Individual insolvency statistics - March 2025

The March 2025 individual insolvency stats for England and Wales have been published by The Insolvency Service, together with related figures for Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Individual insolvency statistics for England and Wales – March 2025

In March 2025, 9,205 individuals entered insolvency in England & Wales. This was 7% lower than in February 2025, but 2% higher than in March 2024. The total amount of individual insolvencies consisted of:

5,102 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs)
3,490 debt relief orders (DROs)
613 bankruptcies

IVAs

The number of IVAs was 9% lower than February 2025 and 9% lower than March 2024 after seasonal adjustment. IVA numbers in 2024 and the first three months of 2025 were slightly higher than in 2023 but lower than during 2022, which saw a record high annual number.

DROs

The number of DROs in March 2025 was 4% lower than in February 2025 and 19% lower than the long-term (2015 to 2024) monthly average.

Bankruptcies

The number of bankruptcies in March 2025 was similar to the numbers seen in February 2025, bit 11% lower than in March 2024. Bankruptcy numbers have declined since 2009 and fell further during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bankruptcies in March 2025 consisted of:

447 resulting from debtors’ applications, which was 1% higher than in February 2025 and 16% lower than in March 2024.
166 resulting from creditors’ petitions, which was 3% lower than in February 2025, but 6% higher than in March 2024.

Individual insolvency statistics for Scotland – Q1 2024

The Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB), Scotland’s Insolvency Service, administers individual insolvency in Scotland. The AiB produces individual insolvency statistics on a quarterly basis. Therefore, the numbers in this section are updated once every three months only.

In Q4 2024, there were 1,784 individual insolvencies in Scotland, which was lower than in the same quarter of 2024. The individual insolvencies were comprised of:

1,167 protected trust deeds
617 sequestrations (of which 342 went into bankruptcy via the minimal asset process route)

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – March 2025

In Northern Ireland in March 2025, there were 134 individual insolvencies, which was 9% higher than in March 2024. Of the total individual insolvencies, there were:

102 IVAs
14 DROs
18 bankruptcies

Please note, individual insolvency in Northern Ireland is governed by separate, but broadly similar, legislation to England and Wales, and so figures are presented separately.

Where can I see insolvency notices in The Gazette?

The Gazette is the primary source of both corporate insolvency and personal insolvency information in the UK and publishes this information in the form of insolvency notices, allowing transparency for the public, the credit industry and concerned individuals to quantify risk and inform creditors. You can view all corporate and personal insolvency notices on The Gazette website.

The Gazette also provides a Data Service which provides timely official company, insolvency and deceased estates information to aid data driven decision-making. As the UK’s official public record, our authorised data can help your business with:

KYC/due diligence
risk management
regulatory compliance
business development
business intelligence and strategy

For more information on The Gazette Data Service, contact the team on 01603 985949, email data@thegazette.co.uk or click on the link below.

Enquire now

Next insolvency statistics release

Figures for April 2025 will be released on 20 May 2025.

You can see all personal insolvency notices in The Gazette.

Find out more

Individual Insolvency Statistics March 2025 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

Images

Adobe Stock

Publication date

28 April 2025