Can I write off my debt?

Can debt be written off in England and Wales?

Debts can be written off in England and Wales through bankruptcy, a debt relief order or the end of an Individual Voluntary Arrangement, or by a creditor agreeing to write off a debt, and each route has costs and restrictions. In a protocol IVA you are released from all debts that are subject to the arrangement (opens in a new tab) once the supervisor issues the completion certificate. Outside these procedures, nothing obliges a creditor to write off a balance. Our comparison of every debt solution covers the options that pay debts back instead.

Each procedure has a price. A DRO and bankruptcy come with restrictions for a period, such as limits on borrowing more than £500 without saying so. An IVA means years of monthly payments. All three go on a public register and on your credit file.

Adverts that promise to write off your debt are usually describing an IVA, which GOV.UK says (opens in a new tab) you get through an insolvency practitioner, who then supervises it.

Which debts cannot be written off?

No route wipes every debt: bankruptcy and debt relief orders leave out debts such as fines, child maintenance and student loans, and an IVA only covers the debts included in it. Social Fund budgeting and crisis loans, secured debts and debts from fraud survive a DRO and bankruptcy too. GOV.UK's DRO guidance (opens in a new tab) and its bankruptcy guide (opens in a new tab) list them, and section 281 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (opens in a new tab) sets out the bankruptcy exceptions in law.

Two kinds of debt are treated differently in bankruptcy: money owed under family proceedings and damages for personal injury stay payable unless the court decides you do not have to pay them. A DRO also leaves unpaid TV licence fees outside it.

From GOV.UK's guidance and the Insolvency Act 1986, checked 4 November 2026. An IVA deals with the debts in its proposal; a secured creditor keeps its security.

How do an IVA, bankruptcy and a DRO write off debt?

A DRO ends the qualifying debts listed in it at the end of a 12-month moratorium, bankruptcy releases you from the bankruptcy debts on discharge, usually after 12 months, and an IVA is an agreement, approved by your creditors, to pay all or part of what you owe. The three differ in who decides, what you pay and how long it lasts.

An IVA starts when creditors holding 75% of your debts (opens in a new tab) agree to it (by value, of those who vote) and then binds every creditor (opens in a new tab) who was entitled to vote, including those who voted against. Bankruptcy on your own application goes to an Insolvency Service adjudicator, and a trustee deals with what you own. A DRO is made by the official receiver on an application only an approved debt adviser can submit.

Will writing off debt affect my credit file?

Writing off debt affects your credit file for 6 years: an IVA appears for 6 years from the date it starts (opens in a new tab), a DRO usually shows for 6 years from the date it was approved, and bankruptcy can stay on your credit reference file (opens in a new tab) for 6 years from the date of the bankruptcy. GOV.UK calls 6 years the standard period, the same as a missed payment on a credit agreement.

The public records follow their own timetable. An IVA or a DRO comes off the Individual Insolvency Register 3 months after it ends, and the register entry for a bankruptcy is updated within 3 months of discharge. A bankruptcy notice in the Gazette is permanent, though GOV.UK says your details are left out of internet search results after 1 year and 3 months.

Do debts disappear after six years?

In England and Wales a creditor usually cannot take court action on an unsecured debt more than six years (opens in a new tab) after the right to sue arose, often the default; a payment or a signed written acknowledgment restarts that period (opens in a new tab). A statute-barred debt is not written off: it still exists, but the creditor cannot win a court claim for it. Mortgage shortfalls have longer periods (opens in a new tab) (12 years for capital, 6 for interest).

The FCA's rules say the same: in England and Wales "a statute barred debt still exists and is recoverable" (CONC 7.15.2 (opens in a new tab)), though a regulated firm must not try to recover one if it had no contact with you during the limitation period. When the six years start depends on the facts of each debt, so speak to a free, independent debt adviser before relying on it.

Can debt be written off because of mental health problems?

There is no automatic right to have a debt written off because of mental health problems. FCA-regulated lenders must treat people in financial difficulty with forbearance and take their circumstances into account, which can mean freezing interest or accepting lower payments (opens in a new tab); a creditor may agree to write off a debt but does not have to.

If you are receiving mental health crisis treatment, a mental health crisis Breathing Space pauses creditor action for as long as the treatment lasts plus 30 days. It does not write off the debts, but it gives time to work out what to do.