Individual insolvency statistics - January 2026

The January 2026 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 – January 2026

In January 2026, 10,843 individuals entered insolvency in England & Wales. This was 20% lower than in December 2025, but 12% higher than in January 2025.

The total amount of individual insolvencies consisted of:

6,216 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs)
3,847 debt relief orders (DROs)
780 bankruptcies

IVAs

The number of IVAs was 29% lower than in December 2025, but 18% higher than January 2025 after seasonal adjustment.

The number of IVAs in December was affected by a temporary backlog, meaning that IVAs that would otherwise have been registered in November were instead registered in December.

DROs

The number of DROs in January 2026 was 6% lower than in December 2025.

Bankruptcies

The number of bankruptcies in January 2026 was 24% higher than in December 2025 and 30% higher than in January 2025.

Bankruptcy numbers in January 2026 were affected by the partial clearing of a backlog following the Insolvency Service’s transition to a new case management system. This resulted in some debtor bankruptcy orders being made in January that would otherwise have been made in December 2025.

Bankruptcies in January 2026 consisted of:

640 resulting from debtors’ applications, which was 31% higher than in December 2025 and 55% higher than January 2025.
140 resulting from creditors’ petitions, which was 1% lower than in December 2025 and 25% lower than in January 2025.

Individual insolvency statistics for Scotland – Q4 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 Q4 2025, there were 1,896 individual insolvencies in Scotland, which was 6% higher than in the same quarter of 2025. The individual insolvencies were comprised of:

1,122 protected trust deeds
774 sequestrations (of which 431 went into bankruptcy via the minimal asset process route)

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – January 2026

In Northern Ireland in January 2026, there were 118 individual insolvencies, which was 16% lower than in January 2025. Of the total individual insolvencies, there were:

85 IVAs
14 bankruptcies
19 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 February 2025 will be released on 17 March 2026.

You can see all personal insolvency notices in The Gazette.

Find out more

Individual Insolvency Statistics January 2026 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

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Publication date

19 February 2026