FAQ

A Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application is one which is filed by a debtor to make himself/herself a bankrupt.

A Creditor’s Bankruptcy Application is one which is filed by a creditor to make a debtor bankrupt.

An application has to be filed with the High Court in the following manner:

Step 1
Obtain the relevant forms for:
(a) the Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application;
(b) the Affidavit in Support of Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application;
(c) the Statement of Affairs; and
(d) the Affidavit Verifying Statement of Affairs.
As provided in Rule 2A of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Rules 2016, the forms are set out on the Internet website of the Ministry of Law. Please click on https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/io/en/bankruptcy-and-debt-repayment-scheme/bankruptcy/forms1.html.

Step 2
Complete the relevant forms (all forms have to be typed except for the Statement of Affairs which can be handwritten). Do not sign on both the Affidavit in Support of Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application and the Affidavit Verifying Statement of Affairs yet (See Step 4 below).

Step 3
Proceed to the Insolvency Office managed by the Ministry of Law to place  a bankruptcy deposit of $1,850 with the Official Assignee. The Insolvency Office will issue you with a temporary receipt.

The Insolvency Office is located at 45 Maxwell Road #07-11 The URA Centre (East Wing) Singapore 069118.

Step 4
Bring the temporary receipt and completed documents to the Supreme Court’s Legal Registry located at Level 2 of the Supreme Court and then proceed to the Cashier’s Counter to make payment of the prescribed stamp fees/Commissioner for Oaths fees.

Step 5
Proceed to swear or affirm the Affidavit Verifying Statement of Affairs and the Affidavit in Support of Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application before a Commissioner for Oaths (located at Level 3M of the Supreme Court). The Commissioner for Oaths will sign and stamp on the documents.

Step 6
Proceed to the LawNet Service Bureau (located at Level 1 of the Supreme Court) to file all documents through eLitigation after payment of the prescribed fees. The LawNet Service Bureau will inform you when to return to collect your documents. Upon collection of the documents, the date and time for the hearing of your application will be printed on your application.

Step 7
You must attend the hearing on the appointed date and time. If you are unable to do so, you must write to the Registrar of the Supreme Court immediately to request for a later hearing date and state the reasons for your request.

Please see the Internet website of the Ministry of Law at https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/io/en/bankruptcy-and-debt-repayment-scheme/bankruptcy/forms1.html for a copy of the form for Affidavit in Support of Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application.

You have to state which of the limbs below is applicable to you:
(a) you are domiciled in Singapore; or
(b) you have property in Singapore; or
(c) you have, at any time within the period of one year immediately before the date of your bankruptcy application —
      (i) been ordinarily resident or had a place of residence in Singapore; or
      (ii) carried on business in Singapore.

Please see the Internet website of the Ministry of Law at https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/io/en/bankruptcy-and-debt-repayment-scheme/bankruptcy/forms1.html for a copy of the form for Affidavit in Support of Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application

You should complete the Supporting Affidavit (DRS applies) if you satisfy all the limbs in paragraphs 4(a) to 4(j) of the said affidavit.

If you do not satisfy one or more of the limbs in paragraphs 4(a) to 4(j), you will not be considered under the Debt Repayment Scheme: see FAQ 26 on the Debt Repayment Scheme. In such a situation, you should complete the Supporting Affidavit (DRS does not apply); you decide which of the limbs in paragraphs 4(a) to 4(j) are applicable to you and delete the rest that are not applicable.

Forms required:

Supporting Affidavit (DRS applies)

Supporting Affidavit (DRS does not apply)

Please see the Internet website of the Ministry of Law at https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/io/en/bankruptcy-and-debt-repayment-scheme/bankruptcy/forms1.html for a copy of the forms.

It would depend on your spouse’s financial situation and whether he/she is in fact able to fulfil his/her obligations as your guarantor. The court will not grant a bankruptcy order upon a debtor’s bankruptcy application unless it is satisfied that the debtor is unable to pay his/her debts. Your creditor may also decide to institute bankruptcy proceedings against your spouse if he/she is unable to repay your debt.

That is a choice which you have to make. There is no requirement in law for you to do so.

No, the filing of an application for a bankruptcy order does not operate to stay or stop the execution of a writ of seizure and sale.

You may wish to contact the creditor or the creditor’s lawyers and try to either arrange for an instalment payment scheme or make voluntary arrangements to settle your debt; you may also wish to ask the creditor not to carry on with bankruptcy proceedings in the meantime.

Alternatively, you may wish to apply to the court to set aside the Statutory Demand if:
(a) you have a valid counterclaim equivalent to or exceeding the amount of the debt stated in the Statutory Demand;
(b) you dispute the debt stated in the Statutory Demand;
(c) the creditor holds your assets as security in respect of the debt, which has not been taken into account in the Statutory Demand; or
(d) the Statutory Demand is defective in its form and contents.

To set aside a Statutory Demand, you have to file an application to Court comprising:

a) an Originating Summons (Bankruptcy – To Set Aside Statutory Demand); and
b) an Affidavit (Bankruptcy).

The application has to be filed within 14 days (or 21 days, if the Statutory Demand was served on you outside jurisdiction) from the date on which the Statutory Demand was served on you. A sample of the documents can be obtained from the Supreme Court’s Legal Registry (Insolvency Counter) located at Level 2 of the Supreme Court. Please note that the Affidavit (Bankruptcy) is required to be sworn or affirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths (located at Level 3M of the Supreme Court) before it can be filed.

Proceed to the LawNet Service Bureau (located at Level 1 of the Supreme Court) to file all documents through eLitigation after payment of the prescribed fees. The LawNet Service Bureau will inform you when to return to collect your documents. Upon collection of the documents, the date and time for the hearing of your application will be printed on your application.

After filing, you have to serve the documents on your creditor within 3 days from the date of filing. At the hearing, the court will determine the merits of your application.

The hearing of the application will usually be held within two weeks from the date of filing the application. If the application to set aside the Statutory Demand is dismissed by the court, the creditor may proceed with bankruptcy proceedings.

You may approach your creditor’s lawyers to negotiate a mutually satisfactory settlement proposal, which may persuade your creditor to withdraw its application for a bankruptcy order against you. 

Alternatively, if you have valid reasons to oppose the Creditor’s Bankruptcy Application, you may do so by filing a Notice of Objection at least 3 days before the hearing date of the application, specifying your reasons for objecting to the making of a bankruptcy order. If you choose to pursue this course of action, please take note that you will need to serve a copy of the filed Notice of Objection on your creditor and the Official Assignee.

Yes. You should attend the hearing and inform the court that you made a payment proposal to your creditor, but the proposal was not agreeable to your creditor. The court may adjourn the hearing to give you more time to make a better proposal, or the court may make a bankruptcy order against you.

If you filed a Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application but do not attend the bankruptcy hearing, the application may be adjourned to a later hearing date or dismissed by the court. If the application is dismissed and you still wish to have yourself made bankrupt, you will have to file a fresh Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application and pay a fresh set of filing and administrative fees.

If a creditor applied to make you bankrupt and you do not attend the hearing, a bankruptcy order may be made against you in your absence, unless the creditor asks the court to hear the application on a later date instead.

Unless you are a lawyer, the dress code for bankruptcy hearings is the same as the dress code which applies to witnesses and litigants in all other court hearings. Persons coming to court should not be dressed in singlets, shorts or slippers.

You should approach your bank for clarification as to why it has done that. You may also wish to clarify whether you agreed in the past that your bank may take such measures if a bankruptcy application is filed against you.

To set aside the Bankruptcy Order, you have to file an application to Court comprising:

(a) a Summons (Bankruptcy); and
(b) an Affidavit (Bankruptcy).

A sample of the documents can be obtained from the Supreme Court’s Legal Registry (Insolvency Counter) located at Level 2 of the Supreme Court. Please note that the Affidavit (Bankruptcy) is required to be sworn or affirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths (located at Level 3M of the Supreme Court) before it can be filed.

Proceed to the LawNet Service Bureau (located at Level 1 of the Supreme Court) to file all documents through eLitigation after payment of the prescribed fees. The LawNet Service Bureau will inform you when to return to collect your documents. Upon collection of the documents, the date and time for the hearing of your application will be printed on your application.

After filing, you have to serve the documents on your creditor and the Official Assignee. At the hearing, the court will determine the merits of your application.

If you are dissatisfied with a bankruptcy order made against you, a Registrar’s Appeal will have to be filed to Court within 14 days from the date of the bankruptcy order.

In addition, if you are seeking a stay on the bankruptcy order, you will have to file a Summons (Bankruptcy) with an Affidavit (Bankruptcy) to Court as well.

A sample of the documents can be obtained from the Supreme Court’s Legal Registry (Trials and Insolvency Counters) located at Level 2 of the Supreme Court. The Affidavit (Bankruptcy) has to be sworn or affirmed before a Commissioner for Oaths (located at Level 3M of the Supreme Court) before it can be filed.

Proceed to the LawNet Service Bureau (located at Level 1 of the Supreme Court) to file all documents through eLitigation after payment of the prescribed fees. The LawNet Service Bureau will inform you when to return to collect your documents. Upon collection of the documents, the date and time for the hearing of your application will be printed on your application.

After filing, you have to serve the documents on your creditor and the Official Assignee. At the hearing, the court will determine the merits of your appeal and application, if any.

 A.     Where the bankruptcy application was made before 1 August 2016

Once a bankruptcy order is made by the court, your case will be referred to the Insolvency Office managed by the Ministry of Law and your financial affairs will be managed by the Official Assignee, unless a private trustee in bankruptcy is appointed by the court. You will be required to go to the Insolvency Office for a briefing, where you will be informed of your duties and responsibilities as a bankrupt. At the briefing, you will also be informed of how to apply for permission to travel overseas, as well as given advice on opening a bank account and other matters relating to bankruptcy administration. In addition, you will be required to electronically submit a Statement of Affairs setting out your assets and liabilities. For further information on the duties and responsibilities of a bankrupt, please visit the Insolvency Office's website at: https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/io/en.html.

B.     Where the bankruptcy application was made on or after 1 August 2016

Once a bankruptcy order is made by the court,  your financial affairs will be managed by the Official Assignee or a private trustee in bankruptcy.

If the Official Assignee is appointed as your trustee, you will be required to go to the Insolvency Office for a briefing, where you will be informed of your duties and responsibilities as a bankrupt.  At the briefing, you will also be informed of how to apply for permission to travel overseas, as well as given advice on opening a bank account and other matters relating to bankruptcy administration.  In addition, you will be required to electronically submit a Statement of Affairs setting out your assets and liabilities.  You will also be informed of your target contribution, which is the amount you need to pay to be considered for discharge.  Your target contribution will be determined based on your earning potential.  For further information on the duties and responsibilities of a bankrupt, please visit the Insolvency Office’s website at: https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/io/en.html.

If a private trustee in bankruptcy is appointed as your trustee, he or she will get in touch with you and thereafter make arrangements to brief you on your duties and responsibilities as a bankrupt.  You will be required to electronically submit a Statement of Affairs setting out your assets and liabilities.  You will also be informed of your target contribution, which is the amount you need to pay to be considered for discharge.  Your target contribution will be determined based on your earning potential. 

Where a bankruptcy application has been filed against you by a creditor who is an institutional creditor (defined as a bank, a finance company regulated by MAS or a company with an annual sales turnover of $100 million and more AND has more than 200 employees), the creditor must nominate a private trustee to act as your trustee in bankruptcy.  If you wish to object to the appointment of the private trustee, you will need to raise your objections to the court and your reasons for objecting.

Under the Bankruptcy Act (Cap 20), the Official Assignee or the private trustee in bankruptcy, as the case may be, takes over the title to your assets and has the responsibility of realising them and paying a dividend to your creditors. You cannot sell or deal with any of your assets or items of value. Only the Official Assignee (or the private trustee in bankruptcy, as the case may be) or a secured creditor is able to do so. “Assets” include anything of value belonging to you at the date of your bankruptcy or obtained by you after that date, including gifts given to you. You must let the Official Assignee (or the private trustee in bankruptcy, as the case may be) have possession of these assets. For further information, please visit the website of the Insolvency Office at: https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/io/en.html.

You must make a monthly contribution to the Official Assignee or the private trustee in bankruptcy, whoever is appointed to administer your estate in bankruptcy, for the benefit of your creditors. Please note that the amount of payment you make is an important factor in the consideration of whether you may be discharged from bankruptcy.

The Official Assignee or the private trustee in bankruptcy, as the case may be, will assess the amount which you will have to pay each month after taking into account what you reasonably need to upkeep yourself and your family. To assist in this assessment, you must provide information about your occupation, income and dependants when requested to do so and update this information by lodging returns with the Official Assignee or the private trustee in bankruptcy, as the case may be. Failure to comply with this requirement is an offence punishable on conviction with imprisonment of up to 2 years or a fine of up to S$10,000 or both. To facilitate easy and regular payments of your monthly contribution, the Official Assignee or the private trustee in bankruptcy will allow you to operate a savings account and your contribution will be deducted periodically through GIRO.

A.     Where the bankruptcy application was made before 1 August 2016

There is no fixed period before a bankrupt can be discharged. At any time after the making of the bankruptcy order, you, the Official Assignee or any person having an interest in the matter may apply to the court for your discharge from bankruptcy if there are good reasons to support the application for discharge.

B.     Where the bankruptcy application was made on or after 1 August 2016

If your bankruptcy application was filed on or after 1 August 2016, there are fixed exit points where the Official Assignee or the private trustee in bankruptcy (as the case may be) will assess your suitability for discharge.  First-time bankrupts may generally be eligible for discharge in 5 to 7 years if they have paid their target contribution in full.  Repeat bankrupts may generally be eligible for discharge in 7 to 9 years if they have paid their target contribution in full.  There is no automatic discharge.  If, as a bankrupt, you have spent time out of Singapore without the permission of the Official Assignee or the private trustee in bankruptcy, the time before which you may be eligible for discharge may be delayed by the amount of time you were out of Singapore without permission.

Unfortunately, while your desire to delete such records is understandable, historical records of the Supreme Court cannot be deleted or expunged, subject to the operation of law. Where your record is allowed to be searched, the discharge from bankruptcy status will be shown where a discharge has been granted.  

You may wish to speak to the relevant bank officers as each bank has its own policy regarding loan applications made by discharged bankrupts.

The Bankruptcy Act (Cap 20) was amended in 2009 to provide for the Debt Repayment Scheme. The new provisions are applicable to all bankruptcy applications filed on or after 18 May 2009. The objective of the Debt Repayment Scheme is to assist debtors who have debts of less than S$100,000 to pay their debts by way of a debt repayment plan over a fixed period of time. This seeks to preserve the rights of creditors while giving debtors an opportunity to have a fresh start in their financial matters.

After a bankruptcy application has been filed, if the court considers that on the face of the application, the following criteria have been satisfied, the court will adjourn the application for the Official Assignee to assess if the debtor is suitable for a debt repayment plan under the Debt Repayment Scheme:

(a) the debts do not exceed S$100,000;
(b) the debtor is not an undischarged bankrupt and has not been a bankrupt within the past 5 years;
(c) a voluntary arrangement in respect of the debtor is not in effect, and was not in effect within the past 5 years;
(d) the debtor is not subject to any Debt Repayment Scheme, and has not been subject to any such scheme within the past 5 years; and
(e) the debtor is not a sole proprietor, a partner of a firm or a partner in a limited liability partnership.

If the debtor is assessed to be suitable, a debt repayment plan may commence. Upon commencement of this plan, the adjourned bankruptcy application is deemed withdrawn. If the debtor is found to be unsuitable, the court will proceed to hear the bankruptcy application and may order that the debtor to be made bankrupt.

No, a Debtor’s Bankruptcy Application will have to be filed to initiate the process. If the court is satisfied on the face of your application that you have satisfied the criteria under the Debt Repayment Scheme, your case will then be adjourned for the Official Assignee to assess your suitability.

It may be possible for you to apply for free legal assistance from the Legal Aid Bureau. However, if your income exceeds the limit prescribed by the Legal Aid Bureau, you may be precluded from applying for legal aid. For more information on legal aid, you can visit the Legal Aid Bureau’s website at https://www.mlaw.gov.sg/content/lab/en.html or call the Legal Aid Bureau at the toll-free hotline: 1800 2255 529.