ‘No’, it’ll come up with a button that says ‘Change answer’ – but that’s just saying that you can change your answer, not that you have to!
What happens if you answer all the questions about assets and try to continue?
Panos says
I am practically homeless. I sometimes house-sit for a friend that lets me use his address (and shower-shave-wash clothes)(it’s on HMRC’s records but I don’t own anything in that house).
I owe just over 30k to HMRC. I was a contractor, hanging out with the wrong people, I ‘gambled’ in Forex and lost all my money (£100k). HMRC came knocking for the taxes (I had already lost all my money – I didn’t put any on the side for taxes and safety net). I haven’t worked since Nov2019. I own no assets (apart from a 2015 laptop and a 2018 cellphone).
I have left is a little over the bankruptcy application fee. I have a wife that lives in another country and doesn’t want to even speak to me since the forex losses (2018-2019).
I wasn’t born in the UK. I DO NOT want to “flee” (get a one way cheap air/boat ticket out) the country and leave a bigger mess behind me and probably face legal issues in the future. I only owe to – personal tax – a little over £30k.
How difficult would it be for HMRC to ‘accept’ my bankruptcy? I’ve caused enough pain to my wife and kid, I don’t want to drag them into this.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
HMRC doesn’t have any power to accept or reject your bankruptcy.
Unless you own assets or property abroad that your wife is living in, or unless you transferred assets into her name, I can’t see why she would be affected by your bankruptcy.
You may get a bankruptcy restriction order, read https://debtcamel.co.uk/bankruptcy-restriction-order-bro/ about this as although it doesn’t sound good, it may not have any effect real effect on you.
Do get some advice on going bankrupt – it may well be your best option but it is always worth doing this, no matter how obvious it seems to you, talk it through with an expert. I suggest you phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
jimbob says
Hi Sara. I have a similar situation as a debt adviser above. And was wondering if there are any good information now available. My daughter just had a dro granted. With her mental health the debt adviser asked her to confirm they could discuss it with me her dad. This was the only time she needed to be involved. Due to circumstances my daughter is likely to need to replace this with bankruptcy. Section regarding contact with OR is scaring her to death. She is likely to get confused and freeze. Sometimes she can forget how she spent money the day before. Let alone way before. Has anybody ever come across similar issue before and can help put her mind at ease
Sara (Debt Camel) says
As I said on your other comments, contact with the OR is likely to be a lot less scary than she/you may fear. She has no spare income. Talking to her DRO adviser should help reassure her.
stephanie says
im trying to fill out the application but unsure if i put down the universal credit amount before or after deductions
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have you had advice on going bankrupt? That should have covered whether the deduction(s) from your UC are for debts that will be written off in bankruptcy (eg UC advance) or for things that won’t be (eg CSA arrears).
Also note your UC will be changing in October with the £20 a week cut.
If you haven’t had advice on bankruptcy it is important you talk to a debt adviser first, no matter how obvious you think it is that bankruptcy is your only option. I suggest you phone National Debtline on 0808 808 4000.
Stephanie Wagstaff says
I had some advice from citizens advice but they wasn’t all to helpful. I’ve emailed my advisor but still unsure what I’m meant to put down. Or if I declare my daughters dla. And the expenses I don’t no if I put the debts I’m currently paying or not because I assume I won’t be paying if bankruptcy is accepted
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Do you have any income apart from benefits? Do you have rent arrears? Council tax arrears?
Stephanie Wagstaff says
I do work part time ( I earn £270pm) dues to my depression and also being a carer for my daughter. I do also have rent and council tax arrears
Sara (Debt Camel) says
How large are your total debts? Do you own a car worth over £2000?
Stephanie Wagstaff says
I owe a little under 20k. I’ve just sold my car to pay for bankruptcy, I’ve saved £1000 for a replacement as needed for work and disabled child. Cab said this should be fine so long as I have a paper trail if I’m questioned.
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Was there a reason CAB said you were not eligible for a Debt Relief Order?
Stephanie Wagstaff says
The income I have leftover at the end of the month is too high
Sara (Debt Camel) says
Have they said how much you have left over at the end of the month? Has that taken into account the fact that your UC will be reducing by £80 a month (well it will for most people)?
I suggest you talk to National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 if you haven’t found Citizens Advice helpful. There are three important questions for you to ask:
– can you have a second check that you don’t qualify for a DRO
– what will happen to your rent arrears in a DRO or bankruptcy
– help with completing the bankruptcy application.
Stephanie Wagstaff says
Thanks a lot for all your help I will follow your advice :)