FirmLedge

For receivers, their counsel and the lenders who sought the appointment

Company records in a receivership: whether they can be licensed, and how.

AI developers license de-identified operating and financial records from closed and closing companies. In a receivership, whether those records can be licensed turns on the appointing order, the lender's position and any court approval the order or the statute requires.

Written by Andrew Gallagher, founder of FirmLedge.Last reviewed .Sources are listed at the end of the page.

Authority

What the order gives the receiver.

A receiver's duties and responsibilities are set by the court, principally in the appointing order [1]. Receivership orders typically grant the receiver immediate access to the books and records, and receivers are typically given authority to sell property, often with court approval [2].

State and federal receiverships differ. A federal receiver appointed over property situated in different districts is "vested with complete jurisdiction and control of all such property with the right to take possession thereof" (28 U.S.C. section 754) [3]. A state receiver works under the state's statute and the order. In Ohio, for example, a receiver may sell property free and clear of liens "subject to the approval and supervision of the court" (Ohio Rev. Code section 2735.04(D)(1)(a)) [4].

So the order comes first: whether it reaches the books, records and electronic data, whether it authorizes a sale or a license, and on what approval. Your counsel decides what applies.

The lender question

The lender question.

A blanket lien may reach records and databases as general intangibles, the Uniform Commercial Code's catch-all for personal property outside its listed categories, which expressly includes software [5]. Where the lien reaches the records, FirmLedge asks for the lender's written consent, or an order addressing the lien, before any license, and we ask about the lien position in the first conversation.

A license can add to what the receivership recovers for creditors, the lender included. Ask for the consent in writing, with how the proceeds are applied. Your counsel decides what consent is needed.

Buyer questions

What buyers ask a receiver for.

Buyers with written requests for whole-company records ask the same few questions first. None of them needs a file to answer, and the answers decide whether a buyer proposes terms at all.

The terms a buyer then proposes differ from buyer to buyer; what the license says sets out the ones to compare.

What buyers askBefore any files
systems
Which accounting, ERP, CRM, job and production systems were used, and whether each still opens
years
How many years of history remain in each
connections
Whether orders connect to the work, the invoice and the payment
email
Whether the email tenant survives, and until when
authority
Who can authorize a license under the order, with any lender consent

How we work with a receiver

One point of contact, one comparison.

You may want one number and one party to deal with, not a process to manage. FirmLedge can be that party. We take an unnamed description of the records to several buyers and bring back every proposal we received in one format, with the comparison laid out and our compensation and who pays shown beside each, so the decision takes one reading.

What has been paid for company records elsewhere is on the market record. A number for this company comes only from an inventory and a buyer's written response.

Timing

The clock.

Hosted systems run on subscriptions, and subscriptions end. For most Microsoft 365 business subscriptions, data stays accessible for 30 days after the subscription expires, then to admins only for 90 days, and is then deleted [6]. Canceling Google Workspace deletes users' data, and it cannot be restored [7].

The IT person's last day matters as much: once the person who knows the ERP has gone, the inventory gets harder. Your own deadlines, such as reports to the court, the sale of other assets and the close of the receivership, set the rest.

Before the systems go dark: the preservation checklist

Dates to findIn the first week
subscriptions
When each hosted system's plan ends or renews
email tenant
Its status, and the deletion window after suspension
people
The last working day of whoever knows each system
the case
Report dates, other asset sales and the planned close

What FirmLedge does

What FirmLedge does.

  1. Confirm control and systems

    A short call or email with whoever knows the systems establishes what survives, how many years remain, whether the records connect, what the order authorizes and whether the lender's lien reaches the records.

  2. The assessment, then an unnamed profile

    We prepare the one-page assessment from the docket, notices and public filings, at no charge. It is not a valuation and not an offer. With your permission, we then describe the records to several buyers without naming the company.

  3. Proposals in one format

    Every proposal comes back in the same format: price, package, permitted uses, exclusivity, de-identification method and the buyer's fee to FirmLedge.

  4. Your decision and the approvals

    Nothing moves without your written approval and any court or lender approval your counsel says is needed. We provide the information needed for any motion, notice or report, including our fee arrangement.

Questions receivers ask

Receiverships, answered.

Back to the estates page.

Can a receiver sell or license the company's data?
Where the appointing order puts the company's property in the receiver's control and authorizes a sale, generally yes, subject to any court approval the order or statute requires, the lender's consent or an order where its lien reaches the records, and the limits in privacy policies and contracts. Receivership orders typically grant the receiver access to the books and records. Your counsel decides what applies.
Does the lender have to consent?
Where the lender's security interest reaches general intangibles, which can include records, databases and software, its written consent or an order addressing the lien comes before a license. We ask about the lien position in the first conversation. Your counsel decides what consent is needed.
Does the court have to approve?
It depends on the order and the statute. An Ohio receiver, for example, sells property subject to the approval and supervision of the court (Ohio Rev. Code section 2735.04(D)(1)(a)). Your counsel decides what applies.
What if the company is being sold as a going concern?
The sale terms decide. If the books and records go with the sale, a license of a de-identified copy may need to be granted before closing or carved out of the sale, or the records may simply go to the buyer of the business. That is your call and your counsel's; we can set out what each path would involve.
How fast can this run?
The first steps take days: an initial reply within two business days, and the one-page assessment within five business days of a description we can work from, or a note on what is missing. After that, timing depends on the buyers' review, any sample, the approvals your order requires and de-identification.
What does FirmLedge charge the receivership?
Where a buyer engages FirmLedge to source records, the buyer pays FirmLedge and the estate pays no FirmLedge fee. Each buyer's proposal shows our compensation and who pays before you decide, and extraction, scanning or legal costs are agreed in advance.

Sources

Sources.

  1. FedReceiver, Inc., What is a Court Receiver?, page updated July 7, 2026. fedreceiver.com
  2. The National Law Review (Joshua L. Gablin, Financial Poise), The Nuts and Bolts of a Federal Equity Receivership: Understanding the Order Appointing the Receiver, May 21, 2025. natlawreview.com
  3. United States Code (Legal Information Institute), 28 U.S.C. section 754, Receivers of property in different districts, current text, checked October 30, 2026. law.cornell.edu
  4. Ohio Revised Code, Section 2735.04, Powers of receiver, effective March 23, 2015. codes.ohio.gov
  5. Uniform Commercial Code (Legal Information Institute), Section 9-102, Definitions and index of definitions (general intangible, 9-102(a)(42)), current text, checked October 30, 2026. law.cornell.edu
  6. Microsoft Learn, What happens to my data and access when my Microsoft 365 for business subscription ends?, checked October 30, 2026. learn.microsoft.com
  7. Google Workspace Admin Help, Cancel Google Workspace, last updated October 26, 2026. knowledge.workspace.google.com

Sources checked October 30, 2026.

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