The latest official data shows that IVAs remain a major form of individual insolvency in England and Wales. It also shows why a single headline “success rate” can be misleading: recent IVAs have had less time to complete or terminate than older cohorts.
This page uses figures published by the Insolvency Service and separates official measurements from estimates that the cited releases do not provide.
Last checked: 11 July 2026.
Headline IVA figures #
| Measure | Official figure | Source period |
|---|---|---|
| IVAs registered | 71,855 | 2025 |
| IVAs registered | 67,089 | 2024 |
| IVAs registered | 6,376 | May 2026 |
| All individual insolvencies | 11,223 | May 2026 |
| Debt Relief Orders | 4,191 | May 2026 |
| Bankruptcies | 656 | May 2026 |
The 2025 IVA outcomes and providers release says 2025 registrations were higher than in 2024 but remained below the record-high annual totals seen from 2019 to 2022.
The May 2026 monthly release says the May IVA total was slightly higher than April and similar to the average over the previous 12 months.
What the May 2026 data means #
The 11,223 individual insolvencies recorded in England and Wales in May 2026 consisted of:
- 6,376 IVAs;
- 4,191 Debt Relief Orders; and
- 656 bankruptcies.
Across the 12 months ending 31 May 2026, the individual insolvency rate was 26.6 per 10,000 adults, or about one in 376 adults. That measure covers all three insolvency routes, not IVAs alone.
Monthly registrations are useful for direction, but one month is not enough to show a durable trend. Seasonal effects, processing volumes and later revisions can affect comparisons.
IVA termination rates by cohort #
The Insolvency Service reports terminations by registration cohort and elapsed time. These figures should not be treated as one directly comparable league table.
| Registration cohort | Termination measure reported by February 2026 |
|---|---|
| 2016 to 2018 | About 34% over the lifetime observed |
| 2022 | 21.0% within three years |
| 2023 | 13.2% within two years |
| 2024 | 6.0% within one year |
The older 2016–2018 cohorts had enough time for an approximate lifetime termination rate to emerge. More than 70% of IVAs registered from 2022 onwards were still ongoing at the end of 2025, so their eventual completion and termination outcomes were not yet known.
The official release also notes that most terminations happen within the first three years. It does not justify turning the newest one-year rate into a predicted lifetime success rate.
Provider concentration #
Six firms accounted for more than half of new IVAs registered in 2025. Provider-level volumes and outcome rates are available in the official data tables linked from the outcomes release.
Volume alone does not show whether a provider is suitable for a particular person. Before agreeing to an IVA, check:
- the named licensed Insolvency Practitioner;
- the proposed payment and household budget;
- fees and what creditors are expected to receive;
- the failure and variation terms;
- how assets, vehicles and a family home are treated; and
- why an IVA is preferable to a DMP, DRO or bankruptcy on the facts.
See how to choose an IVA company for the practical checks.
What these releases do not tell you #
The official releases cited on this page do not publish a representative current:
- average IVA debt balance;
- average monthly contribution;
- average debt write-off percentage;
- breakdown of IVA debt by credit cards, loans and other products; or
- failure-reason percentage split.
Those figures should not be presented as official averages without a separate, clearly defined dataset and methodology.
For an individual IVA, the amount repaid or written off depends on the approved proposal, affordable contributions, assets, fees, creditor modifications, income changes and successful completion. A worked example can explain arithmetic, but it cannot predict a typical outcome.
The 2025 IVA Protocol checkpoint #
The 2025 IVA Protocol applies to new protocol IVAs from 1 July 2025. It says a protocol IVA will usually involve debts of £7,000 or more. That is not a legal minimum and it is not an average debt statistic.
For a family home, the Protocol uses 85% of a reasonable property value, less secured borrowing, to identify the consumer’s beneficial interest. An individual beneficial interest of £10,000 or more normally leads to a 72-month protocol proposal rather than the older final-year remortgage approach. Read IVA and your home for the full distinction between current protocol, older and bespoke terms.
How to compare statistics responsibly #
When reading an IVA statistic, check:
- whether it covers England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland or the whole UK;
- whether it measures registrations, completions or terminations;
- how long the cohort has been observed;
- whether the figure comes from official administrative data or a provider sample; and
- whether later revisions may change the total.
The registration figures on this page apply to England and Wales. Scotland uses protected trust deeds and other Scottish insolvency procedures; Northern Ireland publishes separate figures within the monthly release.
Related guides #
Sources