Debt Solution Fees: England, Wales and Scotland
Debt advice can be free, while some debt solutions have application or administration fees. The rules differ across the UK. The first five sections below concern England and Wales, followed by the main Scottish options; Northern Ireland has separate rules and fees.
Ask for a written explanation of every fee, when it is payable, how much of each contribution reaches creditors and what happens if an application is rejected or a plan fails. A free initial conversation does not mean that the resulting solution is free.
Bankruptcy Fees
Applying for your own bankruptcy in England and Wales costs £680, paid through the official GOV.UK application service. This is the application fee; the administration of a bankruptcy can also involve costs paid from the estate.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/
Administration Order Fees
There is no upfront fee to apply for a personal administration order in England and Wales. If an order is made, the court deducts a fee from payments made under it.
For example, if 10% is deducted from a £100 payment, £10 covers the court fee and £90 goes towards the debts.
GOV.UK says the total fee cannot exceed 10% of the debt. Ask the court to confirm the calculation in the proposed order.
This is a personal debt administration order. Company administration is a different procedure with different fees.
Source: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Debt Relief Order Fees
There is no application fee for a Debt Relief Order in England and Wales. The previous £90 fee was abolished on 6 April 2024. An approved intermediary checks eligibility and submits the application.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/
Debt Management Plan Fees
Free DMP providers can assess your budget, distribute payments and review the plan without charging you. A fee-charging provider may deduct setup and ongoing administration fees from your payments.
There is no universal monthly fee percentage. Compare the provider’s written charges and the amount actually reaching creditors. Fees can lengthen repayment or increase the total cost compared with a free plan.
Source: https://www.stepchange.org/
IVA Fees
IVAs include fees for the insolvency practitioner and other agreed costs. There is no fixed universal fee or reliable single average that establishes what your own arrangement will cost.
Ask the practitioner to distinguish:
- Fees for preparing the proposal and putting it to creditors.
- Fees for supervising an approved IVA.
- Expenses or other charges that may be deducted from funds paid into the arrangement.
Check whether anything must be paid before creditor approval, whether that payment is refundable, and how fees are approved and calculated. Do not assume a free initial assessment covers the whole IVA.
Fees are commonly paid from contributions made into the arrangement. Understand how much creditors will receive, what happens on failure and whether further fees arise if its term or funding changes.
Source: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Scotland
Sequestration (Bankruptcy)
Scottish bankruptcy application fees differ from England and Wales. Full Administration bankruptcy has a £150 application fee, with exemptions that an approved money adviser can check.
Minimal Asset Process (MAP) bankruptcy applications are free. Current Accountant in Bankruptcy statistics confirm that the former MAP application fee has been removed. These are application costs, not a promise that no income or assets will be used in the bankruptcy.
Source: Accountant in Bankruptcy, April to June 2026 statistics, and mygov.scot bankruptcy guidance.
Protected Trust Deed Fees
If you decide to set up a trust deed, you will need to see a licensed insolvency practitioner.
The insolvency practitioner will become the trustee for your trust deed. They will charge you a fee for setting up and running the trust deed. They are not allowed to charge their fees at an hourly rate. Instead they have to charge a single, fixed, upfront fee plus a percentage of the assets that they gather in as part of the running of the trust deed.
Charges vary. Ask for the proposed fixed fee, percentage fee and expenses, and how they affect the money available to creditors. A fee comparison must also consider whether a trust deed is suitable for your circumstances.
Source: https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/
Debt Arrangement Scheme
Individuals do not pay a fee for advice to set up a debt payment programme under Scotland’s Debt Arrangement Scheme. Ask the adviser to explain your expected payments and responsibilities.
DAS administration charges are borne by creditors through deductions from distributions. They are not an additional administration fee charged to the individual debtor.
