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Bankruptcy stays on your credit file for 6 years from the bankruptcy date, the day the court made the bankruptcy order. That is a separate timeline from discharge, which usually happens automatically after 12 months and lifts most of the restrictions bankruptcy places on you. The two dates are easy to confuse, but they answer different questions.
If you are trying to work out when bankruptcy will stop showing on your file, or what changes at each stage, this is the order things happen in.
Two dates that matter, and they’re not the same
Bankruptcy involves two milestones that people often mix up:
| Milestone | When it usually happens | What it affects |
|---|---|---|
| Discharge | Usually 12 months after the bankruptcy order | Lifts most bankruptcy restrictions; you’re no longer classed as an undischarged bankrupt |
| Credit file removal | 6 years from the bankruptcy date | The bankruptcy entry disappears from your Experian, Equifax and TransUnion files |
Discharge happening after a year does not mean the credit file entry disappears at the same time. It remains visible to any lender that checks your file for the remaining years of the 6-year period, even though you are no longer restricted in the way an undischarged bankrupt is.
What discharge actually changes
Once discharged, most of your remaining unsecured debts covered by the bankruptcy are usually written off, and restrictions such as those on being a company director are normally lifted. A bankruptcy restrictions order can extend some restrictions in more serious cases, but this is separate from how long the entry shows on your credit file.
What discharge does not do is remove the bankruptcy from your credit file early, and it does not automatically resolve what happens to your home, which follows its own process.
What happens to your home during bankruptcy
When you’re made bankrupt, your interest in your home usually passes to the trustee in bankruptcy, who deals with the bankruptcy estate on behalf of your creditors. This is one of the more significant differences between bankruptcy and other debt solutions such as an IVA.
Under the Insolvency Act 1986, section 283A, if the trustee has not dealt with your interest in the property within 3 years of the bankruptcy, it can revert back to you, subject to the specifics of your case. This 3-year rule runs on its own timeline, separate from both the 12-month discharge and the 6-year credit file entry, which is why bankruptcy can involve up to three different dates worth keeping track of.
A worked example of the full timeline
Say someone is made bankrupt in March 2023.
- March 2024 (around 12 months later): discharge usually happens automatically, lifting most restrictions.
- March 2026 (3 years later): if the trustee still has not dealt with their interest in the home, it can revert back to them, depending on the circumstances.
- March 2029 (6 years later): the bankruptcy is removed from their credit file at all three agencies.
Three separate dates, three separate consequences, all counted from the same starting point.
Does a bankruptcy restrictions order change any of this?
In more serious cases, the court can impose a bankruptcy restrictions order, extending some of the restrictions that would normally end at discharge, for a period the court sets. This is separate from both the credit file timeline and the trustee’s 3-year interest in your home, and doesn’t apply to everyone who’s made bankrupt. If a restrictions order applies to you, it’s worth understanding exactly which restrictions it extends and for how long, rather than assuming it simply adds extra years to the credit file entry itself, since the 6-year rule on the file stays tied to the original bankruptcy date regardless.
Does it matter in Scotland?
The equivalent process in Scotland is called sequestration, overseen by the Accountant in Bankruptcy, and it has its own rules on discharge and on your home that can differ from the England and Wales position described above. If sequestration applies to you, check guidance specific to Scotland rather than assuming the timelines here transfer directly across.
What this means if you’re remortgaging after bankruptcy
Whether bankruptcy on your file affects a remortgage depends heavily on where you are in the timeline, not just on the fact that it happened.
While undischarged, most lenders are unlikely to consider an application, since you remain an undischarged bankrupt with restrictions in place. Once discharged, options can open up, particularly as more time passes since the bankruptcy date, even though the entry itself is still visible on your file. Our page on remortgaging after a discharged bankruptcy looks at what lenders commonly want to see at this stage, and our page on remortgaging once bankruptcy is over 6 years old covers the position once it has dropped off your file entirely.
Because the home may have passed to a trustee during the bankruptcy, it’s worth understanding exactly where things stand with your property before assuming a remortgage is straightforward. Our remortgage after bankruptcy hub covers the wider picture, including how it compares with other routes covered in debt solutions compared, and how it differs from an IVA staying on your credit file, which does not usually involve a trustee taking an interest in your home in the same way.
Check your statutory credit report free from Experian, Equifax and TransUnion to see exactly how your bankruptcy is recorded, and if you’re still working through money difficulties, free and impartial help is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange and National Debtline.
Frequently asked questions
Does being discharged remove bankruptcy from my credit file?
No. Discharge, which usually happens automatically after 12 months, ends most of the restrictions bankruptcy places on you, but the bankruptcy itself stays recorded on your credit file for 6 years from the bankruptcy date, well beyond discharge.
Can bankruptcy be removed from my credit file early?
Only if it's inaccurate, for example the wrong date or a duplicate entry. A correctly recorded bankruptcy runs for the full 6 years from the bankruptcy date regardless of when you were discharged or how the debts were eventually resolved.
Does my home automatically go to the trustee if I'm made bankrupt?
Your interest in the property usually passes to the trustee in bankruptcy. Under the Insolvency Act 1986, section 283A, if the trustee hasn't dealt with that interest within 3 years, it can revert back to you, although this depends on your individual case.
What's the Scottish equivalent of bankruptcy?
In Scotland, the equivalent process is called sequestration, overseen by the Accountant in Bankruptcy. It follows its own rules, so check guidance for Scotland specifically if that applies to you, rather than assuming the England and Wales timeline is identical.