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This solution is available in England, Wales and Northern Ireland only.

About administration orders

This is a payment plan that makes your debt repayments more affordable.

Your administration (or admin) order is managed by the County Court.

In Northern Ireland, it is managed by the Enforcement of Judgments Office (EJO).

In some cases, you can apply to have debts written off.

Ready to go ahead? Read our guide to find out how to go ahead with an admin order.

Things you need to know about admin orders

Single monthly payment
You pay a single monthly payment to the court based on what you can afford. This is shared among your creditors.

Interest is stopped
Your creditors must stop interest or charges on your debts.

Protected from creditors
Your creditors cannot contact you about your debt without court approval.

The option to apply for debt write off
You may be able to apply to write off your debts through a composition order.

Fees are included

  • There are no set up fees
  • The court fees are taken from your monthly payments
  • The court takes 10% as a fee from your monthly payment
  • We do not charge any costs for our service

Please be aware:

  • Admin orders show on your credit file. This means it could be harder to get credit in future
  • They also show on the ‘Register of Judgments, Orders, and Fines’. This is public for six years
  • You will have to attend court to submit the application
  • You may not have to attend a court hearing for it to be approved
  • Debts are written off if the court/EJO agrees to a composition order

If you miss payments:

  • Your admin order may be cancelled
  • Creditors could start their collections again
  • The Court can send a notice asking for a payment, an explanation, application for a variation or a proposal to make up payments
  • In Northern Ireland, the EJO can set up an ‘attachment of earnings’ order, taking money directly from your wages

How does it work?

Apply to the County Court or EJO.

If approved, you pay the court a single monthly payment based on what the court says you can afford.

They will then divide the money fairly between the people you owe money to, known as your creditors.

The monthly payment is flexible. You can ask the court change it if things change with your finances.

Your creditors must stop interest, charges, and debt collection processes.

How might debts be written off?

If it looks like your situation will not improve, you can apply for a ‘composition order’.

If approved, the composition order writes off your debts.

How it works:

  • You can apply at any time while you have an admin order
  • A composition order tells your creditors they need to cancel (write off) your debt by a certain date
  • The court decides the date, but it is usually three years after you apply
  • The court decides to write off debts based on whether you can repay what you owe at that time

You must keep up with admin order payments until your debt are written off or fully paid.

 

Which debts are not included in an admin order?

A judge may decide to leave one or more debts outside of the admin order, such as hire purchase or criminal fines.

Someone you owe money to could ask not to be included which means their debt to be left out. A judge will decide if it is fair to leave this debt out.

Please keep making important payments and paying regular household bills. Only money overdue on priority payments (called arrears) can be in your admin order.

Important: How admin orders work and how they can affect you depends on which country you live in

Important information about administration orders

Before going ahead, you need to know how this option could affect you.

Keeping up with payments to your administration order

It is important that you keep up with your payments.

If you miss payments, the court or EJO will send you a letter asking why you have fallen behind.

This will happen if:

  • You miss two payments in a row
  • You regularly struggle to pay on time

They will explain different ways to get back on track. You can:

  • Pay the amount in full you have fallen behind by
  • Fill out an application to change the payment terms (called a ‘variation’)
  • Make a proposal for paying off the arrears (the payments you are behind on)

If you do not pay what you owe or keep to new payment terms:

  • The admin order can be cancelled
  • This can be done within 14 days
  • Your creditors can demand the full amount you owe them

A judge will review all missed and late payments.

Reviewing an administration order

Your admin order can be reviewed at any time. You or your creditors can request this.

You need to write to the court or EJO explaining why you want a review.

It may help your application to include a copy of your up-to-date budget.

Following a review, the court or EJO can decide to:

  • Change the payments you are making
  • Put payments on hold for an agreed period of time
  • Add or change the terms of a composition order. This will set a date when your debts are written off
  • Take your payments directly from your wages

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