What an IVA is#

An Individual Voluntary Arrangement is a type of insolvency — a formal, legally binding agreement with your creditors to pay all or part of your debts.

You'd normally reach one through an insolvency practitioner, who works out what you can afford and divides it between the people you owe.

Two things to be clear about:

  • Only unsecured debts are written off at the end of an IVA. Anything secured remains outstanding.
  • An IVA is less severe than bankruptcy, but it still damages your score. And if the IVA fails, your creditors may ask your practitioner to file for bankruptcy, which would damage it further.

How it shows on your credit report#

The Insolvency Service reports the IVA to the credit reference agencies, and it appears in the court information section of your report.

The entry shows:

  • The start date.
  • Whether it's active or discharged.
  • When it's due to drop off your report.

It comes off after six years, provided it's been discharged. An undischarged IVA stays beyond six years until it is.

If yours has completed but still shows as active, that's fixable — insolvency and your account statuses sets out what to send and to whom.

The accounts inside it#

The accounts covered by your IVA don't disappear. They stay on your credit report.

They'll typically show as defaulted, and remain for six years from the default date. That date is set by each lender, so it won't necessarily match your IVA start date — and once the six-year mark passes it can take up to a month for the account to drop off completely.

The practical consequence: your IVA and the accounts inside it can clear your report at different times. It's worth checking both dates rather than assuming one date covers everything.

The public register#

An IVA is recorded on a public register, which anyone can search — including prospective lenders.

That's a separate exposure from your credit report, and it's one reason an IVA can make further borrowing difficult even where a lender hasn't run a full credit check.

Records are usually removed from the register within three months of the insolvency ending.

The key things to remember#

  • An IVA is a formal, legally binding agreement, less severe than bankruptcy but still damaging.
  • Only unsecured debts are written off; secured debts remain.
  • Six years from the start date, but only once discharged.
  • Accounts inside the IVA run six years from their own default dates.
  • The IVA appears on a publicly searchable register, separate from your credit report.
  • A failed IVA can lead to bankruptcy, which is worse on both counts.