Minimal Asset Process
A Scottish bankruptcy route for people meeting the limited-asset and income conditions.
MAP is a route into Scottish bankruptcy for eligible people with limited assets and no assessed income contribution. It is bankruptcy, rather than an informal debt arrangement. Accountant in Bankruptcy acts as trustee and the ordinary MAP route has a shorter discharge period than full administration.
Eligibility is more than a debt total
An approved adviser checks debts, property, income, benefit circumstances, previous insolvency and the other statutory conditions. Asset values and ownership need accurate evidence, including any jointly owned interest. The fact that an item is needed day to day does not automatically decide whether it is disregarded.
MAP should be compared with the other available Scottish options. The application goes through the bankruptcy system with an adviser; it is not a shortcut that permits incomplete disclosure. This guide avoids a fixed monetary eligibility calculator because limits and exemptions require current checking.
What an award means
The award brings the individual into bankruptcy and places them under the relevant duties and restrictions. The trustee must be told about changes such as new income, assets, a gift or an inheritance. Current household commitments and liabilities outside the release remain important.
The ordinary MAP contribution is fixed at zero. If facts emerge showing that MAP conditions are not satisfied, the case can move to full administration. That may alter the discharge position and other consequences; eligibility is not something assessed once and then forgotten.
Six-month discharge and continuing rules
In the normal MAP route, discharge is after six months. Specified credit and business restrictions continue for a further period. Conduct, concealment or transfer to full administration can change the expected result.
Discharge from bankruptcy and closure of the trustee’s administration are separate. Public records and credit effects can continue. MAP does not extinguish every debt or release another person who is jointly liable.
Technical detail
AiB’s debtor guide explains the zero contribution order, continuing restrictions and transfer to full administration. Read the rules applying at the date of award rather than importing a future amendment.
Proposed reforms are not current eligibility
AiB announced on 8 October 2026 that draft regulations to broaden MAP access and protect specified assets had been laid. The announcement describes proposed changes subject to parliamentary scrutiny and approval.
Those proposals are not treated here as rules already in force. A future commencement date, approved text and any transitional provisions must be checked before revising an eligibility assessment. The current official guidance remains the starting point for an application today.
The process, at a glance
- Adviser checks conditions. Assess debt, assets, income and the other current MAP conditions.Process stage — practical timing varies
- AiB considers the application. An adviser submits complete financial information through the Scottish process.Process stage — practical timing varies
- Award and zero contribution. AiB is trustee and the ordinary MAP income contribution is zero.Process stage — practical timing varies
- Report changes. New information can lead to transfer into full administration.Process stage — practical timing varies
- Ordinary MAP discharge. Applies where MAP conditions remain satisfied; specified restrictions continue afterwards.Statutory milestone — check its trigger and exceptions
Sources & review
Read the source in its own context. Legislation may contain commencement provisions and changes not yet applied to the displayed text. Professional guidance is identified separately from law.
Initial source-based editorial review: 26 Oct 2026. Next scheduled review: 26 Nov 2026. Substantive changes are reviewed before publication.
Original editorial summary checked against the linked official guidance. Individual circumstances and the operative legal documents can change the outcome.
Read the editorial approach and change policy.