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Can I report the director to anyone?

The short answer

Yes. Report it to the body that fits the company's status1: the person running the insolvency, otherwise the Insolvency Service. A report can end in a ban of 2 to 15 years3, but a ban does not pay you. You may not need to report: the liquidator or administrator must report on every director of the last 3 years5.

Mara, WolfX research desk
Written with AI, checked by a person · 9 October 2026

England and Wales only. WolfX is software, not a law firm.

The numbers

The three numbers behind a report.

3 monthsFor the liquidator or administrator to send the government a report on each director.5

3 yearsUsually the time allowed to start a ban, from the day the company became insolvent.4

2–15 yearsHow long a ban lasts for unfit conduct in an insolvent company.3

What you can add

An £8,400 invoice and a company in liquidation

Say a company owes you £8,400. On Monday 14 September 2026 it goes into creditors' voluntary liquidation, with no director's declaration of solvency. That is the insolvency date5. The liquidator's report on each director is due by 13 December 2026, 3 months from that date5. Disqualification proceedings must usually start by 13 September 2029, 3 years from it4. A ban, if made, runs for 2 to 15 years3.

£8,400.00What the company owes you

£0.00Paid towards it by the ban itself

£8,400.00Still owed after a ban

A ban means the director cannot act as a director or run a company without the court's permission2. It is public, and it puts nothing in your account. Your money comes from your claim as a creditor. The one exception is a compensation order. After a ban, only the Secretary of State can ask the court for one, where the director's conduct caused loss to creditors7. The money is paid to the Secretary of State for the creditors named8. You cannot demand one.

The road ahead

Five steps. All free.

Step 1: Look up the company's status
Search the company on Companies House10. The record shows if it is live, in liquidation, in administration or dissolved, and who runs the insolvency. The status decides who takes your report.
Cost: FreeTime: 5 minutes
Step 2: Send it to the body that fits
Compulsory liquidation: the official receiver1. Administration, receivership or voluntary liquidation: the practitioner, who may pass it on. Live or dissolved company: the Insolvency Service's online form.
Breaches of filing or strike-off rules go to Companies House instead. The Insolvency Service assesses what it gets and decides whether to investigate.
Cost: FreeTime: 20 minutes
Step 3: Stick to dates, amounts and copies
What counts is unfit conduct, such as trading on when the company could not pay its debts or using its money or assets for personal benefit2. Give dated facts you know first hand that point to it: when the stock or work left your hands, what you were told. Attach the paperwork. Leave out opinions and labels: a dated fact can be checked and a label cannot.
Cost: FreeTime: 30 minutes
Step 4: Run the money road alongside
The report and your claim are separate. In a liquidation, send the proof of debt. Check whether a director gave a personal guarantee. If the same people have started again, see the new company.
Cost: FreeTime: An afternoon
Step 5: Check the register later
Search the register of disqualified directors9 to see if a ban was made. If a banned director is running a company, report that to the Insolvency Service: they are then personally responsible for that company's relevant debts6. Those are its debts, not your old invoice.
Cost: FreeTime: 5 minutes

A letter you can copy

Note to the liquidator, administrator or official receiver

Send it once you know who is running the insolvency. For a live or dissolved company, paste it into the Insolvency Service's online form and change the status line.

New email

Subject (): information about the directors' conduct

Dear , I am a creditor of , company number . It owes me , which fell due on . I understand the company went into on . I am writing so that the following can be taken into account in any review of the directors' conduct. These are facts I know first hand: I attach: . I have not drawn any conclusions from these facts. If you believe any of this is wrong or incomplete, please tell me and say why. Could you confirm by that you have received this? Kind regards,

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

Send it by email, or by post with proof of posting, so it is dated. Keep a copy with the invoice. Do not add adjectives or accusations. The reader is looking for dated facts and paperwork.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

It is still trading and simply owes you. Not usually investigated1. Chase the debt.
A sole trader who is not bankrupt. The Insolvency Service cannot investigate1 one.
You need the money more than the action. The hour on a report is an hour off the proof of debt, the guarantee claim or the next invoice. Do those first.
The company is in Scotland or Northern Ireland. The route for reports differs there, and this page covers England and Wales.

The Wolf's note

A report puts facts in front of someone with the power to act. It does not put money in your account. Send it once, with dates and copies and no adjectives, then spend the next hour on the proof of debt.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

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