Scotland: Personal Insolvency Regimes—Sequestration, Protected Trust Deeds and Debt Arrangement Scheme; Comparison, Moratoria, Appeals and Discharge, including Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 Reforms

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Practice notes

The three personal insolvency regimes in Scotland

Scotland has three personal insolvency and debt relief routes:

sequestration
protected trust deeds (PTDs)
the Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS)

For definitions of frequently used Scottish insolvency terminology, see Practice Note: Glossary of Scottish insolvency words and expressions.

For more on the key characteristics of each route, refer to the following Practice Notes:

Scotland: the process for applying for sequestration
Scotland: protected trust deeds
Scotland: the Debt Arrangement Scheme

The Scottish government has reviewed Scotland’s statutory debt solutions and formal debt recovery processes to modernise and enhance the framework. The review has involved public consultation, engagement with stakeholders, and policy development.

The initial consultation ran from 12 August 2022 to 7 October 2022, with later phases centred on assessing responses, shaping reform proposals, and enacting regulatory changes. A further consultation took place from 12 March 2025 to 4 June 2025.

The Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Act 2024 (BD(S)A 2024) was introduced and received Royal Assent on 15 July 2024. BD(S)A 2024 has been brought into effect in stages and a series of commencement regulations are set to take effect, with the first of those regulations coming...

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Stephanie Carr

Thorntons Law LLP

Stephanie joined Thorntons Law LLP as a Partner in 2023. She has over 18 years' experience acting for a variety of clients in a wide range of contentious personal and corporate insolvency cases, as a result of which she has been accredited, and re-accredited, as a specialist in Insolvency Law by the Law Society of Scotland.She is well known and respected in insolvency circles. She passed the Joint Insolvency Examination Board ("JIEB") exams in liquidation and personal insolvency and has a wide breadth of knowledge as a result of having attended the modules for the exams, where she also obtained a better understanding of the practical workings of the insolvency processes. She also regularly acts for clients in both secured and unsecured debt recovery matters and advises on a number of diligence measures open to them. Stephanie has advised and...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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