Individual insolvency statistics - April 2026

The April 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 – April 2026

In April 2026, 10,920 individuals entered insolvency in England & Wales. This was 10% lower than in March 2026, but 7% higher than in April 2025.

The total amount of individual insolvencies consisted of:

6,186 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs)
4,033 debt relief orders (DROs)
701 bankruptcies

IVAs

The number of IVAs was 11% lower than in March 2026, but 10% higher than April 2025 after seasonal adjustment.

DROs

The number of DROs in April 2026 was 9% lower than in March 2026, which was the highest number on record in the monthly time series going back to their introduction in 2009.

Monthly numbers over the past two years have been higher than at any other point since their introduction, following the removal of a fee for entering a DRO in April 2024.

Bankruptcies

The number of bankruptcies in April 2026 was 2% higher than in March 2026 and 12% higher than in April 2025.

Bankruptcies in April 2026 consisted of:

602 resulting from debtors’ applications, which was 9% higher than in March 2026 and 33% higher than April 2025.
99 resulting from creditors’ petitions, which was 27% lower than in March 2026 and 43% lower than in April 2025.

Individual insolvency statistics for Scotland – Q1 2026

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 2026, there were 2,003 individual insolvencies in Scotland, which was 20% higher than in the same quarter of 2025. The individual insolvencies were comprised of:

1,273 protected trust deeds
730 sequestrations (of which 381 went into bankruptcy via the minimal asset process route)

Individual insolvency statistics for Northern Ireland – April 2026

In Northern Ireland in April 2026, there were 166 individual insolvencies, which was 35% higher than in April 2025. Of the total individual insolvencies, there were:

129 IVAs
23 bankruptcies
14 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 May 2025 will be released on 19 June 2026.

You can see all personal insolvency notices in The Gazette.

Find out more

Individual Insolvency Statistics April 2026 (GOV.UK)

The Insolvency Service (GOV.UK)

Accountant in Bankruptcy (AiB)

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Publication date

19 May 2026