How to go bankrupt: applying for bankruptcy online

How do I apply for bankruptcy?

You apply for bankruptcy online to the adjudicator through GOV.UK’s Apply for bankruptcy service (opens in a new tab), after paying the £680 application cost, and the adjudicator usually decides within 28 days (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)). There is no paper form.

You make the application yourself. Our licensed insolvency practitioners can explain whether bankruptcy suits you, but they do not make the application for you.

Before you start, read how bankruptcy works and what it changes. GOV.UK asks you to look at other ways of dealing with your debts first, because some of them restrict what you can do less than bankruptcy does.

How much does it cost to go bankrupt?

Applying for your own bankruptcy in England and Wales costs £680, made up of a £130 adjudicator fee and a £550 deposit, and you can pay it in instalments before you submit the application online (GOV.UK, read 4 November 2026 (opens in a new tab); Insolvency Proceedings (Fees) Order 2016, Schedule 1 (opens in a new tab)).

Fees change from time to time, so check GOV.UK before you apply. Northern Ireland has its own process and different fees.

Once you are bankrupt, the official receiver’s administration fee of £2,390 is taken from the money the trustee raises from your assets and income, so you do not pay it upfront. If someone else petitions to make you bankrupt, that fee is £3,300.

Fees are set by law and change from time to time. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own processes and fees.

What happens after I apply?

After you apply, an adjudicator checks that your application meets the requirements for bankruptcy and looks at whether other money, such as savings or a pension, could pay your debts instead; if it could, they may refuse (GOV.UK (opens in a new tab)).

If they accept it, they make a bankruptcy order and pass your case to the official receiver, who usually contacts you within 2 weeks. Your name is added to the Land Charges register, which lenders can search, and if you own a property on your own, HM Land Registry adds an entry that may stop you selling it.

From then on the official receiver or a trustee deals with your assets, and the bankruptcy normally ends 12 months later. Our guide to when you are discharged and the restrictions until then explains what you cannot do in that year and what carries on afterwards.

Can I apply for bankruptcy myself?

Yes, you apply for bankruptcy yourself: the law lets an individual apply to an adjudicator for their own bankruptcy on the ground that they cannot pay their debts (Insolvency Act 1986, section 263H (opens in a new tab)), and the GOV.UK service is built for you to complete.

The adjudicator can only deal with your application if you have a connection with England and Wales: your main interests are here, you are domiciled here, or in the last three years you have lived, had a home or carried on business here (section 263I (opens in a new tab)).

Our licensed insolvency practitioners do not submit bankruptcy applications for people. Before you apply, they can explain whether bankruptcy or an IVA fits your circumstances, and what each would mean for your home, your income and your credit rating.