Yes. Once a DRO is made, creditors included in it cannot send bailiffs for those debts, though fines and goods already controlled are exceptions.
See your optionsYes, in most cases. Once a Debt Relief Order (DRO) is approved, creditors whose debts are included cannot take further action to recover them, and that includes sending bailiffs (enforcement agents). The main exceptions are debts a DRO cannot include, such as magistrates’ court fines, and goods a bailiff had already taken control of before the order was made.
This guide looks at DROs from the bailiff angle: what protection you get, when it starts, where the gaps are, and how to apply. It covers England and Wales only. For a general overview, see our debt relief orders explained guide.
A DRO is a formal debt solution for people with low income, few assets and debts under £50,000. It is made by the Official Receiver, who works for the Insolvency Service. There is no court hearing.
A DRO normally lasts 12 months. During that time you make no payments towards the debts listed in it. At the end, you are released from those debts and they are written off.
The rules were made more generous in 2024. The £90 application fee was scrapped on 6 April 2024, and from late June 2024 the debt limit rose from £30,000 to £50,000 and the vehicle limit from £2,000 to £4,000. At the time of writing (September 2026) these are still the current limits.
| Rule | Current limit |
|---|---|
| Total debts | Less than £50,000 |
| Spare (surplus) income after essential costs | Less than £75 a month |
| Savings and other assets | Less than £2,000 in total |
| Vehicle | Worth less than £4,000 (higher for some vehicles adapted for disability) |
| Where you live | Lived or worked in England or Wales in the last 3 years |
| Previous DRO | Not had one in the last 6 years |
| Fee | None – applying is free |
You also cannot get a DRO if you are already bankrupt, in an IVA, or have a bankruptcy application or petition in progress. Northern Ireland has its own DRO scheme with different rules, and Scotland uses different solutions altogether.
For debts included in the order, yes. The law (section 251G of the Insolvency Act 1986) creates a “moratorium” for the life of the DRO. During it, a creditor owed a listed debt has no remedy for that debt and cannot start or continue legal action to recover it without the court’s permission.
In practice this means:
This covers most debts that lead to bailiff visits, including council tax arrears, county court judgments (CCJs) and council parking penalty charges enforced through the Traffic Enforcement Centre.
This is the biggest gap in DRO protection. If you signed a controlled goods agreement (sometimes called walking possession) before the DRO was made, the Insolvency Service treats that agreement as securing the debt. The DRO does not stop the bailiff removing and selling those goods.
Citizens Advice gives the same warning: if you want to keep the items, you will need to keep up the payments under the agreement. Goods that were already removed before the order are in the same position.
What you can do:
Some debts are “excluded”. You still have to pay them during and after the DRO, and bailiffs can still be used to collect them. They include:
Unpaid TV licence fees are also treated as fines once a court has convicted you. If your bailiff problem is a magistrates’ court fine, a DRO will not stop it, but you can still ask the court to reduce the payments. Our guide to the different types of bailiffs explains who collects what.
Council tax arrears can be included. Any amount due and unpaid up to the date the DRO is approved counts as a qualifying debt. If you missed payments after a final notice, the full balance for that year may already be due, and that can go in too.
Once the order is made, the council cannot send enforcement agents for the included arrears. But you must pay council tax that falls due after the DRO starts. If you fall behind again, the council can take fresh action for the new arrears, including bailiffs. Check whether you are entitled to council tax reduction or a discount first. For more, see whether bailiffs can force entry for council tax.
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You cannot apply for a DRO on your own. Applications are made online, through an approved intermediary: a trained debt adviser at an approved organisation such as a Citizens Advice office, StepChange or National Debtline’s partners. Their help is free. The steps are:
The Insolvency Service publishes official guidance on getting a DRO, and gov.uk lists the current eligibility rules.
While the DRO lasts, you must not:
Your DRO appears on the Individual Insolvency Register, a free public list, until three months after it ends. It stays on your credit file for six years. If your circumstances improve during the 12 months, for example your income rises or you receive a lump sum, you must tell the Official Receiver, and the DRO could be cancelled.
At the end of the 12 months you are discharged automatically. The included debts are written off and creditors, including councils and bailiff companies acting for them, can no longer pursue them. Excluded debts, and any council tax that fell due after the DRO started, still need to be paid.
A DRO is designed for people with very little spare money. If it does not fit, other options can also stop bailiff action for included debts:
The right choice depends on your income, assets and the type of debts you have, so get free advice before deciding.
Yes, for debts included in the order. Once a DRO is made, creditors listed in it cannot take further action to recover those debts, including sending bailiffs, without the court's permission. It does not stop bailiffs collecting excluded debts such as magistrates' court fines, and it may not stop them selling goods they had already taken control of under a controlled goods agreement before the DRO was made.
You cannot apply on your own. You apply online through an approved intermediary, a trained debt adviser at an approved organisation such as Citizens Advice or StepChange. The adviser checks you qualify, completes the application with you and submits it to the Official Receiver. The Insolvency Service says most applications are decided within two working days. There is no fee.
Nothing. The £90 DRO application fee was abolished on 6 April 2024, so applying is now free. Approved intermediaries who help you apply do not charge either. Be wary of any company that asks you to pay to arrange a DRO, as free help is available from services such as Citizens Advice, StepChange and National Debtline.
To qualify you must owe less than £50,000, have less than £75 a month spare income after essential costs, have assets worth less than £2,000, and not own a vehicle worth £4,000 or more. You must have lived or worked in England or Wales in the last three years and not had a DRO in the last six years. These limits have applied since 2024.
Yes. Council tax arrears that are due and unpaid when the DRO is approved can be included, so the council cannot send bailiffs for those arrears while the order lasts. You still have to pay council tax that falls due after the DRO starts. If you fall behind again, the council can take new action for those new arrears.
Yes. Debt relief orders work the same way in England and Wales, with the same limits and the same free application through an approved intermediary. You must have lived or worked in England or Wales in the last three years. Scotland does not have DROs, and Northern Ireland has its own separate DRO scheme with different rules.
Free, independent debt advice is also available from MoneyHelper, StepChange, National Debtline and Citizens Advice.