Key points at a glance
- You can't run two IVAs at the same time, but having had one in the past doesn't permanently bar you from another.
- If a previous IVA completed or was terminated, a new IVA may be possible later — it depends on your current circumstances and creditors' agreement.
- If an IVA fails, the debts (minus what you've paid) usually return, and creditors can resume action — but you'll have other routes available.
- The right path after a failed IVA isn't always another IVA; sometimes a different solution suits better.
Can you have more than one IVA at once?
No — you can't have two IVAs running at the same time. An IVA is meant to bring all your qualifying unsecured debts into a single arrangement, so the idea of two parallel IVAs doesn't fit how they work. If new debts appear during an existing IVA, that's handled differently (see our guide on adding new debts to an IVA), rather than by starting a second one.
What people usually mean by “more than one IVA” is whether they can have another IVA after a previous one has ended — and that's where the answer becomes “it depends.”
Can you get an IVA if you've had one before?
Yes, this is possible in many cases. Having had an IVA in the past doesn't automatically rule out a new one. What matters is how the previous arrangement ended and what your situation looks like now:
- If your previous IVA completed successfully and you've since fallen into difficulty again, a new IVA may be an option, subject to your current finances and creditor agreement.
- If your previous IVA was terminated or failed, a fresh IVA can still sometimes be proposed later — but creditors will weigh up what happened before, so it isn't guaranteed.
Because creditors vote on every IVA proposal, a realistic, affordable proposal that addresses why things went wrong last time has the best chance of acceptance.
What happens if an IVA fails?
An IVA can fail if the agreed payments aren't maintained or the terms aren't met. If that happens, your Insolvency Practitioner may issue a notice of failure (or termination). The main consequences are usually:
- The protection ends. The debts included in the IVA — reduced by whatever you've already paid in — effectively come back, and interest and charges can be added again.
- Creditors can resume action, including the kinds of collection the IVA had paused.
- Fees already incurred may have been taken from your payments, so the reduction in your balances might be less than the total you've paid.
It's a setback, but it isn't the end of the road. The important thing is to get advice quickly rather than letting matters drift.
If you're struggling to keep up with IVA payments — perhaps because your income has dropped — speak to your Insolvency Practitioner before it fails. It's sometimes possible to vary the arrangement (for example, a payment break or reduced payments) rather than let it collapse.
Can you do an IVA twice?
In principle, yes — there's no fixed rule that says you can only ever have one IVA in your lifetime. People do sometimes enter a second IVA, years after a first one ended. But each new IVA is judged on its own merits: your current debts, your affordability, and whether creditors are willing to accept the proposal.
A second IVA usually works best when something has genuinely changed — so that the new arrangement is realistic and sustainable rather than repeating the same difficulty.
Your options after a failed or previous IVA
If an IVA has failed, or a past one ended and you're in difficulty again, a new IVA is only one possibility. Depending on your circumstances, you might also consider:
- A Debt Management Plan — a more flexible, informal arrangement.
- A Debt Relief Order — if you have low income, few assets and relatively modest debts.
- Bankruptcy — sometimes the most appropriate route for serious, unmanageable debt.
- A fresh IVA proposal — where a realistic, affordable plan can be put to creditors.
The best choice depends on the full picture, which is exactly what an initial assessment is for (there is no charge for this).
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How to give an IVA the best chance of succeeding
Whether it's your first IVA or a second, the same things help it stick: a budget that's genuinely affordable from day one, a small buffer for the unexpected, and early contact with your Insolvency Practitioner whenever your circumstances change. An IVA built on optimistic numbers is the one most likely to struggle.
If you'd like to understand your options after a previous or failing IVA, there's no charge for an initial assessment of your options. To talk through your options, get in touch.
How long do you have to wait after a failed IVA?
There's no fixed waiting period written into insolvency law. You don't have to sit out a set number of years before a new IVA can be proposed. In practice, though, timing matters a great deal, because a second proposal has to convince the same kind of creditors who lost out the first time.
What usually makes the difference is whether something has genuinely changed. If your first IVA failed because your income dropped and it has since recovered, or because an unexpected cost knocked you off course and that's now behind you, a new proposal has a realistic story to tell. If nothing has changed, creditors are likely to take the view that the same thing will happen again.
It's also worth remembering that a failed IVA stays on your credit file for six years from the date it started, not from the date it failed. Our guide to rebuilding your credit score after an IVA explains how that timeline works.
What creditors look at in a second proposal
Each IVA is voted on by your creditors, and an arrangement is approved when creditors holding the required majority by value agree to it. When you've had an IVA before, they tend to focus on a few things:
- Why the first one ended. A failure caused by redundancy or illness reads very differently from one caused by payments simply stopping.
- How much they received last time. Creditors who got very little from the first arrangement will look harder at the second.
- Whether the new budget is realistic. A proposal built on an optimistic budget is the most common reason a second IVA is rejected.
- Whether you engaged. Keeping in touch with your insolvency practitioner through problems counts in your favour; disappearing does not.
This is one of the reasons the quality of the firm putting the proposal together matters — see our guide on how to choose an IVA company.
What about couples — is that two IVAs?
If you and a partner both have debts, you can't be joined into a single IVA, because an IVA is an individual voluntary arrangement. What happens instead is that you each have your own IVA, and the two are linked so that joint debts aren't counted twice and the household budget is assessed as a whole. These are usually called interlocking IVAs.
So a couple in this position genuinely does have two IVAs running at the same time — just not two belonging to the same person. Our guide to a joint IVA for couples explains how the arrangement is structured and when it makes sense.
Can you add a debt to an IVA instead?
People sometimes ask about a second IVA when what they actually need is to add a forgotten or newly discovered debt to the arrangement they already have. That's a different question with a different answer, and it's usually easier to deal with.
A debt that existed before your IVA started but was left off the proposal can sometimes be brought in, depending on the terms of your arrangement and how far through you are. A debt taken on after the IVA started generally can't be added. Our guide to adding new debts to an IVA covers both cases, and it's always a conversation to have with your insolvency practitioner rather than something to leave until the annual review.
Will a previous IVA show up anywhere?
While an IVA is running, it appears on the Individual Insolvency Register, a public database maintained by the Insolvency Service. Your entry is removed about three months after the arrangement completes or fails, so a past IVA won't stay there indefinitely.
Your credit file is the longer-lasting record: an IVA is marked for six years from the date it began. Lenders can see it during that period whether the arrangement completed successfully or not. Our guides on whether your employer finds out about an IVA and getting a mortgage after an IVA cover who else can see it and when.
If a second IVA isn't right
An IVA isn't the only formal route, and after a failed arrangement it isn't always the best one. Depending on where you stand:
- A debt management plan is informal, has no creditor vote, and can be left at any time — though it doesn't write anything off and interest isn't guaranteed to be frozen.
- A debt relief order may fit if you have little spare income, few assets and debts under the DRO limit.
- Bankruptcy can be the cleaner option where there's no realistic prospect of sustained payments, though it has different consequences for your home and for certain occupations.
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