Bankruptcy restrictions

• You can’t borrow over £500 without telling the lender about your bankruptcy.
• You need court permission to run a company or become a limited company director.
• You can't buy a house through the 'right to buy' scheme.
• If you’re self-employed, you must tell clients if you use a different name to conduct business.
• Certain jobs are off-limits, such as:
  • charity trustee
  • insolvency practitioner
  • registrar
  • consumer credit licence holder
  • solicitor
  • accountant
• Any power of attorney you hold will be cancelled.
• You can’t be a school governor.
• You must cooperate with the official receiver and provide any documents or information they request.

If you live in Northern Ireland, you’re also not allowed to travel to Great Britain or the Republic of Ireland without written permission from the official receiver.

When you're bankrupt, it's important to work with the official receiver. You need to share any information they ask for and follow the restrictions.

If you don’t, you could be fined or even sent to prison.

Bankruptcy restrictions usually remain in place until you’re discharged (generally after 12 months).
But your restrictions may be extended if:

• the official receiver believes your bankruptcy was caused by dishonest or reckless behaviour
• you break any rules during your bankruptcy

The official receiver might investigate if they think you haven’t acted properly either before or during your bankruptcy.

If you don’t cooperate with the investigation, the official receiver can go to court to suspend your bankruptcy discharge. This means you won’t be discharged from bankruptcy after 12 months.

If the official receiver finds you’ve acted improperly, they’ll ask you to agree to a bankruptcy restrictions undertaking (BRU).

If you don’t agree, they can ask the court:

• for a bankruptcy restrictions order (BRO)
• to order you to attend a public examination
• to redirect your mail to them
• for a court hearing to rule on whether you've committed a bankruptcy offence

A BRU or BRO extends your bankruptcy restrictions, and add new ones, for between two to 15 years.