Discharge of the insolvent debtor with no assets (art. 283 CCII): who can apply, only once, and with which obligations

In breve: the discharge of the insolvent debtor with no assets (art. 283 of the Codice della crisi, the Italian insolvency code) allows a deserving natural person who cannot offer any benefit to creditors, not even in the future, to be freed from debts. It can be obtained only once. If, within three years of the decree, sufficient assets emerge to usefully satisfy creditors, the debt becomes enforceable again within the limits set out; during those three years the OCC supervises and the debtor files an annual declaration.

The requirements

The debtor must be a deserving natural person with no assets, not even future ones, that could be used for creditors. Financing, in any form, does not count as an asset. The requirement is also considered met where the annual income, net of production costs and of the debtor's and family's own maintenance, does not exceed the social allowance increased by half, multiplied by the equivalence scale parameter of the ISEE (paragraph 2).

The application: what must be attached

The application is filed through the OCC (Organismo di composizione della crisi, the debt-crisis advisory body) with the competent court and must contain (paragraph 3): the list of all creditors, with the sums owed and their certified or verifiable email addresses; an indication of the acts of extraordinary administration carried out in the last five years; copies of the income tax returns of the last three years; an indication of the salaries, pensions, wages and other income of the debtor and his household. It is the same structure as the file you can prepare: the documents to prepare.

The OCC report

The detailed report of the OCC covers the causes of and diligence in the indebtedness, the reasons for the inability to pay, any acts of the debtor challenged by creditors, and the completeness and reliability of the documentation, and states whether the lender assessed creditworthiness. The OCC's fees are halved (paragraph 6). What the OCC does.

What the court looks at

The court assesses deservingness by checking the absence of fraud and of wilful misconduct or gross negligence in creating the indebtedness (paragraph 7). If it grants the discharge by decree, it sets the terms and deadline for the annual declaration on further assets, failing which the discharge is revoked. The decree is notified to the debtor and creditors, who may lodge an appeal within thirty days (art. 124). Further reading: deservingness.

In the three years after the decree

For three years the OCC checks the timeliness of the annual declaration and verifies whether further assets exist; if it finds any, with the court's authorisation it notifies the creditors, who may start enforcement and precautionary actions (paragraph 9). Compared with controlled liquidation, there is nothing to liquidate here: for this reason the accuracy of the list of assets, income and past acts is decisive.

This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice: anyone in over-indebtedness needs a professional who looks at their case and the law currently in force.

Sources

• Legislative Decree of 12 January 2019, no. 14 (Codice della crisi d'impresa e dell'insolvenza, the Italian corporate crisis and insolvency code), current text on Normattiva, to be re-checked before any use; articles read on 24/10/2026 on Brocardi.it
• Art. 283 CCII, discharge of the insolvent debtor with no assets (amended by Legislative Decree 136/2024 in paragraphs 1, 2, 3, 7 and 8), consulted on 24/10/2026