How long does an IVA last?
A standard IVA under the IVA Protocol 2025 lasts 60 months (5 years), or 72 months (6 years) if you own a home and your share of the equity is £10,000 or more. Payment breaks can add up to 12 months, and it can end early if your debts are paid in full.
The law does not set a length for an IVA. The Insolvency Act 1986 contains no rule saying an IVA lasts “three months to seven years”, despite what some websites claim. The length comes from the terms your creditors approve. For a standard consumer IVA, those terms are set by the IVA Protocol 2025: 60 months, or 72 months for homeowners whose share of the equity is £10,000 or more.
Why do most IVAs last 5 or 6 years?
The IVA Protocol is the standard framework for consumer IVAs, agreed between insolvency practitioners and creditors. Since 1 July 2025 it says protocol IVAs should be proposed for 60 months, or 72 months if you have a share in a family home worth £10,000 or more. The key facts document you receive before signing describes this as “regular payments over 5 or 6 years”.
A “bespoke” IVA, used where someone’s finances do not fit the standard terms (for example they own more than one property), can have a different length. Your proposal will say how long yours is meant to last.
When does an IVA last 6 years instead of 5?
Only when you own a home and your share of the equity is £10,000 or more. Renters and people with little or no equity have 60-month IVAs.
Equity is worked out as 85% of your home’s value, minus your mortgage and any other secured borrowing. If you own jointly, only your own share counts, and each person’s share is assessed separately. You are not asked to sell your home or release equity from it: the extra 12 months of payments are taken instead. There is no further equity review once the IVA has started.
| Example (hypothetical) | 85% of value | Equity after mortgage | Your share | Term |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sole owner, home worth £180,000, mortgage £150,000 | £153,000 | £3,000 | £3,000 | 60 months |
| Sole owner, home worth £200,000, mortgage £150,000 | £170,000 | £20,000 | £20,000 | 72 months |
| Owns exactly half, home worth £250,000, mortgage £190,000 | £212,500 | £22,500 | £11,250 | 72 months |
| Renting | £0 | 60 months |
If your IVA started before July 2025
IVAs agreed on the older 2021 Protocol terms keep those terms. Under them, equity above £5,000 could lead to a revaluation of your home around month 54 and an attempt to remortgage to release some of it. If a remortgage was not possible, the IVA usually ran for an extra 12 months instead. If that applies to you, check your own proposal and ask your supervisor. The “remortgage in year 5” advice you will still see online only applies to these older IVAs, and it never applied to people who did not own a home.
Can an IVA last longer than planned?
Yes, if you need payment breaks. Under the standard terms:
- your supervisor can agree payment breaks of up to 9 months (39 weeks) in total over the whole IVA, without asking your creditors
- the IVA is then extended by up to 12 months to make up the missed payments, unless you make up the shortfall another way
- any extension longer than 12 months needs your creditors to agree a formal variation
If your income drops for good rather than for a short time, your supervisor can instead cut your payment by no more than 20% in total without a creditor vote. Bigger reductions need creditors to agree.
For example, if you are in a 60-month IVA and take a 4-month payment break after losing your job, the IVA would run to 64 months unless the missed payments are made up. (Hypothetical example.)
Can an IVA end early?
Yes, in two very different ways.
The good way: if enough money is paid in to repay your creditors in full plus the costs, the supervisor can bring the IVA to an early end without asking creditors, and no statutory interest is added. That money could come from a lump sum, such as an inheritance, or help from family. Any windfall or inheritance worth more than £500 received during the IVA can be claimed for it anyway, but only as much as is needed to repay creditors in full plus costs. See paying off an IVA early.
The bad way: if you breach the terms, for example by falling three months behind without an agreed break, and do not put it right within a month of being told, the IVA can be terminated. Creditors can then chase the full balances, including frozen interest and charges. See what happens if an IVA fails.
Want to know whether an IVA could work for you? Answer a few questions about your debts and income. It takes about 3 minutes, and it is free and confidential.
How long does an IVA affect you after it ends?
The IVA itself ends when you finish paying, but the records last longer.
| Record | How long it lasts |
|---|---|
| Completion certificate | Issued within 28 days of your last payment or of meeting all the terms, whichever is later |
| Individual Insolvency Register (public) | For the whole IVA, then removed about 3 months after it ends |
| Your credit file | Usually 6 years from the start date. If the IVA lasts longer than 6 years, some credit reference agencies keep it until it ends |
For example, a 60-month IVA approved in September 2026 would, if everything goes to plan, end in September 2031. It would come off the public register around December 2031, but stay on your credit file until September 2032. A 72-month IVA approved on the same date would end in September 2032, and could stay on some credit files until then or later if it was extended. (Hypothetical dates.) There is more on this in how long an IVA stays on your credit file.
What people get wrong about IVA length
- “The Insolvency Act says an IVA lasts three months to seven years.” It does not say that.
- “Everyone pays an extra year at the end.” No. The 72-month term is linked to home equity. Other extensions only make up missed payments.
- “I’ll have to remortgage in year five.” Not for IVAs agreed under the 2025 Protocol.
- “Finishing early clears my credit file.” It does not. The 6 years runs from the start date.
What to do next
- If you are weighing up an IVA, talk to a free, impartial debt adviser first. MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline can compare it with shorter options, such as a debt relief order, which usually lasts 12 months. See where to get free debt advice and IVA or debt relief order?.
- If you own a home, work out your equity share using the 85% calculation above so you know whether you are looking at 5 years or 6.
- If you are already in an IVA and struggling to pay, contact your supervisor early. A payment break or reduction agreed in advance is far better than arrears. More guides are on our IVAs explained page.
Common questions
Can an IVA last 7 years?
It can, but only in limited cases. A 72-month IVA can be extended by up to 12 months to make up for payment breaks, and longer extensions need your creditors to agree a formal variation.
When does my IVA start?
It takes effect when your creditors approve the proposal. That date is also the start of the 6 years it stays on your credit file.
Does my IVA end automatically after 5 years?
No. It ends when you have made all the payments due and met the other terms. Your supervisor then issues a completion certificate within 28 days. If you have had payment breaks, it may run longer.
Does paying off my IVA early take it off my credit file sooner?
No. The entry stays for 6 years from the date the IVA started, however soon you finish. Your entry on the public insolvency register does come off about 3 months after the IVA ends.
Related guides
- Can you pay off an IVA early? The ways to end an IVA early, how a full and final settlement works, and what paying early does not change.
- What happens at the end of an IVA? Completion certificates, which debts are written off, the register, your credit file and what to check.
- How long does an IVA stay on your credit file? The 6-year rule, IVAs that last longer, the insolvency register, and checking all three agencies.
- How does an IVA work? Step by step: assessment, creditor vote, monthly payments, reviews and completion.