Insolvency Professional

Taking charge of a failing company, firm or person under the Code. You run the process of finding someone to rescue the business, or sell its assets and close it. You talk to banks and other lenders, staff, buyers and the tribunal (NCLT), check the accounts, and file reports.

A day in the work
Morning: you read a company's bank statements and creditor claims, and call its accountant to ask about missing papers. Later you chair an online meeting where banks and other lenders discuss offers from people who want to take over the business. In the afternoon you visit the factory or office to check what assets are there, or you draft an application to go to the tribunal. In the evening you answer emails from lawyers and write the progress report that must be filed. The work is mostly paperwork, numbers and negotiation.

1. Step 1 · Class 11–12Take any stream. Commerce (accountancy, economics, business studies) or Maths gives a head start. Start reading business news. Ask why shops and companies fail and who gets paid first when they do.
2. Step 2 · 3–5 yearsDo a bachelor's degree. Law (LLB), B.Tech, or the CA, CS or CMA route are the main starting points. Any other bachelor's degree can lead here too, but then you need much longer work experience (see Step 3).
3. Step 3 · The big gateA degree plus the exam is NOT enough for a fresh graduate. IBBI's rules also ask for one of these. (a) Completing a recognised Post Graduate Insolvency Programme, which is a 2-year full-time course at IICA. (b) 10 years' work as a CA, CS, CMA or advocate. (c) 10 years in law after a law degree, or 10 years in management after a master's or 2-year PGDM. (d) 15 years in management after a bachelor's degree. The IICA programme takes CAs, advocates, CMAs, CSs, B.E./B.Tech graduates and postgraduates in economics, finance, commerce, management or insolvency with 50% marks. You must be 28 or younger on the last date of registration. Selection is by a written test, group discussion and interview. The 8th batch had only 52 seats (2026).
4. Step 4 · Limited Insolvency ExaminationAnyone can sit the exam, as IBBI sets no eligibility condition for appearing. It is a 2-hour online test and you need 60% to pass. Wrong answers lose 25% of the marks. A new syllabus applies from 1 October 2026, and 60 of the 100 marks are for case studies. You can take it on working days at centres across India, and the fee is ₹5,900 per attempt.
5. Step 5 · Enrol and trainEnrol as a professional member with an Insolvency Professional Agency. The current rules say your LIE pass must be within the 24 months before you apply for enrolment. Then complete the 50-hour Pre-Registration Educational Course. Completing it does not by itself give you registration.
6. Step 6 · Register with IBBIApply online to IBBI through your agency. The non-refundable application fee is ₹20,000. IBBI also checks that you are a 'fit and proper person', which covers your integrity, any convictions and your financial solvency. It can refuse registration, but only by a reasoned order.
7. Step 7 · Keep goingTo take on cases you need an Authorisation for Assignment from your agency. It is valid for one year and must be renewed. You also have to do continuing education every year and renew your IBBI registration every five years.

• Fast track: Post Graduate Insolvency Programme (PGIP) at IICAA 2-year full-time programme at the Indian Institute of Corporate Affairs, Manesar, under the Ministry of Corporate Affairs. It has classroom study and long internships. Passing it replaces the 10-year experience rule. Entry is for CAs, CSs, CMAs, advocates, B.Tech graduates and some postgraduates, aged 28 or younger. Seats are very few.
• Experience routeWork for 10 years as a CA, CS, CMA or advocate, or 10 years in law after a law degree, or 10 years in management after a master's or PGDM, or 15 years in management after a bachelor's degree. Then pass the LIE, complete the 50-hour course and register. Many people come in this way, as a second career.

Fees from: IBBI LIE syllabus and details from 1 Oct 2026 · IBBI IP Regulations (application fee) · IICA PGIP admissions page: fee structure · IBBI LIE FAQs (w.e.f. 1 Mar 2022, PDF) · IICA PGIP batch-8 brochure (PDF). Fees change every year — check the college's own fee page before you pay.

There is no fixed salary when you practise on your own. Income depends on how many and how large the cases you are given, so it can be slow at first and varies a lot by city, firm and the size of the companies involved.

• Class 7–9Play 'school tuck-shop accountant'. Write down a pretend shop's income, costs and what it owes. Then work out what happens if sales fall by half. Ask who should be paid first.
• Class 10–12Read the 'About IBBI' and information pages on the IBBI website, and find one real example of a company going through insolvency in the news. Write 5 lines on what went wrong.Open link ↗
• College or afterLook for a free SWAYAM course on corporate law, accounting or finance, and finish one. Check whether your college has a commerce or law society that holds mock negotiations or moot courts.Open link ↗

• You cannot become an insolvency professional straight after graduating just by passing the exam. The 2-year IICA programme or years of experience are also needed. Be wary of anyone who says otherwise.
• Passing the LIE does not oblige you to register. The pass certificate itself has no expiry. But you must enrol with an agency within the allowed window or the pass stops counting for registration.
• A registered professional holding a valid Authorisation for Assignment cannot also be in employment. Each year of registration also needs continuing professional education.
• Interested in the money-and-law side but not sure about this long road? Look at chartered accountancy, company secretary, or law as the base. They are the usual stepping stones.