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Debt Relief Orders in Northern Ireland: eligibility and limits

The 2024 uprating quietly made NI’s DRO match England’s — and half the internet hasn’t noticed yet.

Written by The My Debt Cleared editorial teamLast reviewed 30 August 2026Jurisdiction Northern IrelandEditorial policy
Northern Ireland’s DRO limits were raised in 2024 under the Insolvency (Monetary Limits) (Amendment) Order (NI) 2024: total debts that do not exceed £50,000, monthly surplus income of £75 or less, assets of no more than £2,000, and a single vehicle worth up to £4,000 disregarded. The order lasts 12 months, during which creditors cannot pursue included debts, and the qualifying debt is written off at the end. Applications go through an approved intermediary, and homeowners are not eligible.

The current limits — and the stale ones still online

Debts: must not exceed £50,000 (previously £20,000). Surplus income: £75 a month or less (previously £50). Assets: £2,000 (previously £1,000). Vehicle: up to £4,000 disregarded (previously £2,000). Many advice pages still carry the old figures — if a site quotes £20,000, its NI content predates 2024 and the rest of it deserves the same suspicion.

The £50,000 edge: what the law actually says

Northern Ireland’s Insolvency Service phrases the debt condition as “must not owe more than £50,000” — so exactly £50,000 satisfies it. You will see England and Wales described as “less than £50,000”, which sounds like a difference. It is not: the England and Wales statute (Insolvency Act 1986, Schedule 4ZA) also says the debts must not exceed the prescribed amount — “less than” is GOV.UK’s plain-English shorthand. Across the UK the statutory test at exactly £50,000 is the same: inside. What differs in practice is that interest accrues daily, so a total on the line today may be over it by the determination date — the reason intermediaries want dated creditor statements before anything is submitted.

How it works

An approved intermediary — available through Northern Ireland’s free advice services — checks the criteria and submits the application to the Insolvency Service (NI). Confirm the current fee position with the intermediary at application, as NI’s fee has differed from England and Wales. The 12-month moratorium then holds creditors off; at its end, the included qualifying debt is written off. Circumstances improving materially during the year can revoke the order, so windfalls and pay rises need reporting.

What goes in

Most unsecured debt qualifies: cards, loans, overdrafts, catalogues, rent arrears for a home you have left, utility and council-rates arrears. Court fines, student loans and child maintenance stay out, secured debts stay out, and the eligibility rules — no home ownership, the asset ceiling — do the real gatekeeping. If the criteria almost fit but not quite, NI bankruptcy and an IVA are the adjacent routes an adviser will weigh.

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