Individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) protocol
The protocol is a voluntary agreement, which provides an agreed standard framework for dealing with straightforward consumer IVAs and applies to both IVA providers and creditors.
Documents
Details
An individual voluntary arrangement (IVA) is an agreement between a person in debt and his/her creditors. It is a formal (contractual) agreement and can be as flexible as the individual’s circumstances allow. An IVA Protocol has been in operation since early 2008. The purpose of the protocol is to facilitate the efficient handling of straightforward consumer IVAs (as described below). The protocol recognises that the IVA supports a valid public policy objective by providing debt relief for individuals in financial distress. It also recognises that at the centre of this process there is a person, who needs to understand the process and the associated paperwork and the impact that the IVA will have on their lives.
The protocol is a voluntary agreement, which provides an agreed standard framework for dealing with straightforward consumer IVAs and applies to both IVA providers and creditors. By accepting the content of the protocol, IVA providers and creditors agree to follow the processes and agreed documentation that forms part of the protocol. IVA providers indicate their acceptance of the content of the protocol by drawing up a proposal based on the standard documentation, and which states that it follows the protocol. Creditors are expected to abide by the terms of the protocol in relation to proposals drawn up on that basis.
Not all cases can be classified as a straightforward consumer IVA. A person suitable for a straightforward consumer IVA is likely to be:
- in receipt of a regular income either from employment or from a regular pension
- have 3 or more lines of credit from 2 or more creditors
About the operation of the IVA protocol
The IVA Standing Committee was set up to meet regularly and provide information about the operation of the IVA Protocol, in particular:
- How it interacts with the IVA regime generally
- To identify problems/issues arising in the operation of the Protocol at an early stage
- To act as a discussion forum for stakeholders and ensure that information concerning the operation of the IVA regime generally and particularly Protocol cases can be effectively shared and discussed
- To review periodically the Protocol and its standard terms and conditions to ensure they are fit for purpose and to make any changes that are needed
Last updated 17 September 2021 + show all updates
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Update to the following bullets in Annex 3 A Debt Relief order is not available to you because [insert at least one]: you are a homeowner. your debts are more than £30,000. you have more than £75 of spare income every month. You own a car worth more than £2,000 and it’s essential you keep it . Non-essential things that you own are worth more than £2,000. Update to annex 4 para 6.2 changing 'at month 48' to 'at month 54'.
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Changes to IVA protocol 2021 specifically to amend the approached to equity in a few key areas and the option 3 related paragraphs in both the protocol itself and the annex documents. Changes to make the approach to redundancy payments more easily understandable by all parties and some minor additions of paragraphs that IPRS omitted from the first version.
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IVA protocol 2021 published
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IVA protocol 2016, published
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First published.