A debt relief order (DRO) is one way to deal with your debts if you:
You don't have to make payments towards most types of debt included in your DRO and your creditors can’t force you to pay off the debts. A DRO usually lasts a year unless your situation improves. When the DRO ends, most of your debts will be written off.
You’ll need to speak to a special DRO adviser who will help you fill in an application to the official receiver. The adviser can’t charge you for their time but there's a £90 fee to make a DRO application.
You should be able to get a DRO if all of the following apply:
If you have a vehicle worth less than £2,000, you don’t have to include it in your assets. If your vehicle is worth more than £2,000, you don't have to include it in your assets if it's been adapted because you have a disability. You can only exclude 1 vehicle from your assets and you can't exclude it if you only use it for work.
Find out more information about how income, debts and belongings are assessed for a debt relief order.
You must tell your DRO adviser if in the last 2 years you’ve:
Your DRO application might be refused if any of these apply to you. They'll look at the facts of your case before making a final decision.
Debts that can go into a DRO are called ’qualifying debts'. During the DRO period creditors can’t ask you for payments - if they do, you don't have to pay them. They include:
If you obtained any of these by fraud, you will still have to pay them when the DRO has ended.
If you're behind on your rent, your landlord can still take action to evict you, even if the rent arrears are included in your DRO. This means you may have to continue paying these after a DRO is made.
Not all debts are covered by a DRO. You'll still need to pay:
If you have any of these debts they don't count towards the £30,000 limit.
If you’re unsure whether a debt would be covered by a DRO, check with your DRO adviser. If they aren’t you’ll still need to pay them if you get a DRO.
If you forget to include any debts in your DRO you can’t add them after. If any missed debts would have taken you over the £30,000 limit then your DRO might be cancelled. It’s important that you tell the DRO adviser about all of your debts.
A DRO can provide a way out of debt. However, it's important to know the impact a DRO will have on all areas of your life before you apply. For example:
your bank might close your account and you’ll need to open a new one
if you hold a power of attorney over someone else's financial affairs or someone else has one for you, this will end
it might affect applications you make for British citizenship - if you are unsure then you should get advice from an immigration specialist
You’ll also have to follow certain rules, called 'restrictions', during the DRO period. This means:
If having your address on the register could lead to violence against you or a member of your family, you can ask the court to order that your address doesn't appear on the register. You’ll need to apply for a court order before you make your DRO application - your DRO adviser can help you with this.
If you’re not sure a DRO is the best option, you can find out what other help you can get with debts.
If you think a DRO is right for you, find more information about how to get a debt relief order - including how to find a DRO adviser and pay the fee.
We use necessary cookies to make our site work. We'd also like to set analytics cookies that help us make improvements by measuring how you use the site. These will be set only if you accept.
For more detailed information about the cookies we use, see our Cookies page.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions.