Individual insolvencies, November 2025
Monthly tables and commentary on the numbers and rates of individual insolvencies, including bankruptcies, debt relief orders and individual voluntary arrangements in England and Wales and Northern Ireland, and quarterly information for Scotland. For England and Wales, Breathing Space scheme statistics are also included.
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In November 2025, 9,348 individuals entered insolvency in England and Wales, lower than in October 2025, and November 2024. The Insolvency Service moved to a new case management system on 1 November 2025. There was a controlled introduction of the new system, which necessitated a reduction in processing volumes while case management activity recommenced. Accordingly, there was a temporary backlog of individual voluntary arrangements agreed in November 2025 that were not yet registered by month end. Debtor bankruptcy orders were also made in a slower timeframe than normal (although still within statutory requirements). Therefore, numbers reported for these insolvency types for November do not reflect the total number of individuals applying for these insolvency solutions in that month.
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DRO numbers in November 2025 were 1% lower than in October, but 4% higher than in November 2024. Monthly numbers of DROs have been at historically high levels since the abolition of the upfront £90 fee in April 2024.
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IVA numbers in the first 11 months of 2025 were higher than the monthly average seen in both 2024 and 2023, but lower than in 2022, which saw a record high annual number.
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Bankruptcy numbers remain low relative to historic levels. However, average monthly numbers so far in 2025 are similar to those in 2024.
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In the 12 months ending 30 November 2025, one in 407 adults in England and Wales entered insolvency (at a rate of 24.6 per 10,000 adults). This is higher than the rate of 23.7 per 10,000 adults (one in 422) who entered insolvency in the 12 months ending 30 November 2024.
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There were 7,151 Breathing Space registrations in November 2025. This is 7% lower than in November 2024.