Bankruptcy Process

What steps are needed to go bankrupt? This section will help guide you through what is required to go bankrupt.

The Bankruptcy Petition

In order to be declared bankrupt the court requires a bankruptcy petition that either comes from:

• Yourself (this is called a Debtors Petition); or
• Your creditors, so long as you owe more than £750 (this is called a Creditors Petition)

Where is the Bankruptcy Petition heard?

Bankruptcy Petitions are usually heard at a nearby County Court where you live or work.Some smaller courts don’t have bankruptcy jurisdiction so you may have to go to a bigger court a little further away. Petitions are also heard at the High Court in London
A bankruptcy petition can be presented against you even if you are not in the country (England or Wales) so long as you are normally resident or have a business connection here.
If you are looking to make yourself bankrupt then you will need to contact your local County Court to see if they do bankruptcy hearings, if they don't then they will tell you which court you should apply to.
The court service website( www.courtservice.gov.uk) contains more information about jurisdiction areas for each Court.

What happens at court

You will first phone the court to make an appointment for your bankruptcy hearing, once you have completed all the paperwork (Petition and Statement of affairs - links to forms below).

Make a Bankruptcy Order:As soon as the order is made you are officially bankrupt.
Rarely the court will make a different order as follows:-
Delay/Stay: If the court needs more information before it can decide then it will delay proceedings until a later date
Dismissal: If the court believes bankruptcy is not a viable option then they may dismiss the petition. Other reasons may be that administration (see below) is a better course of action

Relevant forms from Insolvency Service:

Debtors Petition (insolvency form 6-27)

Statement of affairs (insolvency form 6-28)

Guidance notes for statement of affairs