Individual insolvency statistics - May 2025

The May 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 – May 2025

In May 2025, 10,014 individuals entered insolvency in England & Wales. This was similar to April 2025 and 5% higher than in May 2024. The total amount of individual insolvencies consisted of:

5,583 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs)
3,783 debt relief orders (DROs)
648 bankruptcies

IVAs

The number of IVAs was similar to April 2025 and 13% higher than May 2024 after seasonal adjustment. IVA numbers in the first five months of 2025 were similar to 2024.

DROs

The number of DROs in May 2025 was 2% lower than in April 2025 and 68% higher than the long-term (2015 to 2024) monthly average.

Bankruptcies

The number of bankruptcies in May 2025 was 4% higher than in April 2025 and 4% higher than in May 2024. Bankruptcy numbers have declined since 2009 and fell further during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Bankruptcies in May 2025 consisted of:

479 resulting from debtors’ applications, which was similar to April 2025 but 1% lower than in May 2024.
169 resulting from creditors’ petitions, which was 1% higher than in April 2025 and similar to May 2024.

Individual insolvency statistics for Scotland – Q1 2025

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 Q1 2025, there were 1,673 individual insolvencies in Scotland, which was 11% lower than in the same quarter of 2024. The individual insolvencies were comprised of:

1,078 protected trust deeds
595 sequestrations (of which 299 went into bankruptcy via the minimal asset process route)

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – May 2025

In Northern Ireland in May 2025, there were 102 individual insolvencies, which was 29% lower than in May 2024. Of the total individual insolvencies, there were:

71 IVAs
16 bankruptcies
15 DROs

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 June 2025 will be released on 18 July 2025.

You can see all personal insolvency notices in The Gazette.

Find out more

Individual Insolvency Statistics May 2025 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

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Publication date

25 June 2025