Business

Bankruptcy: archive to the trustee or destroyed after all?

8 June 2026 · 7 min read · DeSnipperaar

A bankruptcy is a chaotic event. Creditors, employees, customers, suppliers, the tax authority: all want attention for the estate. Underestimated in that bustle: the archive. Bookkeeping, customer administration, HR files, marketing files, IT systems. What happens to it is not a detail. The Dutch Civil Code, the Bankruptcy Act and the GDPR each have something to say.

What does the Bankruptcy Act say?

On a declaration of bankruptcy, management of the estate passes to the trustee in bankruptcy. The archive is part of the estate, because it contains information needed for winding-up: invoices, contracts, debtor and creditor administration. The trustee has the right (and the duty) to consult this information.

For the tax retention obligation (AWR art. 52, BW art. 2:10) the seven-year period continues to apply, even after dissolution of the legal entity. The trustee is responsible for compliance during the winding-up period.

What does the GDPR say?

The role of controller shifts in a bankruptcy. Beforehand it is the director. During insolvency the trustee, as legal representative of the estate, is formally responsible for compliance. In practice this means:

• Access security of the archive must be maintained.
• Personal data of customers, staff and applicants may not be kept longer than necessary.
• When transferring archive to a buyer or restart business: verify the GDPR basis for transfer.
• On final winding-up: remove archive in line with retention periods.

The three phases

Phase 1: immediately after the declaration of bankruptcy

• Archive stays on site (office, storage).
• Trustee carries out an inventory.
• Employees (finally with their dismissal letter) temporarily lose access.
• No destruction yet. First inventory what is needed for winding-up.

Phase 2: during winding-up

• Trustee consults the archive for collection, creditor consultation, tax filings.
• Any restart or takeover: archive possibly transferred to the successor.
• HR files used for processing dismissal procedures.
• Customer correspondence for ongoing disputes.

Phase 3: after winding-up

• Retention periods applied: 7 years tax-relevant, shorter for other categories.
• Destruction of anything that has exceeded the period.
• Transfer to legal-entity successor or final destruction.

The trustee is not an archivist. They manage the estate including the archive, but the practical archive decisions often lie with an external specialist or with the restart buyer.

What is NOT allowed during bankruptcy

• The director cannot independently destroy the archive after bankruptcy has been declared. Management lies with the trustee.
• Employees cannot take personal copies with them. That would be a data breach under the GDPR.
• Selling a customer list without a legal basis. A customer list is data, not just an asset. Sale requires a GDPR review.
• Transfer to unauthorised parties. Creditors only receive what the trustee considers necessary for distribution of debts.

What sometimes has to happen

• Destroy HR files in good time. Application data has short retention periods. Do not keep it for the entire winding-up.
• Do not keep camera footage unnecessarily. The 4-week cycle still applies. Read camera footage retention period.
• Cancel cloud licences within the agreed period, and request a data deletion attestation.
• Collect USB sticks and loose hardware and (at final winding-up) destroy them.

Recommended approach for the trustee

1. Inventory the complete archive (paper, digital, hardware).
2. Determine which categories are needed for winding-up.
3. Keep the minimum necessary for the winding-up period.
4. Plan destruction in phases: shorter periods first (applications, marketing), the seven-year period last.
5. Carry out destruction on-site, mobile. No extra chain step.
6. Keep the certificates in the winding-up file.

In a restart or takeover

If the estate or part of it is taken over, the archive goes with the activity. Under GDPR this should be accompanied by:

• Written transfer (deed).
• Confirmation that the acquirer acts as the new controller.
• Communication to data subjects (customers, employees) where legally required.
• Any ‘right to be forgotten’ requests after transfer properly handled by the acquirer.

For the wider context of archive in M&A, read our article on archive due diligence in a business takeover.

The role of mobile destruction in bankruptcy

Bankruptcy often comes with rapid site winding-up. Mobile destruction on site is then practical:

• No transport of archive to an intermediate location.
• One supplier for paper and hardware.
• Immediate certificate for the trustee file.
• Short chain in an unstable organisational period.

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Are you a trustee or working on a winding-up? Email us via desnipperaar.nl. We regularly work with trustees and know the procedure.