How long after an IVA can you get car finance?

Is there a set waiting period after an IVA?

No. There is no waiting period written into any rule, and no date after which car finance becomes available.

Each lender sets its own criteria, none publishes a simple pass mark, and anyone who gives you a fixed number of months is guessing. What lenders look at is your credit file as it stands on the day you apply, what you can afford now and your record since your IVA completed.

Your completion date and your credit file

Two dates get mixed up. The first is your completion date: the day your insolvency practitioner confirms the terms of the arrangement have been met and issues your completion certificate.

The second is the day your credit file is updated, when the entry changes from active to completed and the debts inside the arrangement show as settled or partially settled with a zero balance. That update can lag, so check it before you apply.

The entry leaves your file altogether later on, and our guide on when an IVA leaves your credit file explains how that date is worked out.

What lenders see when you apply

Lenders read your credit file as it stands on the day you apply, so check your reports with all three credit reference agencies first. Each must give you your statutory credit report free of charge.

Confirm that the IVA is recorded as completed with the correct dates, that the debts inside it show as settled or partially settled with a zero balance, and that nothing is still reporting as in arrears. If the IVA is wrongly showing as active, you have the right to dispute it with the credit reference agency and the lender.

Keep your completion certificate somewhere you can find it, because some lenders ask to see it. Our guide to checking your credit reports after completion walks through it agency by agency.

What lenders look at

Lenders who consider people rebuilding after a debt solution look at your current income, employment and outgoings rather than your score alone, alongside your credit file. Each lender sets its own criteria.

• A deposit: it reduces the amount you need to borrow.
• An on-time record: a record of on-time payments helps any application.
• Stability: time in your job, time at your address and being on the electoral roll.
• Checking your own credit reports before you apply helps you avoid declines and unnecessary hard searches.
• Honest affordability: be ready to show the payment fits comfortably. That's the core test.

While your IVA is still running

Your IVA's terms usually require your supervisor's written consent before you take on new credit above a set amount, and going ahead without it can put your IVA at risk. Come back when your IVA has finished.

How AfterMy fits in

We work with a panel of lenders and partners, not the whole market. If it is the options question you want rather than the timing question, our guide to car finance after an IVA covers the types of finance and what lenders check.