Going bankrupt might help you get out of debt but it costs money. You’ll need to have enough money to apply for bankruptcy.

How much it costs to apply for bankruptcy

If you apply for your own bankruptcy, you’ll need to pay £680 to cover:

• an adjudicator fee of £130

• a deposit of £550 – you’ll only get this back if your application is rejected

You can pay in installments, but you’ll need to pay the whole amount before you submit your bankruptcy application.

Paying your bankruptcy fees

You can pay online when you apply for bankruptcy. If you pay online, you can choose to pay in instalments. The minimum payment amount is £5 and you can pay in as many instalments as you need.

You can pay by cash at any Royal Bank of Scotland branch. If you pay by cash, you can’t pay in instalments – so you’ll need to pay the full £680.

You can apply to go bankrupt and pay the fees on GOV.UK.

If creditors apply to make you bankrupt

If one or more of your creditors applies to make you bankrupt, you won’t have to pay the bankruptcy application fees. Find out more about creditors making you bankrupt.

Get help with bankruptcy costs

If you’re struggling to raise the bankruptcy application fee, you might be able to apply for a grant or get help from a charity. You can search for a grant on the Turn2us website.

Costs if you have assets

After you’re made bankrupt there might be other costs you’ll need to pay if you have:

• assets – for example, property
• spare income – this is money leftover after you’ve paid for everyday living costs

Any assets or spare income you have are called your ‘bankruptcy estate’. A trustee from the government’s Insolvency Service will be appointed to oversee your bankruptcy estate. The costs could include:

• an admin fee of £1,990
• a general fee of £6,000
• a trustee fee – this will be 15% of the amount they get from selling your assets
• the cost of selling your assets – for example, estate agents’ fees

You only have to pay these fees if you have enough money or assets in your bankruptcy estate. After the trustee has paid these costs from your estate, they’ll share the rest of the money left in your bankruptcy estate among your creditors. Read more about bankruptcy costs you might have to pay from your spare income.

Check what your options are

Make sure you check if bankruptcy is the best option for you – it can have serious consequences, like losing your house or your job. There might be other options for dealing with your debt – for example:

• check if you can get a debt relief order to deal with your debt
• check if you can get an individual voluntary arrangement to set up a payment arrangement with your creditors

Next steps

• Debts covered by bankruptcy