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My client is a sole trader who has gone bankrupt. What do I do?

The short answer

Stop chasing. After a bankruptcy order, you have no remedy against the person or their property for that debt1, and you can't sue without the court's permission. Send a proof of debt to the trustee instead: that is how you join the queue for any dividend8. The person is usually discharged after one year2, ending their debt to you but not your right to prove3, so the proof is usually your only claim.

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

What to write down.

1 yearUsually, until the person is discharged. The trustee's work and your proof carry on.2 3

21 daysThe least notice you get of the last date to prove, before a dividend.8

3 monthsEntries usually leave the register this long after a case ends.9

What you can add

A £3,800 invoice, 95 days late at the order

Say you invoiced a sole trader £3,800 on 13 May 2026, due on 12 June 2026. They were made bankrupt on 15 September 2026, when the invoice was 95 days late. It went late on 13 June 2026, in the first half of the year, so the rate is the first-half one: 11.75% a year11.

£3,800.00The invoice

£116.21Interest: £3,800 × 11.75% ÷ 365 × 95 days11

£70.00Fixed sum (invoices from £1,000 to £9,999.99)12

£3,986.21Claim on the proof, as at 15 September 2026

Nothing is added after 15 September 2026, so there is no daily figure to track. If there is a dividend, it is paid as pence in the pound of £3,986.21, and only if there is money to share.

The road ahead

Six steps. The only cost is a stamp.

Step 1: Confirm the order and note its date
Search the Individual Insolvency Register9 by name or trading name. You need the date of the order and the case number, because your claim is counted as at the date of the order5.
Cost: FreeTime: 10 minutes
Step 2: Stop asking them for payment
Don't send a statutory demand, start a claim or ask for payment, at their home or anywhere else. After the order a creditor has no remedy against the person or their property1 for that debt, and a new claim needs the court's permission.
Cost: FreeTime: Today
Step 3: Work out the sum at the order date
Add the invoice, VAT included6, to the interest and the fixed sum up to the order date. Interest for any later period can't be claimed7.
Cost: FreeTime: 15 minutes
Step 4: Send the proof of debt to the trustee
A proof states your name and address, the total claim, how and when the debt arose, any security, any reservation of title, and the documents that back it6. The letter below is the proof: attach copies of the invoice and the contract or order, then date and sign it.
Send it to the trustee named in the notice or on the register. At first that is usually the Official Receiver4.
Cost: A stampTime: 30 minutes
Step 5: Keep your copy and wait for the trustee
A dividend is paid only from what is left after the costs of the bankruptcy4.
Notice of a coming dividend sets a last date for proofs, at least 21 days away8, and it can come after the person is discharged3. Creditors with priority are paid first: see who gets paid first.
Cost: FreeTime: No set time
Step 6: Report them if they run a limited company
A bankrupt is automatically barred from being a company director10 without the court's permission. If you find them running a limited company, the Insolvency Service takes reports.
Cost: FreeTime: 15 minutes

A letter you can copy

Proof of debt: letter to the trustee

Send it as soon as you have the case number and the date of the order, with copies of your paperwork.

New email

SubjectBankruptcy of , case : proof of debt

Dear , Bankruptcy of : order made on , case number Please treat this letter as the proof of debt of , a creditor of the bankrupt. The debt is for goods or work supplied on invoice , dated , for including VAT, due on . It has not been paid. The claim at the date of the order is made up of: Invoice: Interest from the due date to the date of the order: Fixed sum for late payment: Total claim: The total claim includes the interest shown above. I have not added interest for any period after the date of the order. I enclose copies of the invoice and of the contract, order or quote it relates to. Could you confirm the date you received this proof, and who the trustee is if it is not you? If you believe any of this is wrong or missing, please tell me and say why, so that I can put it right. Kind regards, , authorised to sign this proof for

Tap a highlighted gap to see what goes in it.

Email it so it is dated, with the paperwork attached, and keep the sent copy. If you post it, date and sign it, and use tracked delivery. If the trustee sends you their own proof form, fill it in as well and send this as the covering letter.

When not to bother

When it isn't worth it

They bought as a consumer, not a business. The Act's interest and fixed sum are for sales between businesses, so leave them off the proof; the invoice itself still goes in.
They stopped trading but are not bankrupt. Check the register first: an IVA or a debt relief order shows there too, and works differently. If they are not on it, chase as normal, starting with what to do first.
Your client is a company, a partner in a firm, or in Scotland or Northern Ireland. This page covers a sole trader in England and Wales. A company in liquidation has its own road; Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own routes.
You hold security or goods. A secured creditor can still enforce their security1, so say so on the proof. See getting goods back.
The sum is small. The proof costs a stamp and is the only way into the queue, so send it, then put your time into the next invoice.

The Wolf's note

The order fixed your claim on the day it was made. Work the sum to that date, send the proof and keep the copy. Then put your time into the next invoice.

Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX

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