Apply to become an Approved Intermediary

An Approved Intermediary is a person or class of persons authorised by the Insolvency Service of Ireland to support a debtor to make an application for a Debt Relief Notice.

An Approved Intermediary will be dealing with people in vulnerable situations. As such, they will be expected to have the necessary people, communication, judgement and negotiation skills. They must be independent, competent and capable. They must also be honest, ethical and act with integrity.

The applicant must have:

• relevant experience in the provision of financial advice to persons in arrears;
• completed a course of study and passed an exam in relation to the law and practice in the State relating to the insolvency of individuals and in relation to the Act.
• adequate resources to carry on the practice of an Approved Intermediary.

In the case of a body corporate, they must have at least one individual who meets the criteria above.

A prospective Approved Intermediary should be able to:

• Understand the role of the authorisation process and the regulations applicable to the Approved Intermediary;
• Analyse an individuals' financial position to assess income and expenditure
• Calculate disposable income, value assets and liabilities and consider the implications of contingent liabilities such as third party guarantees for loans;
• Assess reasonable living expenses;
• Comprehend and be in a position to compare and contrast the different debt relief processes, including bankruptcy and any other options that may be available to debtors;
• Advise the debtor as to his or her eligibility for debt relief
• Effectively explain to debtors the procedures and terminology used in the debt relief process;
• Correctly interpret and complete the documentation and procedures to be used in the insolvency process;
• Comprehend the structure and functions of the ISI;
• Engage appropriately with the ISI;
• Understand the role of the Courts in the personal insolvency process.

If you satisfy these, then you can create an account at the ISI’s portal system here and begin the application process.

You must inform the ISI of any changes to the information provided in the application form during the application process.

The ISI will NOT commence the processing of any application until it is complete. Applications will be treated as incomplete unless all questions raised in the application form are fully answered and all applicable supporting documentation has been received by the ISI. Incomplete applications may be returned to you as invalid.