Do you have to declare an IVA after 6 years?

In practice, once an IVA has come off your credit file and the insolvency register, most people are never asked about it again. The exception is the application form that asks directly, and those questions often have no time limit. This guide explains when the record disappears, when you still have to mention it, and how to read the question you are being asked.

What happens to an IVA record after 6 years?

There are two separate records, and they last for different lengths of time.

The key facts document that comes with every protocol IVA says it “will appear on your credit file for the 6 years from the date your IVA starts”. Finishing the IVA does not remove it early. If your IVA runs for longer than 6 years, for example because a payment break extended it, some credit reference agencies keep the entry until the IVA ends rather than dropping it at the 6-year mark. See how long an IVA stays on your credit file for how each agency handles this.

The Individual Insolvency Register works differently. Your IVA is listed while it is running and removed about 3 months after it ends.

Do you have to tell anyone about an old IVA?

There is no general legal duty to volunteer the fact that you once had an IVA. What you must not do is give a false answer when someone asks.

Dishonestly making a false representation to gain something, such as a loan or a mortgage, or to expose someone else to a risk of loss, is fraud under section 2 of the Fraud Act 2006. Knowingly answering “no” to a question about an IVA when the true answer is “yes” can fall squarely within that. Even where nobody goes as far as prosecuting, a lender or insurer that discovers a wrong answer may turn down the application, take action under the agreement or refuse to pay out.

So the honest summary is this: after 6 years you do not have to bring it up, but you must answer the question in front of you truthfully.

How to read the question on the form

Most of the problems come from misreading what is being asked. Application forms tend to use one of three kinds of wording.

• “Are you currently subject to an IVA?” Once your IVA has ended, the answer is no.
• “Have you been subject to an IVA in the last 6 years?” (or 3 years, or 5). This covers any part of your IVA that fell inside that window, not just its start date.
• “Have you ever been subject to an IVA or other insolvency?” There is no time limit. The answer is yes, even if it was 20 years ago.

The time-limited question catches people out. An IVA that started 7 years ago but only finished 2 years ago was still running during the last 6 years, so the honest answer to “in the last 6 years” is yes, even though it may already have dropped off your credit file.

If a question is unclear, ask the lender or broker what they mean before you answer. Answer what is asked, no more and no less.

Who is likely to ask about an old IVA?

Mortgage lenders and other creditors

Mortgage applications are where an old IVA most often comes up, because lenders often ask about past insolvency and some use “ever” wording. A lender that accepts people with a past IVA may still ask about it, and you may be asked for proof that it ended successfully. Keep your completion certificate somewhere safe: your supervisor has to issue it within 28 days of your final payment or of you meeting your last obligations, whichever is later.

For credit cards, loans and phone contracts, the application usually relies on your credit file rather than a direct question, so once the IVA has dropped off, it will not normally show. Our guides to getting a mortgage with an IVA and passing credit checks go into this in more detail.

Insurers

Some insurance applications ask about bankruptcy or IVAs, particularly home, landlord and business policies. When you buy consumer insurance, the law requires you to take reasonable care not to make a misrepresentation to the insurer.

If a wrong answer was deliberate or reckless, the insurer can treat the policy as void, refuse all claims and, in most cases, keep your premiums. If it was careless, the insurer’s remedies depend on what it would have done had it known, which can mean a reduced payout. The time to find out is not when you make a claim, so answer insolvency questions accurately when you buy the policy.

Employers and regulators

Most employers never ask. Some roles do, and some of them have no time limit.

• Financial services: the FCA’s guidance on whether someone is fit and proper for certain roles includes whether the person “has made any arrangements with their creditors”, with no time limit attached. The same guidance says being of limited means does not, in itself, affect suitability.
• Security vetting: Security Check and Developed Vetting both include a check of your credit and financial history with a credit reference agency, and vetting forms can ask about your financial past directly.

For the full picture, see whether your employer will find out about your IVA.

What people commonly get wrong

• “It disappears when I finish.” It does not. The 6 years run from the start date, so a 5-year IVA stays on your file for about a year after you finish.
• “The register and the credit file are the same thing.” They are not. The public register drops the entry about 3 months after the IVA ends. The credit file keeps it for longer.
• “After 6 years I never have to mention it.” Only true if nobody asks. An “ever” question has no expiry date.
• “Leaving it off is harmless.” A false answer can cost you a mortgage offer or an insurance payout, and it can be treated as fraud.

If you are still deciding whether to enter an IVA, how long it follows you is one of the costs to weigh against the alternatives. An IVA or a debt management plan? sets out how the two compare.

Checking your own records

Before you apply for anything significant after an IVA, check what others will see.

1. Get your credit report from all three main agencies (Experian, Equifax and TransUnion). If the IVA is still showing more than 6 years after it started, and your IVA did not run longer than 6 years, ask the agency to correct it.
2. Search the Individual Insolvency Register for your name. If your IVA ended more than 3 months ago and is still listed, contact your former supervisor.
3. Find your completion certificate. If you have lost it, ask the insolvency practitioner’s firm for a copy.

What to do next

1. Read each application question word by word and answer exactly what it asks.
2. Keep your completion certificate and a note of your IVA’s start and end dates, so you can answer time-limited questions accurately.
3. If you are unsure how an old IVA affects a mortgage or a job application, ask the broker, lender or employer directly. Free, impartial debt advice is also available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline: see where to get free debt advice.
4. For more on life during and after an IVA, see our guides to life in an IVA.