What goes into an IVA proposal?
Your IVA proposal is the formal offer you make to your creditors. The law lists what it must contain, from your assets and debts to the fees and when creditors will be paid, and for most consumer IVAs the IVA Protocol adds a standard budget, a fee and dividend schedule and a key facts document you must see first.
A proposal is not a form you fill in once and forget. It is the document your creditors vote on and the rulebook you live by for the next five or six years. Before you sign, you should understand what you will pay, for how long, how much goes on fees, what your creditors are expected to receive, and what happens if your circumstances change.
This page describes proposals in England and Wales. Northern Ireland has similar rules under its own legislation, and Scotland has no IVAs: see debt solutions in Scotland.
What is an IVA proposal?
It is your written offer to your creditors, made under the Insolvency Act 1986. The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 say it must identify you, explain why you think an IVA is desirable, explain why your creditors can be expected to agree to it, and be authenticated and dated by you.
You sign it alongside a statement of affairs. That lists your assets with estimated values, any secured debts, and every creditor with the amount you owe, including anyone connected to you, and you confirm it with a statement of truth.
Two roles appear throughout:
- The nominee is the insolvency practitioner who helps you prepare the proposal and reports on it to your creditors.
- The supervisor runs the IVA if it is approved: collecting your payments, paying creditors and dealing with changes. It is usually the same person.
What must the proposal contain by law?
Rule 8.3 of the Insolvency Rules sets out a long list. In plain English, the main items are:
| Topic | What the proposal must say |
|---|---|
| Your assets | What you own, what each is worth, which are charged (for example a mortgage on your home) and which are excluded from the IVA |
| Your debts | What you owe and to whom, and how each debt will be dealt with, including secured creditors and anyone connected to you |
| Fees | How much the nominee will be paid in fees and expenses, and how the supervisor’s fees and expenses will be worked out and paid |
| The supervisor | Who they are, how to contact them, and which professional body licenses them |
| Guarantees | Whether anyone has guaranteed your debts, and whether any guarantee is being offered for the IVA |
| Timing | How long the IVA will last, and when creditors are expected to be paid, with estimates of the amounts |
| Business and credit | How any business you run will be conducted, and any credit you plan to take on during the IVA |
| Money held | How money paid in will be banked or held before it is paid out, and what happens to it if the IVA ends early |
| Past proposals | Whether you have made another IVA proposal in the last 24 months |
| Anything else | Any other information creditors need to make an informed decision |
What does the IVA Protocol add?
Most consumer IVAs follow the IVA Protocol 2025, which applies to protocol IVAs from 1 July 2025. It adds standard content on top of the legal minimum:
- The standard terms and conditions, which set the rules on annual reviews, windfalls, redundancy, payment breaks and breaches.
- A household budget drawn up with you using the Standard Financial Statement. This sets your monthly payment. See how much an IVA leaves you to live on.
- A split of your payments between fees and creditors, with a schedule of when each is expected to be paid. The Protocol has a standard template for this distribution schedule.
- The length of the IVA: 60 months, or 72 months if your share of the equity in your home is £10,000 or more. You will not be asked to sell your home or release equity.
- Who referred you, and their connection to you and to your creditors.
- Your answers about previous dealings: any IVA in the last 24 months, any Breathing Space or debt management plan in the last 24 months, and any DRO or bankruptcy.
- An explanation of why an IVA is the right option if your debts are under £7,000 or your spare income is very low.
- A note if you are self-employed or your income is irregular, and any vulnerability you have agreed can be shared with creditors.
- The terms relevant to creditors in simple language at the start.
What is the key facts document?
The nominee must send you a key facts document before you sign the proposal, and should give you a copy of the Protocol and be available to answer questions. It is a short, standard summary published by the Insolvency Service. Among other things it says:
- fees are included in your monthly payments, not paid upfront, and your first payments typically cover more of the fee than your debts
- an IVA may not be the best solution if your debts are very low, you can only afford a small payment, or your income is mainly benefits
- your IVA will be on your credit file for 6 years from the date it starts
- if you cancel, you will not get a refund of what you have already paid
If you have not been given it, do not sign.
How do you read the fee and dividend schedule?
This is the part most people skip, and the part that tells you most. Look for three numbers: the total you will pay in, the total going to fees, and the total going to creditors.
Hypothetical example: you owe £30,000 and the proposal is £200 a month for 60 months, so £12,000 in total. If the schedule shows £5,000 going on fees, your creditors are forecast to receive £7,000, which is about 23p for every pound you owe. In year one, most of what you pay goes on fees. The rest of what you owe on the debts in the IVA is written off only if you complete it. (Round figures, not a typical outcome.)
Check when creditors get their first payment. If the IVA failed before then, almost everything you had paid would have gone on fees. For more on fees, see how much an IVA costs.
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 should you check your proposal before signing?
Go through it with your own bank statements and letters beside you.
- Every creditor is listed, with the right amount. Debts turning out 25% or more above the total in the proposal is a breach later.
- Every asset is listed, including a car, savings, pensions and any money you are owed or expect to receive.
- Your income is right for the whole household, including benefits, overtime and any partner’s contribution.
- Your spending is realistic. Nothing should be squeezed to make the offer look better, and there should be something for emergencies and yearly costs.
- The term, the monthly payment and the home equity position match what you were told.
- The total fees, the first payment date to creditors and the forecast return make sense to you.
- The referrer, if any, is named.
- You have the key facts document and the Protocol, and you know what happens if you lose your job or cannot pay.
Our documents checklist lists what to gather. If your spending figures are hard to pin down, the guide to filling in an income and expenditure form may help.
Only sign if everything in it is true. Making a false representation, or fraudulently leaving something out, to get creditors to approve an IVA is a criminal offence, even if the IVA is never approved.
What happens after you sign?
Within 14 days of receiving your proposal, the nominee reports to your creditors on whether it has a reasonable prospect of being approved and carried out. Creditors get at least 14 days’ notice of the decision date and vote by value. They can ask for changes, called modifications, but cannot approve a changed proposal unless you agree to each change. See how creditors vote on an IVA.
If it is approved, the proposal and the standard terms become the terms of your IVA. Your supervisor sends you and your creditors a progress report every 12 months, within two months of the end of each year, with a summary of money received and paid out. Compare it with the schedule in your proposal.
What to do next
- Before you sign anything, get a second opinion from a free, impartial adviser at MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice or National Debtline. See where to get free debt advice.
- Ask the nominee, in writing, which other options they considered and why they ruled them out. Compare them yourself in debt solutions compared.
- Keep a signed copy of the proposal, the statement of affairs and the key facts document together. You will need them for every annual review.
- For the full process, read how to apply for an IVA, or go back to IVAs explained.
Common questions
Who writes the IVA proposal?
In law it is your proposal: you must authenticate and date it. In practice the insolvency practitioner acting as your nominee drafts it with you, using the information and documents you provide.
What is the difference between a nominee and a supervisor?
The nominee is the insolvency practitioner who helps prepare your proposal and reports on it to your creditors. If the IVA is approved, the supervisor runs it. They are usually the same person, and both must be licensed insolvency practitioners.
Can I change my proposal after I have signed it?
Yes, with the nominee's written agreement, up until it goes to your creditors. After that, creditors can suggest changes, but they cannot approve a changed version unless you agree to each change.
What if I spot a mistake after my IVA is approved?
Tell your supervisor in writing straight away. Material false or missing information is a breach of the standard terms, and so is your debts turning out to be 25% or more above the figure in the proposal.
Related guides
- How to apply for an IVA The application process from first advice to the creditor vote, and the questions to ask.
- How much does an IVA cost? The fees in an IVA, how they are taken from your payments, and how that compares with other options.
- How creditors vote on an IVA, and the rules they follow How the creditor vote works, the 75% rule, and what creditors must and must not do afterwards.
- What documents do you need for an IVA? A checklist of the paperwork for an IVA application, and what you will need each year after.