A Debt Relief Order (DRO) is a personal insolvency process. It provides you with legal protection from your creditors and your debts are written-off after one year.

DROs are one way to deal with your debts if you owe less than £30,000, don’t have much spare income and don’t own your home.

If you qualify for a DRO:

other than the application fee (£90) you won’t have to pay anything

your creditors can’t recover their money without the court’s permission

you’re usually freed (‘discharged’) from your debts after 12 months

Our partner company’s assessment team will discuss with you whether you qualify for DRO and how it will affect you. DRO is available to people meeting certain criteria, so eligibility will depend upon your overall circumstances. If you are eligible, and DRO is your preferred option, then our partner company will refer you to an authorised intermediary for further assistance.

Qualifying criteria for a DRO

To qualify for a DRO you must meet all the criteria below:

You have debts no more than £30,000

You’ve no more than £75 a month spare income

You’ve no more than £2,000 worth of assets

You’ve lived or worked in England and Wales within the last 3 years

You haven’t applied for a DRO within the last 6 years

You must apply via an intermediary authorised by the Insolvency Service. The intermediary will consider your overall financial position (level of debts, income and assets) and advise whether you qualify. If you do, following payment of the fee, an online application is submitted. If accepted, the order will be made.

DROs can be revoked if:

• your finances improve
• you don’t co-operate with the official receiver - eg you don’t give them the information they ask for
• your income, assets or debts exceed the specified limits

If you get new debt after your DRO is approved you could

• get a bankruptcy order
• be prosecuted if you don’t tell new creditors about your DRO

Still not sure?

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