Who can go bankrupt

To apply for bankruptcy in Scotland you must:

• live in Scotland (or have lived in Scotland within the last year)
• not have been bankrupt in last 5 years (or through MAP in last 10 years)

Types of bankruptcy

There’s 2 types of bankruptcy:

1. Minimal Assets Process (MAP) – if you’ve few assets or no disposable income
2. Full Administration – if you do not qualify for MAP

Which type you can apply for depends on your circumstances. A money adviser will need to do a financial assessment to check this.

1. MAP

You must:

• owe less than £25,000 
• not own property or land
• not own a single asset worth over £1,000
• not own assets over £2,000 in total (except for a vehicle up to the value of £3,000 you cannot do without)

You must also have no disposable income (proven by financial assessment).

2. Full Administration

You can apply for this if you do not qualify for MAP.

You must:

• owe at least £3,000
• be unable to pay the debts you owe (proven by a financial assessment)

If you do not qualify for bankruptcy

Contact a money adviser to check other ways you can deal with debt.

The Scottish Government fund organisations to give free professional debt advice.

Where to get free debt advice

If you do not live in Scotland 

The process to become bankrupt is different for the rest of the UK.

• Bankruptcy in England or Wales
• Bankruptcy in Northern Ireland