Personal insolvency notices and The Gazette

The Gazette provides a permanent, official public record of important statutory and non-statutory notices that can be used to support legal and other processes.

The Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) and the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 require the publication of certain insolvency events in The Gazette, which is referred to as ‘gazetting'.

Where this is required, the general policy is that the notice code or order will be published once in The Gazette and may also be advertised in such other manner as the person responsible for giving the notice code thinks fit.

The following personal insolvency notices are published in The Gazette.

Notice code 2501 Statutory demands

Underlying legislation:

Statutory demand under Insolvency Act 1986 (Pt IX, Chapter I, S.268 (1)) – debt for liquidated sum, payable immediately
Statutory demand under Insolvency Act 1986 (Pt IX, Chapter I, S.268 (1)) – debt for liquidated sum payable immediately following a judgment or order of the court
Statutory demand under Insolvency Act 1986 (Pt IX, Chapter I, S.268 (1)) – debt payable at future date

This is an initial stage in personal insolvency. The statutory demand is an important document and is deemed to have been served on the debtor on the date of the first appearance of the Gazette notice. This is so that the debtor ought to be able to deal with this demand within 21 days of the notice being placed, otherwise the debtor risks bankruptcy and their property and goods taken away from them.

The notice also states the insolvency practitioner/solicitor’s firm where the statutory demand can be obtained or is available for inspection and collection. S268 states that the creditor must serve a demand to the debtor ‘in the prescribed form’.

Notice code 2502 Substituted service of petition

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part X, Ch. II, Rule 10.14)

This is where the court is satisfied by affidavit or other evidence on oath that prompt personal service cannot be effected because the debtor is ‘keeping out of the way’ to avoid service of the petition/has not responded to the statutory demand advertised in the Gazette. Substituted service is then ordered by the court, and the petition is deemed duly served on the debtor.

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part X, Ch. II, Rule 10.32 (3)(a)(ii) (for creditors) Rule 10.45 (3)(a)(ii) (for debtors)

Bankruptcy orders can be instigated by the creditor or the debtor (the processes are slightly different, but with the same outcome). Once the BO has been made, the official receiver shall send notice code of the making of the order to the chief land registrar, for registration in the register of writs and orders affecting land; cause the order to be advertised in such local paper as the official receiver thinks fit; and cause the order to be gazetted.

Notice code 2504 Bankruptcy orders – partnerships

Underlying legislation: Insolvent Partnerships Order 1994 No 2421 (Pt VI, Art 14 (S.2)(2b))

Similar to above, except the legislation deals with what happens with partnerships, and ‘the court may give such directions for consolidating the proceedings, or any of them, as it thinks just’.

Notice code 2505 Administration orders

Underlying legislation: Administration of Insolvent Estates of Deceased Persons Order 1986 No 1999

This notice code type is placed when a debtor has died subsequent to a bankruptcy petition being placed.

Notice code 2506 Amendment of title of proceedings

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part X, Ch. XXI, Rule 10.165 (3))

If the official receiver or the trustee wishes, they may apply to the court for an order amending the full title of the proceedings (often amending the debtor’s former occupation, name, etc). This process may be instigated by the creditor or the debtor’s side (the processes are slightly different, but with the same outcome). The official receiver will send notice code of it to the chief land registrar, for corresponding amendment of the register; and, if the court so directs, they shall also gazette the notice code and advertise it in a local paper, as the official receiver thinks appropriate.

Notice code 2507 Appointment of trustees

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part X, Ch. VI, Rule 10.74 (1)(a))

In the event where a trustee is appointed by a creditors' meeting, they shall, after receiving their certificate of appointment: ‘give notice code of said appointment in such newspaper as he thinks most appropriate for ensuring that it comes to the notice code of the bankrupt's creditors.’

Notice code 2508 Notice code to creditors

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part XV, Ch. III, Rule 15.8)

This notice code specifies the purpose for which the meeting is summoned, and a time and date (not more than 4 days before the meeting) by which creditors must lodge proxies, and those who have not already lodged proofs must do so, in order to be entitled to vote at the meeting. ‘Notice code of the meeting may be given by public advertisement if the convener thinks fit, and shall be so given if the court so orders’.

Notice code 2509 Notice code of intended dividend

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part XIV, Ch. III, Rule 14.28)

This notice code is placed when the trustee(s) intend to declare a dividend to the unsecured creditors of an estate within a set time period (usually a few months) after the ‘last date for proving’ (which is also marked out in the notice code). Creditors who have not yet proved their debts must lodge their proofs at a specified address (usually a solicitor or sometimes the Insolvency Service). The trustee(s) are not obliged to deal with proofs lodged after the last date for proving. The law states that ‘as soon as reasonably practicable, such notice code shall be gazetted; and may be advertised in such other manner as the responsible insolvency practitioner thinks fit’.

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part XIV, Ch. III, Rule 14.36)

Essentially a very similar notice code to the one above (and with the same underlying legislation), the purpose being a ‘final warning’ to those creditors who have not yet proved their debts in the bankruptcy, to send their names and addresses with particulars of their debts to the trustee(s) on or before the last day for proving, and if so required to provide documentary evidence or further details to the trustee(s) of their debts at such place as shall be specified or, in default thereof, they will be excluded from the benefit of any dividend declared and not entitled to disturb such dividend. Gazetting is mandatory.

Notice code 2511 Final meetings

Underlying legislation: REPEALED

Final meetings are held for the purpose of considering the trustee(s)’ final report, and granting their release. The meeting usually involves approval of the trustees’ report of their administration of the bankrupt’s estate and the release of the trustees (the creditors may question the trustee with respect to any matter contained in their report, and may resolve against them having their release).

To be entitled to vote at the meeting, a creditor must give written details of their debt (including the amount) and lodge any necessary form of proxy with the trustee(s). Notice code must be given at least 28 days before the final meeting of creditors takes place. The Notice code shall be sent to all creditors who have proved their debts, and to the bankrupt. The legislation states that the trustee(s) ‘must have gazetted a notice code which, in addition to the standard contents, must state that an initial creditors’ meeting is to take place; and the venue fixed for the meeting.’

Notice code 2512 Annulment of proceedings

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part X, Ch. XVI, Rule 10.140 (1)(a))

The annulment procedure applies to bankruptcy only. Once a bankruptcy order has been made it can be annulled, ie cancelled, only by order of the court. An annulment releases the bankrupt from the restrictions placed upon him or her by insolvency law, and once it is made, the individual is no longer bankrupt. Annulment can be sought at any time, even after the bankrupt has received discharge from bankruptcy.

The most common reasons that a court may order that a bankruptcy be annulled are: bankruptcy should have never been granted in the first place (for any reason); or that an individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) or fast-track voluntary arrangement (FTVA) has been approved instead of the bankruptcy procedure. The legislation states that, ‘the former bankrupt may require the secretary of state to give notice code of the making of the order in the Gazette, or in any newspaper in which the bankruptcy order was advertised, or in both.’

Notice code 2515 Discharge orders

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part X, Ch. XVII, Rule 10.144 (5) and 10.145 (6))

Similar to an annulment, if a bankrupt is entitled to an automatic discharge, there is no formal application or hearing at court necessary for discharge to be granted. This means that on the anniversary of the appropriate date, the individual is discharged from bankruptcy.

The Enterprise Act 2002 (EA2002) introduced a new section 279 to the Insolvency Act 1986 that states that a bankrupt will generally be discharged a year from the making of the bankruptcy order, where that order is made on or after 1 April 2004. It should be noted that this will apply even to those cases where the bankruptcy order is a second or subsequent bankruptcy.

The order is made where it appears to the court that a bankrupt is discharged, whether by expiration of time or otherwise, they shall, on the bankrupt’s application, issue to them a certificate of his discharge, and the date from which it is effective. The discharged bankrupt may require the secretary of state to give notice code of the discharge in The Gazette, in any newspaper in which the bankruptcy was advertised, or in both.

Notice code 2516 Annulling, revoking or rescinding orders

Underlying legislation: Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (Part X, Ch. XVII, Rule 10.144 (5) and 10.145 (6))

This is similar to annulment and discharge orders, but rarer – usually made where that the debts and expenses of the bankruptcy have either been paid in full or secured to the satisfaction of the court. The legislation underpinning this notice code is the same as notice code 2515.

Excluding personal insolvency notices from search engine results

We maintain personal insolvency notices on The Gazette website as part of a permanent official record. However, we instruct search engines to start to exclude personal insolvency notices from their search results after the bankruptcy has been discharged and information about the insolvency is removed from insolvency service registers (in the UK this happens after 1 year and 3 months).

Every type of insolvency notice has a different notice code and each notice code is automatically added to The Gazette’s robot.txt file 1 year and 3 months after it was placed. The robot.txt file instructs search engines, if they adhere to these rules, to exclude results from their search. The automatic adding of notice codes to The Gazette’s robot.txt file means that the first notice about your personal insolvency will be excluded from search engines 1 year and 3 months after it was placed, but it will take an additional year before the final notice about your bankruptcy is excluded.

For more information: Removing notices after they have been published