Last updated: 28 October 2026 · Status as at 30 September 2026 · Compiled by IVA Advice Online from Insolvency Service official statistics
How many IVAs are completed, and how many fail? The Insolvency Service tracks every IVA registered in England and Wales and records whether it was completed, terminated (failed) or is still running. This page sets out those official figures by the year each IVA started, and shows how soon IVAs tend to fail.
IVA outcomes by year of registration
Each bar shows what has happened to the IVAs that started in that year. IVAs usually last five or six years, so IVAs from 2020 onwards are still running and their final completion rates aren't known yet.
Source: Insolvency Service, IVA outcomes, Table 1.1
- Of the 296,962 IVAs registered from 2015 to 2019, 182,454 (61.4%) have been completed and 94,308 (31.8%) were terminated.1
- For IVAs registered in 2016, 62.7% completed and 34.6% failed; 2.7% are still running.1
- Completion rates were highest for IVAs started in the early 2010s, at around 75% for 2011–2013.1
- For IVAs registered in 2019, 60.6% have completed and 27.9% have failed, with 11.5% still running.1
When do IVAs fail?
The table shows the share of IVAs that had been terminated within a given time of being registered. Most terminations happen in the first two to three years.
| Registered | 1 year | 2 years | 3 years | 4 years | 5 years | 6 years | To date |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 8.2% | 19.3% | 27.0% | 30.6% | 32.3% | 33.1% | 34.6% |
| 2017 | 7.9% | 20.7% | 26.9% | 29.9% | 31.9% | 33.2% | 34.9% |
| 2018 | 8.1% | 18.1% | 23.0% | 27.0% | 29.3% | 31.0% | 32.8% |
| 2019 | 5.6% | 12.3% | 17.7% | 21.6% | 24.2% | 26.7% | 27.9% |
| 2020 | 4.0% | 10.5% | 16.1% | 19.8% | 23.4% | – | 25.3% |
| 2021 | 5.7% | 14.7% | 20.6% | 24.9% | – | – | 27.7% |
| 2022 | 5.7% | 14.6% | 21.0% | – | – | – | 24.9% |
| 2023 | 5.8% | 13.2% | – | – | – | – | 19.6% |
| 2024 | 6.1% | – | – | – | – | – | 17.3% |
| 2025 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 7.0% |
Source: Insolvency Service, IVA outcomes, Table 2.1 "–" means not enough time has passed. "To date" is the share terminated by 30 September 2026.
- Termination in the first year has stayed between about 4% and 8% since 2016. For IVAs registered in 2022 it was 5.7%, roughly 1 in 17.1
- Termination within two years fell from around 20% for IVAs registered in 2016–2017 to a low of 10.5% for 2020, but has risen since, to 14.7% for 2021 and 13.2% for 2023. First-year termination has also risen, from 4.0% for 2020 to 6.1% for 2024.1
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Why do IVAs fail?
The Insolvency Service commissioned research into IVAs that were both registered and terminated between 17 September 2021 and 17 September 2023, so all of them ended within two years. In the sample of 310 cases:2
- 74% were terminated because of payment arrears.
- 24% were terminated at the person's own request.
- 2% were terminated for another breach of the IVA's terms.
The research also found evidence of poor practice when the IVA was set up in 60% of the cases it looked at. The most common problem was how accurately income and spending had been assessed and checked. That finding applies to IVAs that failed early, not to all IVAs.2 The 2025 IVA Protocol introduced clearer rules on when an IVA isn't suitable and requires people whose IVA ends early to be directed to free debt advice.3
All years since 1990
View outcomes for every registration year
| Year | IVAs | Completed | % | Terminated | % | Still running | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1,921 | 1,376 | 71.6% | 545 | 28.4% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1991 | 3,058 | 2,125 | 69.5% | 933 | 30.5% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1992 | 4,685 | 3,323 | 70.9% | 1,362 | 29.1% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1993 | 5,632 | 3,877 | 68.8% | 1,755 | 31.2% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1994 | 5,079 | 3,441 | 67.7% | 1,638 | 32.3% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1995 | 4,370 | 2,916 | 66.7% | 1,454 | 33.3% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1996 | 4,468 | 3,081 | 69.0% | 1,387 | 31.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1997 | 4,507 | 3,091 | 68.6% | 1,416 | 31.4% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1998 | 4,892 | 3,377 | 69.0% | 1,515 | 31.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 1999 | 7,180 | 5,107 | 71.1% | 2,073 | 28.9% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2000 | 7,937 | 5,635 | 71.0% | 2,302 | 29.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2001 | 6,266 | 4,515 | 72.1% | 1,751 | 27.9% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2002 | 6,274 | 4,403 | 70.2% | 1,871 | 29.8% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2003 | 7,571 | 4,997 | 66.0% | 2,574 | 34.0% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2004 | 10,714 | 6,793 | 63.4% | 3,921 | 36.6% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2005 | 20,156 | 12,774 | 63.4% | 7,382 | 36.6% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2006 | 43,964 | 26,592 | 60.5% | 17,371 | 39.5% | 1 | 0.0% |
| 2007 | 41,836 | 24,402 | 58.3% | 17,433 | 41.7% | 1 | 0.0% |
| 2008 | 38,732 | 23,288 | 60.1% | 15,444 | 39.9% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2009 | 47,513 | 31,768 | 66.9% | 15,744 | 33.1% | 1 | 0.0% |
| 2010 | 50,597 | 36,157 | 71.5% | 14,440 | 28.5% | 0 | 0.0% |
| 2011 | 48,963 | 36,740 | 75.0% | 12,215 | 24.9% | 8 | 0.0% |
| 2012 | 46,540 | 35,179 | 75.6% | 11,339 | 24.4% | 22 | 0.0% |
| 2013 | 48,786 | 36,709 | 75.2% | 12,014 | 24.6% | 63 | 0.1% |
| 2014 | 51,117 | 37,435 | 73.2% | 13,384 | 26.2% | 298 | 0.6% |
| 2015 | 40,005 | 27,737 | 69.3% | 11,712 | 29.3% | 556 | 1.4% |
| 2016 | 49,255 | 30,893 | 62.7% | 17,049 | 34.6% | 1,313 | 2.7% |
| 2017 | 59,105 | 35,149 | 59.5% | 20,654 | 34.9% | 3,302 | 5.6% |
| 2018 | 70,667 | 41,419 | 58.6% | 23,167 | 32.8% | 6,081 | 8.6% |
| 2019 | 77,930 | 47,256 | 60.6% | 21,726 | 27.9% | 8,948 | 11.5% |
| 2020 | 78,425 | 42,448 | 54.1% | 19,841 | 25.3% | 16,136 | 20.6% |
| 2021 | 81,179 | 18,820 | 23.2% | 22,448 | 27.7% | 39,911 | 49.2% |
| 2022 | 87,841 | 5,479 | 6.2% | 21,905 | 24.9% | 60,457 | 68.8% |
| 2023 | 64,012 | 2,869 | 4.5% | 12,553 | 19.6% | 48,590 | 75.9% |
| 2024 | 67,083 | 1,753 | 2.6% | 11,607 | 17.3% | 53,723 | 80.1% |
| 2025 | 71,843 | 641 | 0.9% | 4,994 | 7.0% | 66,208 | 92.2% |
If you're struggling with your IVA
An IVA that's become hard to afford can often be saved. Payments can be reduced or paused, and the terms can be varied. See what to do if you can't pay your IVA, what happens if your IVA fails and switching from an IVA to another solution.
Common questions
What percentage of IVAs fail?
Of IVAs registered in England and Wales between 2015 and 2019, which have almost all finished, 61% were completed and 32% were terminated (failed), with the rest still running. For IVAs registered in 2016, 62.7% completed and 34.6% failed. Source: Insolvency Service, status as at 30 September 2026.
What percentage of IVAs are completed successfully?
Around 61% of IVAs registered between 2015 and 2019 have been completed. The completion rate was higher for IVAs started in the early 2010s, peaking at 76% for IVAs registered in 2012.
When do most IVAs fail?
Most failures happen in the first three years. Of IVAs registered in 2021, 14.7% had been terminated within two years. For IVAs registered in 2022, 5.7% were terminated within the first year.
Why do IVAs fail?
An IVA is terminated when the person can't keep to its terms, most often because of missed payments. In Insolvency Service research into IVAs registered and terminated between September 2021 and September 2023, 74% were terminated because of payment arrears, 24% at the person's own request and 2% for another breach of the terms.
What happens if my IVA fails?
If an IVA fails, creditors can chase you again for what you still owe, interest and charges can be added back, and the supervisor or a creditor may petition for your bankruptcy. Payments already made aren't refunded. If you're struggling, speak to your insolvency practitioner early, as payments can often be reduced or paused.
Using these statistics
You're welcome to use the figures on this page. Please credit the original source shown for each figure, and link to this page if it helped you find them:
Source: IVA Advice Online, "IVA Success and Failure Rates", https://ivaadviceonline.com/iva-success-rates/Download the data (CSV) – IVA outcomes (completed, terminated, still running) for every registration year since 1990. Cumulative termination rates since 2016 (CSV). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Sources
- Insolvency Service, Individual insolvency statistics September 2026: Individual Voluntary Arrangements outcomes (data tables 1 and 2, status as at 30 September 2026), published 20 October 2026.
- Insolvency Service and RSM UK Creditor Solutions LLP, Individual Voluntary Arrangements: research report into concerns, published 17 October 2024.
- Insolvency Service, Key facts: protocol individual voluntary arrangements (IVA Protocol 2025).
This page provides general information, not advice about your circumstances.