DRO
How long after a DRO can you get credit?
It is the first question people ask when a Debt Relief Order ends: how long until I can get credit again? There is no fixed waiting period. This guide explains what lenders look at after a DRO, and what to check before you apply.
- DRO completed
- What lenders see
Free to use, no obligation. The plan itself won't affect your credit score. It is not advice, and acceptance is never guaranteed.
Written and reviewed by the AfterMy team · Last reviewed October 2026
Quick answerYou can apply for credit once your DRO ends, usually after twelve months, and there is no legal waiting period after that point. Whether a lender says yes depends on its own criteria and on what it sees: affordability, your payment record since the DRO, the DRO marker on your credit file and the type of credit you apply for. The marker stays on your file for six years from the date the DRO started. That is how long the marker stays, not a waiting period before you can apply.
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The short answer: there is no fixed waiting period
While your DRO is active, the rules are tight. By law you must tell any lender about your DRO before borrowing £500 or more.
Once the order ends, usually after twelve months, those restrictions fall away and no law sets a waiting period before you can apply for credit. The six-year figure you may have read about is not a waiting period at all.
What matters from there is not whether you are allowed to apply, but whether a lender's criteria fit your circumstances. Every lender sets its own, and some lenders, often specialists, are used to applications from people who have had a DRO.
There is no waiting period once your DRO ends. The question is whether a lender's criteria fit you, not whether you can apply.
What do lenders look at when you apply?
Every lender sets its own criteria, so nobody can promise you a date or an acceptance. Lenders weigh a few things, whichever product you apply for.
- Affordability: your income and outgoings, and whether the repayments fit comfortably alongside everything else you pay.
- Your record since the DRO: bills, rent and any credit paid on time, with no new missed payments or defaults.
- The marker on your file: while the DRO shows on your credit file, lenders who check it will see it, and each one decides for itself how much weight to give it.
- The type of product: a credit-builder card with a low limit, a personal loan and a mortgage are different decisions, and a lender's criteria for one say nothing about another.
Affordability, your record since the DRO, the marker on your file and the product itself: each lender weighs these its own way.
Finished your DRO? Your Comeback Plan maps your dates and shows options from our panel you may be able to apply for.
Start your Comeback PlanThe six-year marker, and what it actually means
The DRO marker sits on your credit file for six years from the date it started, not from the date it ended. This is the figure that gets misread as a six-year ban on credit.
It is nothing of the sort. It simply means that until that date, lenders who check your file will see the DRO, and each one decides for itself how much weight to give it.
From the day the marker drops off, the insolvency entry stops being reported. Other entries run on their own dates, and some application forms still ask about past insolvency.
That day is worth knowing in advance, which is exactly what your Comeback Plan works out for you.
The marker is a record lenders see when they check your file. It was never a waiting period for credit.
What you can do now to give lenders more to go on
A few habits give a lender something positive to see when you do apply.
- Space out applications: a cluster of hard searches in a short window reads badly to an underwriter.
- Pay every commitment on time: your recent record is a big part of what a lender sees.
- Get on the electoral roll: register at your current address if you are not already. It is a simple positive signal a file can carry.
- Keep your file accurate: check your reports with all three credit reference agencies and make sure every debt included in your DRO is recorded as part of the DRO, not as a live debt being chased (the debts won't show as paid or settled, which is normal), and that the DRO itself carries the correct start date. Errors do occur, and they can be fixed.
- Consider a credit builder: credit-builder apps and credit-builder cards exist for people rebuilding their file after a DRO. A builder card usually comes with a low limit, and each month you pay it on time is reported to the credit reference agencies.
Lenders look at spaced applications, an accurate credit file and whether you are on the electoral roll.
Guides
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Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can I get credit while my DRO is still active?
There is no legal ban, but by law you must tell any lender about your DRO before borrowing £500 or more, and taking on new credit during the year can put the order itself at risk. Come back when your DRO has finished.
Do I have to wait six years after a DRO to get credit?
No. The six years is how long the DRO marker stays on your credit file, counted from the date it started. There is no waiting period before you can apply once the order ends. The marker simply means lenders who check your file will see the DRO, and each one decides for itself how to weigh it.
What kind of credit can I get after a DRO?
You can apply. Some lenders consider people who have had their DRO end. Each sets its own criteria, and acceptance is never guaranteed. It depends on what you need, what you can afford and each lender's own criteria. Credit-builder apps and credit-builder cards are designed for people rebuilding their file, usually with low limits. For anything else, a lender will look at your record since the DRO and what your file shows.
Will applying for credit after a DRO hurt my credit score?
A full application records a hard search, and several of those close together can set you back. The safe habit is to apply only where you are likely to be accepted.
When exactly does the DRO leave my credit file?
Six years from the date it started, not from the date it ended. Your name also comes off the public Individual Insolvency Register about three months after the DRO ends. Nobody writes to tell you either date, so it is worth working them out and noting them down, which your Comeback Plan does for you.
Know your dates
Your Comeback Plan records your DRO dates and your goals, and works out the day the marker is due to leave your file. Free to use, and the plan itself will not affect your credit score.
Start your Comeback PlanFree to use, no obligation. The plan itself won't affect your credit score.