The Insolvency Service has launched an online version of its Individual Insolvency Register (IIR).

The register allows consumers and businesses to check whether a person is an undischarged bankrupt, the subject of a bankruptcy restriction order, or party to an individual voluntary arrangement.

Members of the public will be able to use the IIR to make informed decisions about potential business partners, according to Desmond Flynn, chief executive of The Insolvency Service.

"The register will help to provide greater confidence in the marketplace, helping to contribute to a modern insolvency regime which deals fairly and effectively with financial failure," he said in a statement.

Flynn explained that the site offers instant access to information about bankrupts, available free of charge 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"The clear identification of those bankrupts against whom bankruptcy restriction orders are made will enable people to identify those whose financial failure was tainted by misconduct," he added.

Before the introduction of this online facility all searches had to be conducted via post, telephone, fax or in person at an Official Receiver's office.