How long does an IVA last?
Sixty months is standard. Costs, risks and what actually happens, explained without the sales pitch.
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Why five years
Five years is the term the IVA Protocol works to for straightforward cases. It is long enough to return a meaningful amount to creditors and short enough to be sustainable. It is not a legal maximum — proposals outside the Protocol can run to different terms — but the overwhelming majority of consumer IVAs are five-year arrangements.
The sixth year, and who it applies to
The 2025 IVA Protocol sets the term at the outset. If your beneficial interest in a family home is £10,000 or more, the proposal is drawn at 72 months rather than 60. Below that threshold it is 60 months and the property is excluded outright.
What matters here is that the extra twelve months replace the equity rather than sitting alongside it. Under the previous Protocol a homeowner faced a remortgage attempt in year five and an extension only if no lender would offer. That review no longer exists, and the term you are quoted at the start is the term you should expect.
What can extend it further
Payment breaks granted during the term are usually added to the end. A variation reducing your payments may extend the arrangement to make up the shortfall. Missed payments that are later caught up can also push out the completion date. None of this is unusual and none of it means the IVA is failing — but it does mean the finish line can move.
When it can end early
An IVA can complete early if a lump sum is introduced — an inheritance, a redundancy payment, or help from family — that satisfies the terms. This is a full and final settlement within an IVA and needs the supervisor's agreement and usually creditors'. It is worth asking about if your circumstances change substantially for the better.
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Common questions
Does the six years on my credit file run from the start or the end?
From the start date. An IVA is recorded for six years from the date it begins, not from when it finishes. So a five-year IVA leaves your file roughly a year after completion. A six-year IVA and the credit file entry end at around the same time.
Related guides
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