How long does bankruptcy last?

When are you discharged from bankruptcy?

You are discharged from bankruptcy automatically at the end of one year beginning with the date it started, unless the court orders that period to stop running because you have failed to co-operate with the official receiver or trustee (Insolvency Act 1986, section 279 (opens in a new tab)).

The year starts on the date of the bankruptcy order, whether it came from your own online application or a creditor’s petition. You can check your discharge date on the Individual Insolvency Register, and the Insolvency Service will send a letter confirming that the bankruptcy has ended at no charge (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)).

Discharge does not end everything. Our guide to how bankruptcy works covers the process as a whole; the timeline below shows what carries on.

What restrictions apply while I am bankrupt?

While you are bankrupt you cannot borrow £500 or more without telling the lender, act as a company director or run a company without the court’s permission, or trade under a different name without telling people the name you were made bankrupt in (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab); section 360 (opens in a new tab); Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986, section 11 (opens in a new tab)).

You might be prosecuted if you break the restrictions. They last until your bankruptcy ends or until you successfully apply to cancel it.

• Borrowing £500 or more, including hire purchase, without saying you are bankrupt
• Acting as a director of a company without the court’s permission
• Creating, managing or promoting a limited company without the court’s permission
• Running a business without telling the people you deal with the name you were made bankrupt in

What is a bankruptcy restrictions order?

A bankruptcy restrictions order or undertaking extends the bankruptcy restrictions for between 2 and 15 years when the court decides your conduct, such as hiding or failing to account for assets, or running up debts with no reasonable expectation of repaying, warrants it, or when you agree an undertaking instead (Insolvency Act 1986, Schedule 4A (opens in a new tab)).

In practice the official receiver starts it. If they believe you acted carelessly or dishonestly, they ask you to agree a bankruptcy restrictions undertaking, which has the same effect without a court hearing; if you do not agree, they ask the court for an order (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)).

The court must take into account behaviour such as:

• failing to keep records that account for a loss of property, or failing to produce them when the official receiver or trustee asks
• selling or giving away assets for less than they were worth (a transaction at an undervalue)
• paying one creditor ahead of the others (a preference)
• making excessive pension contributions
• taking payment for goods or services that were never supplied
• running up a debt with no reasonable expectation of being able to pay it
• failing to account satisfactorily for a loss of property

Do I keep paying after discharge?

Yes, some payments continue after discharge: an income payments agreement or order must be paid until it finishes, which for an agreement can be up to 3 years from when it was made, and debts the bankruptcy did not cover still have to be paid (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab); section 310A (opens in a new tab)).

Those debts include student loans, secured debts such as a mortgage, debts from fraud, and budgeting or crisis loans from the Department for Work and Pensions; family court debts and personal injury damages may also remain (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab); section 281 (opens in a new tab)).

The official receiver or trustee also carries on dealing with your bankruptcy after discharge, which means they can still sell possessions that were included in it.