DRO: what happens after 12 months?
A Debt Relief Order runs for 12 months, and the end of that period is the moment the whole thing was for: the debts inside it are written off. But the day itself is quiet, nothing arrives in the post, and several things people expect to change do not change yet. Here is exactly what happens when the 12 months are up, what does not happen, and what is worth doing in the weeks that follow.
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Written and reviewed by the AfterMy team
Last reviewed: July 2026
Quick answer
When your DRO's 12-month moratorium ends, the debts listed in it are written off automatically. You do not need to do anything, and no certificate arrives. Your entry stays on the Insolvency Register for about 3 more months, and the DRO marker stays on your credit file for 6 years from the date it was approved, so roughly 5 more years. The restrictions that applied during the DRO, including the rule about telling lenders before borrowing £500 or more, end with the moratorium.
On this page
- The debts in your DRO are written off, automatically
- Do not wait for a letter, because one is not coming
- What does not change on the day
- Coming off the Insolvency Register
- The restrictions end with the moratorium
- The one job worth doing: check all three credit reports
- This is the day the rebuild starts
- Frequently asked questions
The debts in your DRO are written off, automatically
If your DRO ran its full 12 months without being revoked, the debts listed in it are discharged at the end of the moratorium. Written off means exactly that: you no longer owe them, the creditors cannot chase them, and there is nothing to pay. It happens automatically by operation of the order. You do not apply for it, confirm it, or pay a fee for it.
Key point
Discharge is automatic at the end of the 12 months. There is no form to fill in and nothing you need to trigger.
Do not wait for a letter, because one is not coming
This is the part that catches most people out. There is no completion certificate for a DRO and, in most cases, no letter from the Insolvency Service marking the end. The moratorium simply expires. If you want confirmation in black and white, there are two places to look: the Insolvency Register, where your entry will be removed about 3 months after the DRO ends, and your credit file, where the debts included in the order should show as settled or partially settled with a zero balance.
Key point
The proof is in the register and your credit file, not in the post.
What does not change on the day
The DRO marker stays on your credit file for 6 years from the date the order was approved, not from the date it ended. A 12-month DRO therefore leaves the marker in place for roughly 5 more years after discharge. The debts that were never inside the DRO also survive it: things like student loans, court fines, child maintenance arrears and any debt you took on during the moratorium are untouched and still need paying. And if a Debt Relief Restrictions Order or Undertaking was made against you, which is rare, its restrictions run to their own timetable rather than ending with the moratorium.
Coming off the Insolvency Register
Your DRO appears on the Individual Insolvency Register, the public record kept by the Insolvency Service, from the day it is approved. The entry is removed about 3 months after the moratorium ends, so around 15 months after your DRO started. The register and your credit file are two separate records on two separate clocks: coming off the register does not clear your credit file, and lenders look at the credit file, not the register.
The restrictions end with the moratorium
During the DRO you were under restrictions, the best known being that you had to tell any lender about the DRO before borrowing £500 or more. When the moratorium ends, so do the restrictions. You can apply for credit without a disclosure duty, open accounts, and generally run your finances without the DRO's conditions attached. Whether new credit is available to you yet is a different question, because the marker still on your file means most mainstream lenders will say no for a while, but the legal restrictions themselves are gone.
The one job worth doing: check all three credit reports
In the weeks after your DRO ends, check your report with Experian, Equifax and TransUnion, using their free statutory reports. Three things to look for on each: the DRO itself is recorded with the correct start date, every debt that was inside the order shows as settled or partially settled with a zero balance, and no default on those debts is dated after the DRO was approved. Errors here are common and they matter, because a balance still showing as owed, or a late-dated default, drags on your file for longer than it should. Dispute anything wrong with the agency directly, and mention the DRO and its approval date.
Key point
Check all three agencies, not one. They hold separate files and errors rarely appear on all of them at once.
This is the day the rebuild starts
The end of the moratorium is the earliest sensible moment to start rebuilding: get on the electoral roll at your current address, keep every bill and commitment paid on time, and consider the products built for thin or recovering files, such as credit-builder tools that report a regular payment to the agencies. The marker stays for its 6 years whatever you do, but what sits alongside it is up to you, and a file showing a year or two of clean recent history reads very differently to a lender than a file showing nothing at all.
Frequently asked questions
Do I get a certificate when my DRO ends?
Are all my debts wiped after the 12 months?
When does the DRO come off my credit file?
When am I taken off the Insolvency Register?
Can I get credit now the DRO has ended?
Want the whole after-DRO route mapped out?
Your Comeback Plan takes your DRO dates and stages what you can do now, what comes next, and the date your file finally clears.