Everyday unsecured debts
The full range of consumer credit debts can be included: credit cards, store cards, catalogue accounts, personal loans, payday loans, doorstep loans, guarantor loans (where you are the guarantor and the primary borrower has defaulted), and buy-now-pay-later balances that have gone to collections.
Overdrafts can be included, and the associated bank account will normally be closed by the bank.
Historic mobile phone contract debts that are now with debt collectors can be included.
Court judgments (CCJs) can be included — a CCJ is a legal recognition of the debt, but the underlying debt itself is what goes into the DRO.
Priority debts that can be included
Council tax arrears from previous years can be included. Current-year council tax must continue to be paid — the ongoing liability sits outside the DRO.
Utility arrears (gas, electricity, water) can be included. Ongoing usage must continue to be paid separately.
HMRC debts — Self Assessment tax, Working Tax Credit overpayments, Child Tax Credit overpayments — can be included.
Rent arrears can be included, though this can affect your tenancy and needs careful handling (see below).
Benefit overpayments (Universal Credit, legacy tax credits, Housing Benefit) can normally be included, though recovery from ongoing benefit payments is a separate mechanism.
Debts that cannot be included
Court fines (Magistrates or Crown Court) — including road traffic offences, TV licence non-payment, and any other criminal fines — cannot be included in a DRO.
Child maintenance arrears, whether from the Child Maintenance Service or a court order, cannot be included.
Student loans (all types) cannot be included and continue on their normal repayment terms.
Confiscation orders and compensation orders made in criminal proceedings cannot be included.
Damages awarded by a court for personal injury cannot be included.
Debts arising from fraud generally cannot be included.
Secured debts
Any debt secured against an asset — mortgages, secured loans (second charges), car finance (hire purchase or PCP), logbook loans — cannot be included in a DRO. The lender retains its security over the asset.
If a secured debt has an unsecured shortfall (for example, the car is worth less than the finance balance and gets voluntarily terminated), the shortfall becomes unsecured and can then be included.
This is important for people whose main financial problems are mortgage arrears or secured loan arrears — a DRO does not help with those directly.
Special situations: rent arrears and joint debts
Rent arrears can be included, but the landlord may still be able to end the tenancy through the Section 8 or Section 21 process (the latter mainly during 2026 as reforms continue). Including rent arrears in a DRO does not stop possession proceedings for the tenancy itself.
For joint debts (debts held with a spouse, partner or family member), the DRO only clears your share of the liability. The other party remains fully liable for the debt and creditors can pursue them for the full amount.
For guarantor loans where you are the primary borrower, the debt is included in your DRO. But the guarantor remains liable and can be pursued — the DRO does not protect them.
Debts you forget to list
Debts not listed in the DRO application are not covered by it. The creditor can continue to pursue you for those debts during and after the 12-month moratorium.
This is why the disclosure process at application stage is thorough. Authorised Intermediaries typically ask for a full credit report, review recent post, and go through every regular commitment to catch every debt.
If a debt surfaces after the DRO starts (an old account you had forgotten about), it cannot be added to the DRO — it exists outside it. However, if the debt is old and time-barred, or the paperwork is missing, other defences may apply.