More People Used a DRO in 2025 Than Any Year on Record — Here's Why

More UK adults used a Debt Relief Order (DRO) in 2025 than in any year since the scheme launched in 2009 — and the trend is carrying into 2026. Two changes to the rules have widened who can apply. Here is what changed, why the numbers have climbed, and how to check whether a DRO might fit your situation.

A record year for Debt Relief Orders

Figures from the Insolvency Service confirm 2025 was the highest annual volume of Debt Relief Orders since DROs were introduced in 2009. The March 2026 monthly snapshot shows bankruptcies falling while DROs remain at historically high levels.

A DRO is one of the formal debt solutions available in England and Wales. It is designed for people with relatively low debts, very little spare income and few assets. If granted, it freezes the debts it covers for 12 months, and at the end of that period — provided your circumstances have not improved — those debts are written off. It is often described as a lighter-touch alternative to bankruptcy for those who qualify.

Why DRO numbers have risen so sharply

The surge follows two significant rule changes that took effect in 2024:

• April 2024 — the £90 application fee was removed. For people with almost no spare income, finding £90 up front was itself a barrier to getting debt relief. Scrapping the fee opened the route to the very households it was designed for.
• June 2024 — eligibility was widened. The total qualifying debt threshold was raised from £30,000 to £50,000, and the maximum value of a vehicle you can keep was raised from £2,000 to £4,000.

Raising the debt ceiling by £20,000 in particular brought a much larger group of people into scope — people who previously had too much debt for a DRO but not the assets or income that would point toward other solutions. Combined with the removal of the fee, that is the main reason volumes have climbed to record levels.

Who can get a Debt Relief Order?

A DRO has strict conditions. Broadly, they are aimed at people who owe under the £50,000 threshold, have less than a set amount of spare income each month after essential living costs, hold limited savings and assets, and do not own their home. A DRO can only be set up through an approved intermediary — usually based at a free debt advice charity — so you cannot apply entirely on your own.

Does the rule change mean you now qualify?

The rules expanded, so more people may now be eligible than were a couple of years ago — but a DRO is not right for everyone, and the conditions on debt level, income, savings and assets are applied carefully. The only way to know whether it fits is to speak to a regulated debt adviser, who can also weigh it against alternatives such as a Debt Management Plan or an IVA.