What is a Notice of Intention (NOI) to Appoint Administrators?

A Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators can give the company up to 10 business days of protection from creditors before the administrator is formally appointed.

Those 10 days are often the most valuable days in the entire insolvency process, because they let you prepare while creditor enforcement is frozen.

We see directors who do not realise this filing exists until their insolvency practitioner mentions it. The NOI (Notice of Intention) is not the appointment itself. It is the preliminary step that creates an interim moratorium: while the notice is in force, creditors generally cannot wind up the company, send bailiffs or take legal action against it without the court’s permission.

That breathing space is critical when you need a few days to finalise the administrator’s appointment, agree terms, and prepare the company’s affairs for handover.

Quick Answer: What Is a Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators?

The NOI is a notice filed at court that signals the company or its directors intend to appoint an administrator. It creates an interim moratorium lasting up to 10 business days from the date of filing, ending earlier if the administrator is appointed.

During this period, no creditor enforcement, legal proceedings, or winding-up petitions can proceed against the company without the court’s permission. The NOI must be followed by the actual appointment (Form ADM2) within the 10-day period, or the moratorium expires and creditors can resume enforcement.

We tell directors: the NOI is your emergency brake. If a creditor has instructed bailiffs or HMRC is escalating enforcement, an NOI can freeze most action while you complete the appointment. If a winding-up petition has already been presented, the NOI route is closed: the company needs an urgent administration application to court before the hearing.

Who Can File a Notice of Intention to Appoint?

The company’s directors. This is the most common route. Where the company has given a qualifying floating charge (usually to a bank or lender), the directors resolve to appoint an administrator, give that lender notice and file the NOI at court.

If there is no such lender, there is no NOI stage and no interim moratorium: the directors can appoint straight away. No court hearing is needed. We advise directors to have the proposed administrator already identified and ready to act before filing, because the 10-day window passes quickly.

A qualifying floating charge holder. A bank or lender that holds a qualifying floating charge over the company’s assets can also file an NOI. This typically happens when the lender wants to appoint an administrator of its own choosing, sometimes over the directors’ objections.

Creditors who do not hold a qualifying floating charge cannot file an NOI. They must apply to the court for an administration order instead, which is a different and slower process.

The Notice of Intention Interim Moratorium: What It Stops

From the moment the NOI is filed, the following are frozen:

• Winding-up petitions. While the notice is in force, no winding-up order can be made except on a public interest petition. Directors cannot file an NOI at all once a petition has been presented.
• Enforcement action. Bailiffs cannot take control of goods and county court enforcement is paused, unless the court gives permission.
• Legal proceedings. No creditor can commence or continue court proceedings against the company without the court’s permission.
• Landlord forfeiture. A landlord cannot re-enter the premises for non-payment of rent without the court’s permission.

The order of events matters with winding-up petitions. If a petition has already been presented, directors cannot use the NOI route at all. The company must instead make an urgent administration application to court before the hearing, which brings its own interim moratorium.

Without an administration application issued before the hearing, the court could make the winding-up order and the chance of administration would usually be lost.

The 10-Day Notice of Intention Window: What You Must Do

The interim moratorium lasts up to 10 business days (5 if a qualifying floating charge holder files the notice), ending earlier when the administrator is appointed. During this period, you must:

1. Finalise the administrator appointment. Agree terms with the proposed IP, obtain their consent to act, and file the notice of appointment at court.
2. Notify the right parties. The NOI must be served on anyone who is or may be entitled to appoint an administrative receiver, or to appoint an administrator as a qualifying floating charge holder. Copies must also go to any enforcement agent acting against the company, anyone who has distrained against it, any CVA supervisor and, if the directors are appointing, the company.
3. Prepare the company’s affairs for handover. The administrator will want records, accounts, and a clear picture of the company’s financial position. The better prepared you are, the faster the administrator can act once appointed.

If the appointment is not made within the time limit (10 business days for a company or directors’ notice, 5 for a qualifying floating charge holder’s), the moratorium expires automatically. Creditors can resume enforcement. A second NOI does not need the court’s permission, but if it is filed without a settled intention to appoint it can be set aside as an abuse of process.

We advise treating the 10-day window as non-negotiable. Have everything ready before you file, not after.

Common Mistakes When Filing a Notice of Intention

We see these errors regularly:

• Filing without a proposed administrator in place. The 10 days are not enough time to find, interview, and engage an IP from scratch. Have the IP ready before you file.
• Not serving the NOI on all required parties. Failure to give notice to a qualifying floating charge holder can expose the moratorium and the appointment to challenge. Follow the statutory requirements exactly.
• Using the NOI as a delaying tactic. Filing an NOI with no genuine intention to appoint an administrator is an abuse of process. The court can lift the moratorium on application by a creditor, and repeated tactical filings will be challenged.
• Missing the 10-day deadline. If the appointment is not completed in time, the moratorium expires and you are back where you started, often in a weaker position because creditors now know you were considering administration and failed to follow through.

Notice of Intention Filing: What to Do Next

If creditor enforcement is imminent and you are considering administration, speak to a licensed insolvency practitioner immediately. They can advise whether an NOI is appropriate, prepare the paperwork, and ensure the appointment is completed within the 10-day window.

Company Debt’s insolvency practitioners handle urgent administration appointments. A confidential conversation today could be the difference between an orderly administration and a chaotic compulsory liquidation.

FAQs on the Notice of Intention to Appoint Administrators