Bankruptcy Discharge

Being discharged is the ultimate stage of your bankruptcy and can take place anywhere from 6 to 12 months after the date you were declared bankrupt. The time scale generally depends on two factors – how long it takes the Official Receiver to finish his investigation into your affairs and present his findings to the court – and whether you comply fully with his requests during your bankruptcy term. The majority of bankruptcies last for less than a year.

Discharge Certificate

You will be automatically informed when you have been formally discharged. It is not necessary to apply for it to be granted, but should you require or desire a certificate to prove that you have been discharged from bankruptcy, you can apply for a Certificate of Discharge. To obtain it, you need to apply in writing directly to the court that served your initial bankruptcy order, providing all of your details including your case number and the date you are due to be discharged. Do not apply sooner than two weeks before your discharge is due.

On receiving your request, the court will contact the Official Receiver to ensure your hearing is not subject to any delay or suspension. The court will issue the certificate providing there are no such objections. You should receive it within four weeks of your discharge being granted. It is also possible to ask your Official Receiver to advertise your discharge in the local press.

Restriction Orders

The Official Receiver can sometimes apply for a restriction order, which will mean you being subject to certain restrictions for a determined period of time after your discharge. This does not affect your discharge, which will take place as normal with your outstanding debts being cancelled at that point. If you were appointed an insolvency practitioner as a trustee in place of the Official Receiver or you have not fully co-operated with the appointed Official Receiver in his requests, they may appeal for your discharge to be suspended or delayed.

Exempt Debts

Any debts that were exempt from your bankruptcy order will still have to be paid in full once your bankruptcy term is over. If your debt is a student loan and you came into debt after 1st September 2004 you will have to pay in full. If the debt was from before that date you will need to talk to the Official Receiver to see if you will still be required to pay back the loan. For more information on exempt debts, see Will bankruptcy remove ALL of my debts?