Insolvency Practitioners' Regulations (2026 Consolidation)

Summary

This is a consolidated version (to 31 December 2025) of subordinate legislation made under the Companies Act governing who may be appointed as an official liquidator in Cayman Islands company liquidations, and how such liquidators are remunerated. It consolidates the original 2018 Regulations with amendments made in 2022 and 2024. It does not itself create new law beyond the amendments already folded in; it applies to any Court appointment of an official liquidator, and to remuneration applications, made on or after the original 1 February 2018 commencement date.

Appointment qualifications

• Professional qualification: A person may be appointed official liquidator only if licensed as an insolvency practitioner in a listed relevant country (England and Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Canada) or is a professional accountant in good standing with an approved institute, with at least 5 years relevant experience and 2,500 chargeable hours of relevant work.
• Residency: Must be resident in the Islands and hold, personally or through their firm, a trade and business licence authorising insolvency practitioner activity.
• Independence: Must not have acted as the company's auditor within the 3 years preceding commencement of the liquidation.
• Insurance: Must (personally or through their firm) hold professional indemnity insurance of at least US$10 million per claim and US$20 million in the aggregate, with a deductible of no more than US$1 million.
• Foreign practitioners: May be appointed jointly with a qualified insolvency practitioner if they meet the independence and insurance requirements, but cannot be sole official liquidator and need not meet the residency requirement.

Remuneration rules

• Court approval required: An official liquidator cannot receive remuneration from company assets without prior Court approval, though a payment on account of up to 80 percent of the amount sought may be taken.
• Committee/creditor approval first: Before applying to the Court, the liquidator must obtain the liquidation committee's approval of the proposed basis and amount of remuneration, or (absent a committee) convene a creditors'/contributories' meeting, or comply with an approved international protocol, supported by a report and accounts.
• Court application procedure: Applications for remuneration approval are made by summons (CWR Form No 16A), served on the liquidation committee or its counsel, supported by the report and accounts, an affidavit on the committee's or creditors' consideration, and the remuneration agreement documentation.
• Rate caps: Hourly rates for time-spent remuneration must fall within the minimum and maximum rates in Part A of the Schedule (or the 2024 Amendment Schedule where applicable); percentage-based remuneration on distributions or realisations/recoveries is capped per the sliding scale in Part B of the Schedule.
• Annual review: Agreed hourly rate scales run to 31 December in the first instance and must be reviewed and renegotiated annually from 1 January each year.

Transitional provisions preserve the validity of pre-commencement appointments and pre-commencement remuneration agreements notwithstanding non-compliance with these Regulations, unless and until the Court orders otherwise.

Key obligations

• An official liquidator must meet the professional qualification, residency, independence and insurance requirements in Regulations 4 to 7 before accepting Court appointment.
• A qualified insolvency practitioner must not be appointed if they acted as the company's auditor within the 3 years preceding commencement of the liquidation.
• An official liquidator and their firm must maintain professional indemnity insurance of at least US$10 million per claim and US$20 million in the aggregate, with a deductible of no more than US$1 million.
• An official liquidator must not receive remuneration from company assets without prior Court approval, and any payment on account must not exceed 80 percent of the remuneration sought.
• If a payment on account exceeds the remuneration ultimately approved by the Court, the official liquidator must forthwith repay the balance to the company.
• Before applying to the Court for remuneration approval, the official liquidator must first obtain liquidation committee approval, convene a creditors'/contributories' meeting, or comply with an approved international protocol, and must prepare a report and accounts for that purpose.
• Where remuneration is on a percentage of distributions or realisations basis, the official liquidator must apply to the Court for approval of the basis of remuneration within the later of 6 months from establishment of the liquidation committee or 9 months from commencement of the liquidation.
• Remuneration agreements on a time-spent basis must not fall below the minimum or exceed the maximum hourly rates prescribed in Part A of the Schedule.
• Remuneration agreements on a percentage basis must not exceed the maximum percentage rates prescribed in Part B of the Schedule.
• Agreed hourly rate scales must be reviewed and renegotiated annually with effect from 1 January each year.
• An official liquidator must not delegate work to a related or other insolvency firm except under a Court-approved remuneration agreement complying with these Regulations.

Applies to

official liquidators, qualified insolvency practitioners, foreign practitioners, liquidation committees, companies in provisional or compulsory liquidation

Deadlines

• the later of 6 months from the date a liquidation committee is established or 9 months from the date of commencement of the liquidation: Deadline for an official liquidator to apply to the Court for approval of the basis of remuneration where remunerated on a percentage of distributions or realisations basis.
• annually with effect from 1 January each year: Agreed scale of hourly rates for official liquidator remuneration must be reviewed and renegotiated.
• 1st February, 2018: Commencement date of the original Insolvency Practitioners' Regulations, referenced throughout for application of Parts 2 to 4.

Related documents

• This document is made under Companies Act (2026 Revision)
• This document replaces Insolvency Practitioners (Amendment) Regulations, 2024 (SL 12 of 2024)
• This document replaces Insolvency Practitioners' Regulations (2023 Consolidation)