The £90 application fee
The DRO application fee is £90, paid to the Insolvency Service. This has been the amount since 2016 and remains in place for 2026.
The fee is non-refundable, even if your application is rejected. If your DRO is later revoked, you do not get the £90 back either.
For people on very low incomes, £90 can feel like a significant hurdle. Some charities and support schemes help with the fee — StepChange, Christians Against Poverty and some local authority hardship funds occasionally cover it.
Paying the fee in instalments
The Insolvency Service allows the £90 to be paid in instalments before the application is submitted. Common patterns are £30 monthly over three months, or £45 monthly over two months.
The full £90 must be paid before your Authorised Intermediary submits the application. Once submitted, the case starts and the fee is committed.
You cannot pay the £90 as part of a payment plan after the DRO is granted. The application is only processed once the fee is complete.
No charge from the Authorised Intermediary
DRO applications must be submitted by an Authorised Intermediary — a regulated debt help specialist trained and authorised to file DROs. There is no fee charged by the AI for their work.
This is because AIs are funded through their sponsoring organisations (StepChange, Citizens Advice, some Local Authorities, and various other regulated bodies). The Insolvency Service maintains a list of approved AIs.
If anyone is charging you a fee to help you apply for a DRO — either upfront or as part of a package — that is not compliant. Reputable debt help does not charge for DRO applications.
Compare to the alternatives
The £90 DRO fee compares extremely favourably to other insolvency routes: bankruptcy costs £680 upfront, and IVA fees run into thousands (paid from monthly contributions rather than upfront, but still substantial).
The low cost is part of what makes DROs suitable for people on very low incomes — the whole point of the DRO scheme is to provide a formal insolvency route for people who cannot afford bankruptcy fees.
What if you cannot afford the £90?
If you cannot pay the £90 at all, options include: talking to a charity DRO team about their support funds, spreading the payment over several months (some AIs can hold your case open while you save), or exploring whether an informal negotiation route (Breathing Space, DMP, direct negotiation) is workable in the meantime.
Some benefits recipients qualify for the Household Support Fund via their local council, which can occasionally be used to cover essential costs including the DRO fee.
It is very rare that a DRO cannot happen because of the £90 barrier alone — most AIs will work with applicants to find a way through it.