The short version

While you're in an IVA, new credit is restricted by the terms you agreed to. The rule is simple: you can't obtain more than £500 of credit without the written consent of your IVA supervisor. A credit card almost always counts, even one with a modest limit, because the available limit, not what you spend, is the credit being extended.

The £500 rule, explained properly

This isn't AfterMy's rule. It's written into the standard terms of every protocol IVA. The official wording is that during the arrangement you must not obtain any credit greater than £500 without your supervisor's prior written approval. There are sensible exceptions built in: utilities, insurance, and other contractual payments already accounted for in your budget don't count.

• It's the total credit, not the monthly cost. A £30-a-month phone contract over 24 months is £720 of credit, over the line.
• It applies to all borrowing, including from friends and family.
• A credit card's limit is the figure that matters, so even a £300-limit card sits under the threshold while a typical card does not.

What happens if you take credit without permission

Going over £500 without consent is a breach of your IVA. That doesn't automatically end it. In most cases your insolvency practitioner issues a breach notice explaining what's gone wrong and giving you a chance to put it right. But if it isn't resolved, your IP can put it to your creditors, who could vote to terminate the arrangement, which would undo the protection you've built. It's simply not a risk worth taking for a credit card.

"But I want to start rebuilding my credit"

This is the real reason most people ask, and it's a good instinct. The thing to know is that the rebuilding clock doesn't start ticking faster by getting a card now. While the IVA is on your file, new credit can't lift your profile much, and the risk and cost outweigh the benefit. What genuinely helps during an IVA is free and low-risk: stay on the electoral roll, keep every bill paid on time, and keep your IVA payments perfect so you reach completion cleanly. That on-time history is the foundation lenders look at afterwards.

The day that changes everything: completion

When your IVA completes, you'll get a Certificate of Completion, and the restrictions lift. You're free to apply for credit again. Your file still carries the IVA marker until six years from the start date (or your completion date if the arrangement ran longer), but specialist "builder" cards are designed for exactly this point, and used well they're how people rebuild from the day they finish. That's the moment AfterMy is built for. We'll be here when you finish, with a plan for what to do first, in what order, staged around your own dates.