An Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) is a debt solution which involves yourself and your creditors coming to a legally binding agreement to extend your loan term and make reduced monthly repayments over this new timeframe. In order to officially set up an IVA, you will need to obtain the services of an insolvency practitioner, who is legally required to process and manage your IVA application. However, all insolvency practitioners are bound to a specified protocol when working on your IVA.

The following guide will provide you with information about the IVA Protocol.

Every insolvency practitioner and the majority of lenders have voluntarily bound themselves to a voluntary code of conduct, entitled the IVA Protocol. The purpose of this protocol is to ensure that the procedures involved in an IVA are clearly identified and made fair through the provision of a clear and official set of guidelines for practitioner conduct when setting up an IVA. The protocol aims to provide a standard procedure for:

• The composition of the content in an IVA application
• The manner in which income and outgoings are evaluated
• The way in which releasing equity in a debtor’s property should be handled
• The terms and conditions of an IVA

You’ll be applicable to set up an IVA under the terms and conditions of the IVA protocol provided that you earn a steady and consistent income each month and owe a minimum of three debts to at least two lenders.

In order to read the IVA Protocol in full you should visit: www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk