Bankruptcy register

For this page I shall refer to the bankruptcy register to describe the part of the individual insolvency register that holds bankruptcy details for England and Wales in the UK. The individual insolvency register contains details of matters relating to bankruptcies and individual voluntary arrangements that the Secretary of State is required to keep by law.

There is also a bankruptcy restrictions order register, which contains details of matters relating to interim bankruptcy restrictions orders, bankruptcy restrictions orders and also bankruptcy restrictions undertakings. The bankruptcy register is required to be open on any business day and between the hours of 9am and 5pm for public inspection. Where information is required to be entered into the register then it must do so as soon as is reasonably practicable after the event has taken place.

The bankruptcy register - following the bankruptcy order

The insolvency rules state that the official receiver must enter the particular information onto the bankruptcy register. These details will allow someone searching the register to identify you and will provide them with enough information to formally identify the court dealing with your bankruptcy as well as the case number.

In particular the following information will be recorded by the official receiver following the making of the bankruptcy order.

Information for identification of the debtor - available from the petition:

• Your name, residence and occupation
• the name or names in which you carry on business, if other than your true name, and whether, in the case of any business of a specified nature, you carry it on alone or with others;
• the nature of your business, and the address or addresses at which you carry it on;
• any name or names, other than your true name, in which you have carried on business in the period in which any of your bankruptcy debts were incurred and, in the case of any such business, whether you have carried it on alone or with others; and
• any address or addresses at which you have resided or carried on business during that period, and the nature of that business.

Information to identify the debtor's bankruptcy case - available upon receipt of the sealed copy of the bankruptcy order by the official receiver.

• the date of the making of the bankruptcy order;
• the name of the court that made the order; and
• the court reference number as stated on the order.

The following further information is also required to be entered on the bankruptcy register, as soon as reasonably practicable after receipt, by the official receiver.

• Your name, gender, occupation and date of birth
• Your last known address
• the date of any bankruptcy order made in the period of six years immediately prior to the date of the latest bankruptcy order
• any name by which you are known that is different to the name in which you were adjudged bankrupt
• the address of any business carried on by you and the name in which that business was carried on if carried on in a name other than the name in which you was adjudged bankrupt;
• the name and address of any insolvency practitioner appointed to act as trustee in bankruptcy;
• the address at which the official receiver may be contacted;
• the automatic discharge date under section 279;

Other information that the official receiver is expected to enter onto the bankruptcy register include details of:

• suspension of discharge
• discharge from bankruptcy

The Secretary of State will delete all information about the bankruptcy when:

• The bankruptcy has been annulled
• You have been discharged and a period of three months has passed
• The bankruptcy order has been rescinded by the court

Where can I find the bankruptcy register?

Access to information on the bankruptcy register can be accessed at your local official receiver's office. You can search for the number in the Yellow Pages or go to the Insolvency Service website.

Searching online is also available using the individual insolvency register