CVL documents checklist: what your insolvency practitioner will ask for

When a company enters creditors' voluntary liquidation, the paperwork is not optional admin: the directors must prepare a statement of the company's affairs (assets, debts and liabilities, creditors' names and addresses, and the securities they hold) and send it to creditors within 7 days beginning with the day after the winding-up resolution, under s.99 of the Insolvency Act 1986. Nearly everything an insolvency practitioner asks for feeds either that statement, the realisation of assets, employees' claims to the Redundancy Payments Service, or the liquidator's review of what happened. Gathering it before the first meeting keeps the process moving and the fee clock shorter. The core list: statutory records and minutes, accounts and accounting records, bank statements, an asset and debtor list, a full creditor list with addresses, details of any charges and personal guarantees, and employee records. This is general information, not advice; every firm's list differs slightly. Insolvency Act 1986, s.99

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Company and statutory

• Certificate of incorporation and company number; articles if amended from model articles
• Statutory registers and minute book, including recent board minutes (template)
• Details of any group structure or related companies

Books and records

• Last filed accounts and any later management accounts
• Accounting records: software login or export, ledgers, trial balance
• Bank statements for all accounts (commonly the last 2 to 3 years; your IP will confirm the period)
• VAT returns, payroll/RTI records, and HMRC correspondence for VAT, PAYE and Corporation Tax

Assets

• List of vehicles, plant, equipment, stock and fixtures, with locations
• Debtor book: who owes the company money, how much, how old
• Property leases or titles; hire purchase and finance agreements
• Details of any assets sold or transferred in the last 2 years: disclose rather than let the liquidator find it

Creditors

• Full creditor list with names, addresses and amounts (required for the s.99 statement of affairs)
• Secured creditors and any fixed or floating charges. Note: before the winding-up resolution is passed, written notice must go to the holder of any qualifying floating charge, and the resolution cannot be passed until 5 business days later without their consent (Insolvency Act 1986, s.84(2A))
• HMRC balances by tax; any CCJs, statutory demands or winding-up petitions received
• Personal guarantees given by directors: bring the agreements, and add them up with the personal guarantee exposure tool

Employees

• Employee list: names, start dates, dates of birth, pay rates, hours
• Contracts of employment, accrued holiday, any arrears of wages; pension scheme details
• These feed staff claims to the Redundancy Payments Service at gov.uk/claim-redundancy, made with the CN case number the practitioner issues (gov.uk, accessed 27 July 2026)

Directors

• Director loan account position, overdrawn or in credit
• Your own payroll and contract details, for any director redundancy claim

Budgeting for the process? See the liquidation cost calculator, the CVL guide and how to choose an insolvency practitioner.

Sources, accessed 27 July 2026: Insolvency Act 1986 s.99, s.84, gov.uk on employer insolvency. General information, not legal or insolvency advice.