Debt relief orders: who qualifies and how they work
A debt relief order (DRO) freezes your qualifying debts for 12 months and then writes them off, if you have a low income and few assets. In England and Wales you must owe less than £50,000, have less than £75 a month spare and own less than £2,000 in assets, and it has been free since April 2024.
A DRO is made by the Official Receiver at the Insolvency Service, not by a court, and there is no insolvency practitioner involved. You apply through an approved debt adviser, and during the 12 months your listed creditors cannot ask you for payment. If your situation does not improve, the debts are written off at the end.
Free, impartial debt advice is available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, Citizens Advice and National Debtline, and many free advisers can apply for a DRO for you. See where to get free debt advice.
Who can get a debt relief order?
You must meet every one of these conditions:
| Test | Current limit (England and Wales) |
|---|---|
| Total debts | Less than £50,000 |
| Spare income | Less than £75 a month after normal household costs |
| Assets | Savings and valuable items worth less than £2,000 in total |
| Vehicle | One vehicle worth less than £4,000 is ignored |
| Where you live | Lived or worked in England or Wales in the last 3 years |
| Other insolvency | Not currently bankrupt, in an IVA or subject to an interim order |
| Previous DRO | No DRO in the last 6 years |
A DRO is not available if you live in Scotland (see debt solutions in Scotland). Northern Ireland has its own DRO, covered below.
For example, Sam rents a flat, works part time, owes £9,000 on credit cards and an overdraft plus £1,200 of energy arrears, has £300 in savings and a car worth £2,500, and has about £40 a month left after essential costs. On those figures Sam is within every limit, so a debt adviser would be likely to look at a DRO. If Sam’s car were worth £4,500, or Sam had £2,500 in savings, Sam would be over a limit. This example is hypothetical.
What changed in 2024?
A lot of what you read online about DROs is out of date. Two changes in 2024 widened access:
- The £90 application fee was abolished from 6 April 2024. A DRO is now free.
- For applications from 28 June 2024, the debt limit rose from £30,000 to £50,000 and the vehicle allowance from £2,000 to £4,000.
The spare income limit (£75) and asset limit (£2,000) have applied since June 2021. An Insolvency Service review published in July 2026 found that removing the fee had the biggest effect on the number of people getting a DRO. In May 2026 a new digital application service for money advice partners also launched.
If you were turned down for a DRO before mid-2024, or were told you had to find £90 first, it is worth asking again.
Which debts can a DRO include?
Most unsecured debts can be included: credit and store cards, overdrafts, personal and payday loans, buy now pay later, rent arrears, energy and water arrears, council tax arrears, benefit overpayments and money owed to friends or family.
These cannot be included, so you would still have to pay them:
- child maintenance and debts from family court proceedings
- student loans
- Social Fund budgeting and crisis loans
- secured debts, such as a mortgage or a loan secured on your home
- damages a court has ordered you to pay for personal injury or death
- unpaid TV licence fees and court fines.
How do you apply for a DRO?
You cannot apply on your own. gov.uk says you have to go through an approved debt adviser, known as an approved intermediary. Organisations gov.uk names include National Debtline, Citizens Advice, Christians Against Poverty, Shelter and AdviceUK members.
The adviser will:
- check your debts, assets, income and spending against the limits
- ask about payments you have made to creditors, and anything valuable you have sold or given away, in roughly the last 2 years
- submit the application online to the Official Receiver if you qualify.
There is no court hearing. If the application succeeds, the Insolvency Service confirms the DRO and tells the creditors listed in it.
Be completely accurate about your income, spending and assets. A DRO made on incomplete, incorrect or misleading information can be revoked, and knowingly or recklessly giving false information in an application is a criminal offence. If anyone suggests you adjust your figures so you “fit”, walk away.
Not sure which option fits? Answer a few questions and we can point you in the right direction. It takes about 3 minutes, and it is free and confidential.
What happens during the 12 months?
The DRO period normally lasts 12 months. Creditors listed in the order cannot ask you for payment or take action to recover those debts. You do not make payments towards them.
You must tell the Insolvency Service if your regular income goes up, or if you receive money or anything of value, such as a vehicle or an inheritance. The DRO can be revoked if your circumstances change so that you no longer qualify, and then your creditors can chase the debts again.
While the DRO runs you cannot:
- borrow more than £500 without telling the lender about your DRO
- act as a company director, or be involved in running a company, without the court’s permission
- run a business under a different name without telling the people you deal with about your DRO.
Breaking these rules can lead to prosecution or a debt relief restrictions order, which extends the restrictions for 2 to 15 years.
At the end of the 12 months the restrictions end and you no longer have to pay the debts listed in the DRO, or the interest on them. Keep your paperwork in case a creditor contacts you later.
How does a DRO affect your credit file and records?
A DRO stays on your credit file for 6 years from the date it is approved. It also goes on the public Individual Insolvency Register, and is removed 3 months after it ends.
Some people worry that a DRO is a type of bankruptcy. It is not: it is a separate procedure under Part 7A of the Insolvency Act 1986, with no trustee and no sale of your belongings. But it is a formal insolvency, and lenders will treat it that way.
DRO or another option?
If you qualify for a DRO, it is usually worth looking at first because it is free and short. The IVA Protocol 2025 says people who meet the DRO criteria are unlikely to be suitable for a protocol IVA. Our IVA vs DRO guide explains why.
If you are just over a limit, the alternatives are usually a debt management plan, bankruptcy or an IVA. See debt solutions compared for a side-by-side view. If creditors are pressing you while you decide, a debt adviser can ask for Breathing Space.
Debt relief orders in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has its own DRO, run by the Insolvency Service in Northern Ireland. Following 2024 changes the limits now match England and Wales in most respects. According to the Department for the Economy:
- total debts must be no more than £50,000
- other assets must be worth no more than £2,000, with a car worth up to £4,000 ignored
- disposable income must be no more than £75 a month
- you must be domiciled in Northern Ireland, or have lived or traded there in the last 3 years
- you must not have had a DRO in the last 6 years.
You apply through an approved intermediary, such as an Advice NI debt adviser, and the DRO lasts 12 months. The department’s guidance no longer lists an application fee. Some other official pages still show the old £20,000 debt limit, which is out of date.
What to do next
- List your debts, your savings and anything valuable you own, including the rough value of any vehicle.
- Contact a free debt adviser who is an approved intermediary and ask them to check you for a DRO.
- Keep paying priority bills such as rent and council tax while the application goes through.
Common questions
Can I get a DRO if I own my home?
There is no outright ban, but your share of any equity counts towards the £2,000 asset limit. In practice, homeowners with any real equity will not qualify.
Can I add a debt I forgot about after my DRO is approved?
Debts need to be listed when the application goes in, so give your adviser every debt you can find, including old ones and money owed to family. Ask your adviser straight away if you find one you missed.
Will my employer find out about my DRO?
A DRO is on the public Individual Insolvency Register while it runs and for 3 months after, so anyone who searches can see it. Whether an employer checks depends on the job, and some jobs and professional bodies have their own rules.
Can I get a DRO if I live in Scotland?
No. Scotland does not have DROs. The nearest equivalent is the Minimal Asset Process, a low-cost route into bankruptcy, which is explained in our Scotland guide.
Related guides
- IVA or debt relief order? How a DRO and an IVA compare, and why DRO-eligible people are rarely suited to an IVA.
- Bankruptcy: how it works and what it means for you How bankruptcy works, the £680 cost, and what happens to your home, car, income and job.
- Where to get free debt advice The free debt advice services in each part of the UK, what they can do, and how to check a firm.