IVA checker

If you’re currently in an Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) and making monthly contributions towards your debts, you may be wondering what the status of your IVA is, and whether there is a way for you to check it.

In this guide we’ll explore the Individual Insolvency Register – the database where your IVA details will be kept – including how you can access it, which details it holds, and how long those details will appear on the register.

How do I check the status of my Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA)?

An IVA is an insolvency solution, like bankruptcy or Debt Relief Orders, and allows you to repay a portion of your debt over time. It’s set up and managed by an Insolvency Practitioner (IP), an insolvency specialist whose job it is to oversee the arrangement on your behalf.

While every IVA is set up slightly differently (because it’s based on your individual circumstances), it’s natural to wonder about the status of your arrangement: when the IVA officially started, how long the arrangement will last, and whether details of it are publicly available anywhere.

In England and Wales, you can find details like these by searching the Individual Insolvency Register.

 

What is the Individual Insolvency Register?

The Individual Insolvency Register, also known as the IVA Register, is a database that carries the of all the individual insolvency arrangements that have taken place in England and Wales – Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own versions of the register.

The Individual Insolvency Register is managed by the Insolvency Service, the branch of the UK Government that oversees personal insolvency. The Register is public, so anyone can – in theory – go to the Insolvency Service website and search for your financial records online.

In reality, the Register is usually accessed by landlords, mortgage brokers, and other lenders in order to find our whether an individual has had trouble repaying credit in the past.

What kind of information is held on the Individual Insolvency Register?

The following details appear on the Individual Insolvency Register once you’re in an IVA:

• Your name
• Your address
• Your gender
• Your date of birth
• The name of your Insolvency Practitioner
• The date your Individual Voluntary Arrangement officially started

While that amount of information might seem extensive, it’s important for people searching the register to be able to tell the difference between one individual and another, especially for people with similar names.

For some people, this represents a security risk. If you think that having details of your address published on the IVA Register could put you in danger, it might be possible for you to appeal to the Insolvency Service to have it removed, although you would need to present a strong case.

How long will my personal or financial information be held on the register?

Details of your IVA will normally be held for a period of three months after your arrangement has ended. An IVA typically ends in one of three ways: Completed, revoked, and terminated.

If your IVA is ‘completed‘, that means you have successfully kept up with your monthly payments for the entirety of your payment term and leave the agreement free of the unsecured debts that were included in your IVA. Completing an IVA usually takes five or six years.

An IVA being revoked is uncommon, because it means the initial decision by your creditors to approve the IVA has been reversed. In the event that your IVA is revoked, it will usually be near the start of the arrangement.

The termination of an IVA occurs when you have broken the terms of the legally-binding agreement, usually by repeatedly failing to make your monthly payments. Termination can happen at any point during the arrangement, and means you will remain responsible for the debts included in your IVA.

Who typically searches the Individual Insolvency Register?

Employers

Employers might use the Register to ensure that an employee or candidate is legally allowed to work in their chosen field, since access to certain occupations is restricted to people who have experienced insolvency.

These occupations include:

• The police
• The legal sphere
• Certain jobs in Financial Services

For most employers who have no specific policy on personal insolvency, however, they aren’t likely to find out about your IVA and it’s unlikely to be a serious issue even if they do.

Landlords

Landlords might search the Individual Insolvency Register to find out whether potential tenants have had trouble paying debts in the past.

This can be a useful indicator of how likely you are to manage monthly rent payments and may result in the landlord asking for extra security, such as an advance payment, or for the tenant to have a guarantor.

Future lenders

Because credit reference agencies have access to the Register, being listed as having an IVA will impact your credit score and your ability to access further credit.

If lenders, like mortgage brokers or credit card companies, see that you have had trouble repaying your debts in the past, they are less likely to lend you credit in the future.

With any debt solution, though, you can rebuild your credit score over time, and details of your IVA will be wiped from your credit history six years after your IVA start date.

Will my friends or family find out about my IVA?

The fact that the Individual Insolvency Register can be accessed by the public makes some people nervous. They have visions of their friends, family, and even their employers discovering that they’ve had trouble repaying their debts in the past.

In actual fact, the vast majority of the people who are likely to search your details in the Register are from the groups above (and you don’t work in one of the aforementioned industries, it’s probably safe to discount your employers from that list too).

Unless any of your friends or family are owed money via the arrangement, it’s highly unlikely they will ever find out about your IVA, so you can focus on repaying your debts worry-free.

Where can I find debt advice and more information on IVAs?

If you’re already in an IVA and you’re interested in knowing what your IVA status is, or you’re considering an IVA as a way to help you repay your debts, we can help.

IVA Plan is a trusted provider of IVAs in the UK and helps hundreds of people regain financial control every week. For some sound financial advice, or help finding the right debt solution for you, get in touch with IVA Plan today.