Administration orders: the court-run solution almost nobody mentions

Who qualifies

Three conditions, all set by the court: total qualifying debt of no more than £5,000; at least two separate debts; and at least one of them a county court judgment (CCJ) — see what happens when a court claim arrives — or High Court judgment you cannot pay in one go. That judgment requirement is the odd one — you cannot choose an administration order before a creditor sues; the route only opens after one has.

How it works, and what it costs

You apply to the county court on form N92, listing every debt — the application itself is free. If the order is made, you pay the court one affordable monthly amount and the court divides it among your creditors; its fee, capped at 10p per pound handled, comes out of the payments rather than in advance. Creditors listed in the order cannot add interest, and cannot take further action against you without the court’s permission. If your circumstances mean you cannot repay in a reasonable time, you can ask the court for a composition order — repaying only part of each pound owed, with the rest wiped when the order completes.

The catches

The order appears on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines and stays on your credit file for six years. Miss payments and the court can revoke the order, reviving everything it held back. And the £5,000 ceiling makes it rare in practice: many people over that line, and everyone under it without a judgment, needs a different route — usually a Debt Relief Order, which at the same debt level is free, needs no judgment, and ends in write-off after 12 months if you meet its income and asset tests.

Administration order or DRO?

If your debts are £5,000 or less, compare honestly: a DRO requires spare income of £75 a month or less and assets under £2,000, freezes debts for a year, then writes them off — free. An administration order has no income ceiling, so it fits people who earn too much for a DRO but still cannot clear a judgment: you repay (in full or by composition) under court protection instead. An adviser will check both in minutes.

Where it applies

England and Wales only. Scotland’s equivalent territory is covered by the Debt Arrangement Scheme; Northern Ireland has no administration order regime — see the NI guide.