If you take out an IVA, your details go on a public register. It is a normal part of the process, but it is worth understanding what it shows, who can see it, and how long you stay on it.
The Individual Insolvency Register is a free, public online database run by the Insolvency Service. It lists people in England and Wales who are subject to a formal insolvency: IVAs, bankruptcies and Debt Relief Orders, along with related restrictions.
Anyone can search it by name. It exists so that lenders, businesses and the public can check someone's insolvency status, and it is separate from your credit file held by the credit reference agencies.
For an IVA, an entry typically includes your name, an area or partial address, the type of arrangement, the Insolvency Practitioner dealing with it, and the relevant dates. To protect people who may be at risk, you can ask for your address details to be limited if disclosing them could put you in danger.
Your IVA is shown on the register for as long as it runs, and is then removed about three months after it ends. A bankruptcy is removed roughly three months after discharge, and a DRO about three months after its 12-month period finishes.
These are two different things. The register comes off a few months after your insolvency ends, but the record on your credit file lasts six years from the date the IVA started. That credit-file mark, not the register, is what mainly affects your ability to borrow.
An advisor can explain the register, your credit file and your options, with no obligation. Or picture the numbers with the IVA calculator.
You never have to pay anyone to understand your options. These services are free, independent and will go through every route with you.