IVA – Individual Voluntary Agreement

A legally binding agreement between someone who owes money and their creditors. Designed by the government to help people get out of debt, an IVA can only be administered by an Insolvency Practitioner (IP). It is an alternative to bankruptcy, and normally only available to people with £15,000 or more of unsecured debt.

The person agrees to pay a certain amount for a fixed period of time (normally 5 years). Their creditors agree to write off any debt outstanding at the end of that period, and not to take any further action against them.