The six-year credit file marker
When your DRO is approved, credit reference agencies (Experian, Equifax, TransUnion) add an entry to your credit file. This entry stays on your file for six years from the start date — not the discharge date.
Because DROs run for only 12 months, this means the marker persists on your credit file for approximately five years after the DRO ends. During those years, most mainstream lenders will decline credit applications.
The accounts included in the DRO will also be defaulted by their original lenders (if not already). These defaults appear as separate negative markers, each staying six years from the default date.
The Individual Insolvency Register
While the DRO is active (during the 12-month moratorium), you appear on the Individual Insolvency Register — a public database maintained by the Insolvency Service. Anyone can search this register by name.
When the DRO discharges (or is revoked), your entry is removed from the register within three months.
Some employers and landlords check the register, particularly for roles or tenancies involving financial trust. If you are worried about the visibility, ask an Authorised Intermediary before applying.
What credit becomes hard to get
During the six-year credit file period, most mainstream credit is difficult to obtain: personal loans, credit cards from major banks, mortgages, car finance, buy-now-pay-later, and some mobile phone contracts.
Some subprime lenders will lend to people with a DRO on file, usually at very high interest rates. Whether this is helpful depends on your circumstances — taking on high-interest new borrowing while you are meant to be rebuilding your finances is often a step backwards.
Guarantor loans, credit-builder cards designed for people with impaired credit, and some savings accounts remain available.
Bank accounts
Most high-street banks will not open a new full current account for someone with an active DRO. However, basic bank accounts (accounts with no overdraft, no chequebook, but with a debit card and online banking) are available from most major banks and cannot be refused solely on the basis of your credit history.
If you had an overdraft with your existing bank and that overdraft is included in the DRO, the account will be closed and you will need to open a basic account elsewhere.
This is why many DRO applicants are advised to open a basic account with a bank they do not owe money to before the DRO starts, protecting their day-to-day banking.
Rebuilding credit after a DRO
Once the DRO drops off your credit file after six years, you are treated by credit reference agencies as if it never happened. However, five to six years of no positive credit history and lots of defaults leaves a trail that some lenders still notice.
The fastest way to rebuild credit is small, controlled use of a credit-builder credit card — spending small amounts and paying in full each month. Over 12-18 months, this creates positive credit history that outweighs the older negative markers.
Avoiding new borrowing during the DRO period is important. New defaults or missed payments can extend the impact well beyond the six-year DRO marker.