How-To Guide · Insolvency · IBC

How to File a Claim in a Company Insolvency (CIRP) (2026)

Updated for 2026 · Claw Editorial

When a company is admitted into a Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), its creditors do not sue it, because a moratorium freezes recovery. Instead, you file a claim with the insolvency professional in charge, in the form set for your type of creditor, by the date in the public announcement. Which form you use depends on whether you are a financial creditor, an operational creditor, a workman or employee, or another kind of creditor. This guide explains how to work out your category, which form to use, the proof to attach, the deadline, and what happens once your claim is in. Last verified October 2026.

01The short answer

To file a claim in a company insolvency under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC):

• Find the public announcement (Form A) for the CIRP, which gives the resolution professional's details and the last date for claims.
• Work out your creditor type and use the matching form: Form C for financial creditors, Form B for operational creditors, Form D for workmen and employees, and Form F for other creditors.
• Attach proof of the debt and submit it to the resolution professional by the deadline and in the way the announcement states.

To first confirm the company is in CIRP, see how to check a company's CIRP status.

02Why you file a claim, not a suit

Once the NCLT admits a CIRP, a moratorium under Section 14 of the IBC stops fresh suits and recovery against the company and freezes the ones already running. You cannot chase the company in the usual way during this period. See the moratorium under Section 14.

Instead, the resolution professional collects what everyone is owed by inviting claims. Filing your claim is how you:

• get your debt recognised in the company's list of liabilities;
• take part, where eligible, in the Committee of Creditors; and
• become entitled to a share under any resolution plan or in liquidation.

If you do not file, your claim may not be counted, so the deadline matters.

03Which creditor are you

The form you use follows your category, so settle this first. In simple terms:

• A financial creditor is owed money for a loan or borrowing, where money was lent against interest or the time value of money, such as a bank, an NBFC or a lender. See Section 7 and financial creditors.
• An operational creditor is owed money for goods or services, such as a supplier, a vendor or a contractor, and includes dues to the government. See Section 9 and operational creditors.
• A workman or employee is owed wages or other dues of employment.
• An other creditor is anyone who does not fit the above.

The line between a financial and an operational creditor decides your form and your rights, so if it is unclear, take advice before you file.

04Which form to use

The IBBI (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016 set a form for each kind of creditor. Use the one that matches your category:

The blank forms are available on the IBBI website. Each asks for your details, the amount claimed as on the insolvency commencement date, and the documents that prove the debt.

05The deadline and how to file

The last date for claims is stated in the public announcement (Form A) that the resolution professional issues under Regulation 6, usually within a short window of the CIRP starting. To file well:

• Attach solid proof. Depending on your claim, this can be the contract, invoices, a statement of account or ledger, loan or security papers, bank statements, and any court or arbitral order for the debt.
• State the amount as on the commencement date, which is the date the NCLT admitted the CIRP.
• Use the channel the announcement gives. Many announcements now require financial creditors to file electronically, while others may file in person, by post or electronically.
• File on time. A late claim can still be considered in some cases, but it is at risk, so do not rely on it.

06What happens after you file

Filing is the start, not the end. After your claim is in:

• The resolution professional verifies and collates the claims and may accept, reject or ask for more.
• Financial creditors whose claims are admitted usually join the Committee of Creditors, which votes on key decisions. See the Committee of Creditors.
• If a resolution plan is approved, it sets what each class of creditor is paid. See the resolution plan.
• If no plan is approved in time, the company moves to liquidation, where claims are paid in the order set by Section 53. See the liquidation process.

Through all of this, it helps to keep an eye on the NCLT orders and the stage of the CIRP, since the next step and your recovery depend on them.

07Where Claw fits

Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.

Filing a claim is one moment; protecting it means watching the CIRP after that, through the Committee of Creditors, any resolution plan, and a possible liquidation. Claw and ClawScore let you find and track a company's insolvency, its NCLT and NCLAT filings and IBBI announcements, alongside its wider litigation across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with results in under 5 seconds. Constant monitoring flags what is New, Changed or Closed and sends an alert when the stage moves, so you learn about an approved plan or a liquidation order without watching portals yourself. You can also search 30 crore+ judgments, with Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, to see how similar claims were treated. A clean result means only that nothing is on record on the forums and date searched, and this is information, not legal advice. Claw does not use your case documents to train its AI models.

Create a FREE Claw account to track the CIRP after you file your claim and get alerts when the stage changes, and use case search across Indian courts to follow the company's wider litigation.

08Sources and further reading

• Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (CIRP Regulations, forms and public announcements): ibbi.gov.in
• India Code (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016): indiacode.nic.in
• National Company Law Tribunal (orders and cause lists): nclt.gov.in
• Claw: clawlaw.in

This guide is general information, not legal advice. The forms and the law change, so check the current IBBI regulations and take advice from an insolvency professional or advocate before you file.

09Frequently asked questions