Search for people or companies in insolvency proceedings
Updated 8 July 2020
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/find-insolvent-people-and-companies/search-for-people-or-companies-in-insolvency-proceedings
Search for an insolvent person or company
You might need to find out if someone or a company is insolvent.
To search for companies registered in the UK, you can use the Companies House service, or search the London Gazette.
If you’re looking for an insolvent or bankrupt person, you can search the individual insolvency register. If the person or company you’re looking for is not on this list, they are not currently in formal insolvency proceedings.
Companies House service
Search the Companies House service for information on limited companies registered in the UK.
Search for disqualified company directors
Anyone who has a bankruptcy order (also known as ‘undischarged bankrupts’), a debt relief order, bankruptcy restrictions or debt relief restrictions is banned from being the director of a company.
The Companies House disqualified directors register includes details of directors disqualified by the courts and the Insolvency Service.
England, Scotland and Wales
If the director was disqualified in the last 3 months, you can find full details on our online service.
For other cases, email legalservices@insolvency.gov.uk.
Northern Ireland
Contact the Insolvency Service in Northern Ireland.
Bankruptcy and insolvency
You can search for the details of people who have gone bankrupt or signed an agreement with us to deal with their debts in England and Wales, using our registers.
Individual Insolvency Register
Get details about insolvency cases in England and Wales, including:
- bankruptcies
- debt relief orders
- individual voluntary arrangements
We usually remove records within 3 months of an insolvency case ending.
Search for people with Bankruptcy or Debt Relief Restrictions
When the official receiver thinks that someone who’s bankrupt or has a debt relief order has not been honest or is to blame for their debts, they might be given further restrictions.
These restrictions are:
- bankruptcy restrictions order (BRO)
- bankruptcy restrictions undertaking (BRU)
- debt relief restrictions order (DRRO)
- debt relief restrictions undertaking (DRRU)
The Individual Insolvency Register gives details of anyone who currently has bankruptcy or debt relief restrictions.
You can search the list of people with additional insolvency restrictions for the last 3 months.
You can ask for information about the unfit conduct of an individual (who has a current bankruptcy or debt relief restrictions) by contacting the official receiver dealing with the case.
The Gazette
Official notices about insolvency or companies being wound up are published in The London, Edinburgh and Belfast Gazettes. You can search The Gazettes online, and get help using their guide to searching.
Registers for Scotland and Northern Ireland
Search the insolvency registers for: