It is important that you know what bankruptcy means, for example
- what rights and obligations you or the company you represent have
- what happens to the debts when the bankruptcy is completed
- the tasks of the receiver
- what our supervision in bankruptcy means.
For you who are a private individual or a sole trader
If you are a sole trader, you are personally responsible for the company's debts. You and the company count as the same person. This means that you as a private individual goes bankrupt regardless of whether the debts are your private debts or part of your business activities.
Once the District Court has declared you bankrupt, you no longer have the right to control your property. Assets in your company, such as computers or tools, also count as your assets. Therefore, you don't have the right to control them, either.
You will be contacted by the receiver, who will tell you what the bankruptcy means for you.
Bankruptcy proceedings often last between six and twelve months but can take longer or shorter. The receiver must handle every bankruptcy as quickly as possible.
Read more on the Swedish Courts website.
När någon försätts i konkurs (in Swedish)
What happens to your assets?
The receiver must, among other things, take care of and sell your assets so that those you owe money (the creditors) will be paid. As a private individual, you can in some cases keep property for yourself and your family.
You are obliged to inform the receiver of your assets and debts. The receiver summons you to a meeting (estate inventory meeting). Then you must certify that all assets and debts are included in a compilation (bankruptcy estate inventory). You are not allowed to travel abroad until the meeting has taken place and you have confirmed the estate inventory.
Important to keep the company accounts
You are obliged to save the accounts if you have run a business. The receiver reviews the accounts for the period before the bankruptcy. If accounts are missing, you may be suspected of accounting offence or tax offence. You can read more about your obligation to keep accounts on the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
Bokföring – vad kräver lagen? (in Swedish)
Wage guarantee for employees
Your employees may be entitled to wage guarantee if you have run a sole proprietorship and your employees have not been paid. They must contact the receiver with any wage demands. The receiver investigates and decides on wage guarantee.
What happens to your debts?
If there is money left when all the bankruptcy costs have been paid, the receiver distributes the money to those you owe money (your creditors). There are rules governing whether a creditor should be paid before another creditor.
You still have the debts after bankruptcy if there is not enough money to pay all the creditors.
If you can't pay your debts on your own for the foreseeable future, find out if debt restructuring may be an option for you. Take our test and read more about debt restructuring on our website.
For you representing companies and organisations
Here you will find information for you representing a company or organisation which is a legal person, for example:
- a limited company
- a general partnership
- a limited partnership
- an economic or non-profit association.
If you have operated a sole proprietorship, other provisions apply. Read more here:
For you who are a private individual or a sole trader
Bankruptcy proceedings open
If you are a representative of a company that has gone bankrupt, you no longer have the right to
- control the company's property
- conclude new agreements on behalf of the company.
What happens to the assets?
The receiver must, among other things, take care of and sell the company's assets so that the creditors can be paid. This may mean that the receiver continues to operate the company for a certain period of time. The receiver may also sell the company's business so that it may be rescued under new ownership or sell the assets separately.
As representative of the company, you are obliged to inform the receiver of the company's assets and debts. The receiver summons you to a meeting (estate inventory meeting). Then you must certify that all assets and debts are included in a compilation (bankruptcy estate inventory). You are not allowed to travel abroad until the meeting has taken place and you have confirmed the estate inventory.
Important to keep the company accounts
As representative, you are obliged to save the company's accounts. The receiver reviews the accounts for the period before the bankruptcy. If accounts are missing, you may be suspected of accounting offence or tax offence. You can read more about your obligation to keep accounts on the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
Bokföring – vad kräver lagen? (in Swedish)
Wage guarantee
If the company has employees, they may be entitled to wage guarantee if they have not been paid. They must contact the receiver with any wage demands. The receiver investigates and decides on wage guarantee.
What happens to the debts?
If there is money left when all the bankruptcy costs have been paid, the receiver distributes the money to those the company owes money (the company's creditors). There are rules governing whether a creditor should be paid before another creditor. The receiver prepares a distribution proposal that states which creditors are getting paid and the amounts they will receive.
The company ceases to exist when the bankruptcy is concluded. Creditors who have not been paid can no longer demand payment from the company.
Sometimes, money can come in after the bankruptcy has been closed and then the receiver distributes it among the creditors.
Personal liability for the company's debts
As a representative of a company, you may in certain situations have personal liability for the company's debts.
Read more about payment liability for unpaid taxes and fees of legal persons on the Swedish Tax Agency's website.
Betalningsansvar för juridiska personer (in Swedish)
If you can't pay your debts on your own for the foreseeable future, find out if debt restructuring may be an option for you. Take our test and read more about debt restructuring on our website.
- The Enforcement Authority’s debt restructuring test
- Debt restructuring, debtor
- Debt restructuring for entrepreneurs, debtor
You can read more on our website about the support that society can provide.
Tasks of the receiver
The receiver must work to ensure that all creditors are paid as much as possible. The receiver therefore takes over responsibility for your or your company's financial situation. This may involve the receiver taking care of and selling assets. For a private individual, this can be a car, for a company machinery or the whole business. The money is first used to pay the bankruptcy costs, such as the receiver's fee. Then the debts in bankruptcy are paid in a certain order.
The receiver decides on wage guarantee in cases where you or the company had employees who were not paid. The wage guarantee can also substitute wages after the bankruptcy decision.
Read more about wage guarantee:
The receiver will inform you about what will happen in the bankruptcy. You can also ask the receiver questions.
Our supervision in bankruptcy
Our task is to review the work of the receivers so that they manage bankruptcies in accordance with existing regulations. We can request that the District Court replace a receiver if they do not perform their duties.
We cannot decide how a receiver handles different stages of an individual bankruptcy. However, we have the right to oversee the work and discuss future measures in the bankruptcy. We also review the receiver's financial management of the bankruptcy and check that the bankruptcy is closed as soon as possible.
Another of our tasks is to assess whether the fee requested by the receiver is reasonable. We send our assessment in an opinion to the District Court. The District Court then decides what compensation the receiver should receive.