A debtor’s bankruptcy application is an application you make to the High Court to be made bankrupt yourself, under section 308 of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (IRDA). You must owe at least S$15,000 and be unable to pay, and the application must be supported by an affidavit exhibiting a statement of your affairs. A licensed insolvency practitioner (or the Official Assignee) must consent to act as your trustee, and a S$1,850 deposit is payable. If you meet the Debt Repayment Scheme criteria, the Court must adjourn the application so the Official Assignee can consider that scheme instead.
This guide is for business owners, directors and personal guarantors weighing whether to file for their own bankruptcy, and it reflects the law as at 6 November 2026.
What is a debtor’s bankruptcy application, and how is it different from a creditor’s?
Most bankruptcies start with a creditor. A bank or landlord calls a personal guarantee, serves a statutory demand and, if it is not paid, applies to the Court. Our guide on when a creditor can make a director bankrupt walks through that route.
A debtor’s bankruptcy application reverses the starting point. Under section 308(1), an individual can apply against himself or herself, and a firm can be the subject of an application by all its partners or a majority of the partners residing in Singapore. No statutory demand is needed, because you are telling the Court yourself that you cannot pay.
The other key difference is the statement of affairs. In a creditor’s case, the bankrupt files a statement within 21 days after the order. In your own application, the statement of affairs is exhibited to your affidavit at the start, under section 308(2), and becomes evidence the Court relies on. For how this compares with the statements directors give liquidators and judicial managers, see our overview of what a statement of affairs is.
When does applying for your own bankruptcy make sense?
Bankruptcy is a serious step with long-lasting restrictions, so it should normally come after other ways of settling your debts have been considered, not before. For a business owner, the honest comparison usually looks like this.
| Option | When it may suit | Main trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Negotiating with the guarantee creditor | The bank or landlord is open to instalments or a discounted settlement, often once the company’s own assets have been realised | No statutory protection; the creditor can still sue if talks fail |
| Challenging the guarantee | There is a genuine dispute about whether the guarantee covers the debt or the amount claimed | Needs a lawyer and evidence; see our guide to a statutory demand served on a personal guarantor |
| Debt Repayment Scheme (DRS) | Smaller total debts, regular income, and you are not a sole proprietor or partner | You cannot apply directly; it starts only after a bankruptcy application, yours or a creditor’s |
| Debtor’s bankruptcy application | Debts are well beyond what income can repay, several creditors are pressing, and there is no realistic settlement | Loss of control of property, travel and credit restrictions, and limits on acting as a director |
Speak to a lawyer before filing. Bankruptcy is hard to reverse, and a guarantee you assumed was valid may have defences. Our guide to personal guarantee liability explains the common ones.
Who is eligible to apply?
Section 311(1) of the IRDA sets the basic conditions for any bankruptcy application:
- your debt, or debts added together, are at least S$15,000;
- the debt is for a liquidated (fixed) sum payable immediately;
- you are unable to pay your debts; and
- a debt incurred outside Singapore is under a judgment or award that can be enforced here.
The Singapore Courts’ guidance adds that you must have a connection with Singapore: being domiciled here, having property here, or having lived or carried on business here within the year before the application. Under section 318(1), the Court will not make the order on your application unless it is satisfied that you are unable to pay your debts. The provisions are in the IRDA on Singapore Statutes Online.
What documents and fees are involved?
The Singapore Courts’ page on filing for bankruptcy yourself lists four forms from the Personal Insolvency Rules:
- Form PIR-9, the Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application;
- Form PIR-10, the affidavit in support;
- Form PIR-11, the Statement of Affairs; and
- Form PIR-12, the affidavit verifying the Statement of Affairs.
An affidavit is a written statement sworn or affirmed as true. Both affidavits must be sworn or affirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths, and you should sign only in the Commissioner’s presence. The Courts state that all forms must be typed except the Statement of Affairs, which may be handwritten. You also need the written, unqualified consent of a licensed insolvency practitioner to act as your trustee, stating that it is given under section 318A(a) of the IRDA, with a copy of the practitioner’s licence. The Court will not make a bankruptcy order unless a licensed insolvency practitioner or the Official Assignee has consented to act.
| Item | Amount, as published | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Filing the bankruptcy application | S$60 | Court fee |
| Affidavits | S$1 per page, including exhibits | Court fee |
| Statement of Affairs | S$5 | Court fee |
| Deposit to the Official Assignee | S$1,850 | Not refunded if you are made bankrupt on your own application; S$1,800 refunded if the application is dismissed or withdrawn |
| Service Bureau charges | Separate | Charged for filing through the Service Bureau |
The deposit figure also appears in the Insolvency Office’s bankruptcy information sheet. Fees change from time to time, so check the current amounts on the Singapore Courts’ guide to filing for bankruptcy yourself before you pay.
How should you prepare the statement of affairs you exhibit?
Section 308(2) requires the statement to contain the prescribed particulars of your assets, creditors, debts and other liabilities. For a business owner, the difficult items are usually the ones linked to the company:
- Guarantees. Include each guarantee you signed, the creditor, and the amount claimed or likely to be claimed. Say whether it has been called.
- Your shares. Your shares in your company are an asset, even if the company is struggling or in liquidation. Give an honest estimate of value and explain it.
- Money the company owes you. A director’s loan account in credit, unpaid fees or a shareholder loan is an asset of yours.
- Personal tax, CPF and other government debts. List them separately and accurately.
- Loans from family and friends. These are debts and must be listed like any other.
Accuracy matters for a reason specific to this route. Under section 318(3)(a), whether the Court refers you to the Debt Repayment Scheme depends on the aggregate of your debts as shown in the statement of affairs exhibited to your affidavit. Understating debts to fit under the scheme limit, or overstating them to stay out of it, puts a sworn document at risk, and the Official Assignee will check the figures against your creditors’ claims.
Gather these before you start:
- Bank statements for all personal and joint accounts, local and overseas
- Every guarantee, letter of demand, statutory demand and court document
- Credit card and loan statements
- A credit report from Credit Bureau Singapore (the Insolvency Office’s document list for debtors marks this as mandatory)
- Payslips for the last 3 months and your CPF contribution history for the last 15 months
- Notices of assessment from IRAS for the last 2 years
- Your ACRA business profile, share certificates and the company’s ledger for your director’s loan account
- Insurance policies, hire purchase, mortgage and tenancy agreements
What are the steps from preparation to hearing?
- Take advice. Confirm the guarantee and other debts are really owed and that no settlement is realistic.
- Prepare your figures. Reconcile every debt and asset against statements and documents, and draft the statement of affairs.
- Obtain the insolvency practitioner’s consent. Get the written consent to act as trustee and a copy of the practitioner’s licence.
- Pay the deposit. Pay the S$1,850 deposit to the Official Assignee and keep the receipt.
- Complete and swear the forms. Prepare Forms PIR-9 to PIR-12 and swear or affirm the two affidavits before a Commissioner for Oaths.
- File. Self-represented debtors file through the Service Bureau at the Supreme Court using eLitigation. Once accepted, you receive a sealed copy with the hearing date.
- Attend the hearing. You must attend on the date stated. If you cannot, you must ask the Court to change the date.
- Outcome. The Court either adjourns for a Debt Repayment Scheme assessment, makes a bankruptcy order, or dismisses the application.
What happens if you qualify for the Debt Repayment Scheme?
Under section 318(3), if a bankruptcy order could be made on your application, the Court must instead adjourn it for 6 months (or another period it directs) and refer you to the Official Assignee to consider a Debt Repayment Scheme, if all of these apply:
- the aggregate of your debts in the exhibited statement of affairs does not exceed the limit in section 316(9)(a), which the Insolvency Office’s current DRS pages state as S$150,000 (confirm the current figure with the Insolvency Office before relying on it);
- you are not an undischarged bankrupt and have not been bankrupt within the 5 years before the application;
- no voluntary arrangement of yours has been in effect within the previous 5 years;
- you have not been subject to a Debt Repayment Scheme within the previous 5 years; and
- you are not a sole proprietor, a partner of a firm or a partner of a limited liability partnership.
The last point catches many small business owners. Directors and shareholders of a private limited company are not excluded on that ground, but someone who trades through a sole proprietorship or partnership is.
If you are referred, the Insolvency Office gives you 14 days to view an introductory video and submit online a statement of affairs, an income and expenditure statement, a proposed debt repayment plan and supporting documents. Missing that window sends the case back to Court. If a scheme starts during the adjournment, your bankruptcy application is treated as withdrawn (section 318(5)). If the Official Assignee finds you unsuitable, or no scheme starts in time, the Court goes on to hear the application (section 318(4)). How the scheme itself runs is covered in our guide to the Debt Repayment Scheme, and the Insolvency Office’s information for debtors sets out its criteria.
What does a bankruptcy order mean for your companies and business?
Once the order is made, your property vests in your trustee. Under section 148(1) of the Companies Act 1967, an undischarged bankrupt who acts as a director of, or takes part in managing, any corporation without the Court’s permission or the Official Assignee’s written permission commits an offence punishable by a fine of up to S$10,000, up to 2 years’ jail, or both. Any permission must be lodged with ACRA within 14 days. Plan for a replacement director before the hearing, so the company is not left without a locally resident director.
If you trade through a sole proprietorship or partnership, its business assets are part of what you disclose. A firm’s application by its partners also requires statements of the firm’s affairs and of each applying partner’s affairs (section 308(2)(b)).
Because your statement of affairs was exhibited when you applied, the separate 21-day statement in section 332(1) does not apply to an individual made bankrupt on his or her own application. Your trustee can still ask for more information, and your duties under section 399 to disclose property and answer questions apply in full.
Example: a director weighing her own application
Example (hypothetical): Mei runs a Singapore private limited company that has stopped trading. She guaranteed a S$280,000 bank loan, which the bank has called, and owes about S$40,000 on credit cards. Her company owes her S$60,000 on her director’s loan account and is about to be wound up.
Her total debts are well above the Debt Repayment Scheme limit, so referral is unlikely. With her lawyer, she confirms the guarantee is enforceable and that the bank will not accept a settlement she can fund. She arranges for a co-director who lives in Singapore to remain on the board, obtains an insolvency practitioner’s consent, and prepares a statement of affairs listing the guarantee, the cards, her income tax, her shares at nil value and the S$60,000 owed by the company, with an explanation.
Frequently asked questions
Can I apply for the Debt Repayment Scheme instead of bankruptcy?
Not directly. The Insolvency Office states that the scheme starts only when a bankruptcy application is filed in the High Court, by you or a creditor. If you meet the criteria, the Court then refers you to the Official Assignee.
Can the Official Assignee be my trustee?
The Singapore Courts’ guidance says bankruptcy cases go to private trustees unless the Official Assignee consents to act in the public interest. In practice you should expect to obtain a licensed insolvency practitioner’s consent before filing.
Will I get my deposit back?
Not if a bankruptcy order is made on your application. According to the Courts’ guidance, if the application is dismissed or withdrawn, the Official Assignee keeps S$50 and refunds S$1,800.
Will I lose my HDB flat?
The Insolvency Office’s information sheet states that an HDB flat with at least one Singapore Citizen owner is protected from creditors, while HUDC flats and HDB executive condominiums are not similarly protected. Discuss your property with the trustee.
Need help with a debtor’s bankruptcy application?
We can help you prepare the statement of affairs exhibited to your application by gathering your bank and loan statements, reconciling the guarantee and creditor balances, and compiling your company-related assets from the books for your lawyer and trustee.
If your company, or you as a director or shareholder, is dealing with personal debts you cannot repay after a guarantee was called, contact the Raffles Corporate Services team at [email protected] or on WhatsApp at +65 8501 7133 or +65 9018 0072. We will help you understand the documents and deadlines. Where your matter needs a lawyer, we will refer you to a firm on our panel of Singapore law firms that regularly handles personal insolvency and bankruptcy. Raffles Corporate Services is a corporate services provider, not a law firm, and this article is general information, not legal advice.
The Raffles Corporate Services Editorial Team