A creditor can bring a petition for bankruptcy against an individual owing them money where the debtor has committed an "act of bankruptcy" within three months beforehand.

An act of bankruptcy is an act or default on the debtor's part which makes the debtor liable to be declared bankrupt by the court. The various acts of bankruptcy are listed in Section 7 of the Bankruptcy Act, 1988, but the most common acts of bankruptcy relied upon by a creditor are:

(a) failure by the debtor to comply with a bankruptcy summons requesting payment, within fourteen days from service of the summons on the debtor, of a specific sum due.
b) the seizure of the debtor's goods , or the making of a return of no goods in respect of the debtor, by the sheriff or county registrar.

For a creditor to be entitled to petition the court to adjudge a debtor bankrupt, a number of conditions must be met:

(a) as has been mentioned, the petition must be presented within three months of the act of bankruptcy;
(b) the debt owed must be a liquidated ( i.e. quantified) sum;
(c) the debt owed must amount to at least €1900.00;
(d) the debtor must be either domiciled in the State or within a year prior to presentation of the petition have ordinarily resided, had a dwellinghouse or place of business, or carried on business within the State:

The creditor's petition must note whether any security (e.g. mortgage or charge) is held in respect of the debt, and if so indicate whether the creditor intends to surrender the security for the benefit of the creditors or to value the security.

In either case, the petitioning creditor or debtor must advertise notice of the bankruptcy and the public sitting, and to lodge with the Official Assignee a sum of €650 towards the costs and outlays of the bankruptcy and indemnify the Assignee against the further costs and outlays which may be incurred in the proceedings.