The Insolvency Service has announced that the up-front petition deposit fee paid by those initiating creditor bankruptcy and compulsory liquidation proceedings will rise from 1 November 2022. 

How much is the deposit for creditor bankruptcies and liquidation petitions?

The Insolvency Service is making changes to the deposits paid to initiate creditor bankruptcies and compulsory liquidations following The Insolvency Proceedings (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2022, which was laid in parliament on 5 September 2022.

The petition deposit is the amount that needs to be paid up-front to seek an order and is set to increase on all cases where a petition is filed at court on or after 1 November 2022.

It should be noted, however, that there will be no change to the adjudicator petition deposit where the individual applies for their own bankruptcy.

The changes being made to deposits are:

	Current Fee	Fee from 1 November 2022
Creditors’ bankruptcy petition deposit	£990	£1,500
Company liquidation petition deposit	£1,600	£2,600

Why is there a deposit for creditor bankruptcies and liquidation petitions?

Each creditor bankruptcy or liquidation case administered by an Official Receiver is funded, in part, through a deposit paid by the petitioner to initiate the process.

The deposit contributes to the Official Receiver’s administration costs, with the remainder of their costs recovered through fees charged against assets realised during the bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings. If there are sufficient assets to recover all the fees and costs, the deposit is then returned to the party who initiated the insolvency.

Fees have not changed since April 2016. However, insolvency case numbers have fallen to a historically low level, and the majority of the remaining cases have insufficient asset values to recover the administration costs.

The Insolvency Service say the deposit increase will enable them to continue to administer and investigate insolvencies effectively, maximising outcomes for creditors whilst mitigating the risk of cost recovery being passed on to the taxpayer.

For further information on these changes, contact: DepositsChange.2022@insolvency.gov.uk.

See also

A guide to compulsory liquidation

A guide to creditors' voluntary liquidation (CVL)

What is the difference between a debtor's petition and a creditor's petition?

Who gets paid first when a company goes into liquidation?

Place an insolvency notice

Find out more

The Insolvency Proceedings (Fees) (Amendment) Order 2022 (Legislation)

Image: Getty Images

Publication date: 7 September 2022