Where can you get free debt advice in the UK?
Free, impartial, regulated debt advice exists — several organisations provide it, and they are not interchangeable. Here is who does what, so you reach the right one first time.
Free debt-help organisations, compared
| Organisation | Free? | Online | Phone | Face-to-face | What they are |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| StepChange | Yes | Yes — full online advice tool | Yes | No | Debt charity; advice and solutions incl. DMPs and DRO applications |
| National Debtline | Yes | Webchat, guides, sample letters | Yes | No | Charity-run advice line; strong self-help materials |
| Citizens Advice | Yes | Guides | Yes | Yes — local offices | Local advice network; DRO approved intermediaries |
| MoneyHelper | Yes | Yes — adviser locator | Yes | Via referral | Government-backed; routes you to a suitable free service |
| PayPlan | Yes — creditor-funded | Yes | Yes | No | Free provider of plans and formal solutions |
| Christians Against Poverty | Yes | No | Yes | Yes — home visits | Church-based service; open to all, strong for complex situations |
Details verified against each organisation’s own site at review date; routes and availability change, so check before relying on one.
StepChange
The UK’s largest debt charity: full advice by phone and online, and it can set up and run solutions itself — Debt Management Plans free of charge, IVAs through its own insolvency arm, DRO applications as an approved intermediary. Our factual StepChange page covers what it does and how to contact it; the source for its contact details is always stepchange.org. Before that conversation, two minutes on the DMP/DRO difference makes the adviser’s questions make sense.
National Debtline
Run by the Money Advice Trust: phone and webchat advice and the sector’s best self-help materials — factsheets, sample letters, a digital advice tool. Its website suits people who want to handle things themselves with expert guidance behind them. Business Debtline is its sister service for the self-employed and small businesses.
Citizens Advice
Local offices across England and Wales, Citizens Advice Scotland, and online guidance. Strong on face-to-face help, benefits checks alongside debt, and acting as DRO intermediaries; council-tax and housing problems particularly suit the local route. Find your nearest through citizensadvice.org.uk.
MoneyHelper debt advice locator
The government-backed service’s debt advice locator is the neutral front door: enter where you are and how you want to be helped, and it lists every free provider that fits. If you do not know who to call, start there.
PayPlan and Community Money Advice
PayPlan provides free DMPs and IVAs, funded by contributions from creditors rather than fees from you — a commercial structure, but free at the point of use and FCA-authorised. Community Money Advice is a network of local, often church-hosted advice centres offering free face-to-face help across England and Wales.
Christians Against Poverty
Home-visit debt advice for people in serious crisis, delivered through local churches with no religious conditions on the help. Best suited to people who cannot manage phone or online routes at all.
Scotland and Northern Ireland
In Scotland, approved money advisers for the Debt Arrangement Scheme and Trust Deeds work through Citizens Advice Scotland and council money advice teams, under Accountant in Bankruptcy oversight. In Northern Ireland, Advice NI leads, and NI’s own solutions differ from the rest of the UK.
What “regulated debt advice” means
Advising someone which debt solution to take is debt counselling — an FCA-regulated activity. The organisations above are authorised (or exempt) to do it. Anyone who recommends a solution to you should be able to show that authorisation; the FCA register is public. This is also why what you can do in writing first stops short of a recommendation — that part belongs to them.
What My Debt Cleared does
We explain what each debt does next, what each solution actually involves, and provide tools and letters so you arrive at advice organised. We do not give debt advice and we are not a charity. If you want to compare routes before you call anyone, start with the solutions hub.