There are various criteria that you must meet before you can be eligible to apply for an Administration Order:

1. Where do you live?

Administration Orders are only available for those living in England, Wales & Northern Ireland. If you live in Scotland this solution is not available and you will need to consider alternative solutions such as a Debt Arrangement Scheme or Trust Deed.

2. Your debt must not total more than £5000

The law does not specifically exclude any particular debt from an Administration Order. When you apply you must list all your debts in the application. However any creditor can object to being included. It is up to the district judge to decide if any debts are left out.

If you have mortgage or rent arrears it is advisable to ask for these to be left out of the AO.

Note: If your debts total more than £5,000 you could try negotiating with your creditors to write off some of the debt to bring the total debt within the administration order limit. A creditor may agree to this if they think they’ll get more money back overall with an administration order. Alternatively you may be able to get help from a fund or charity to pay off some of your more pressing debts to bring you below the £5,000 limit.

3. How many people do you owe money to?

You must have at least two separate debts one of which must be a County Court Judgement (CCJ) or High Court Judgment

4. You must have a regular income with some spare income each month

You will have to prove that you can afford to make a monthly payment towards your debts by providing details of your income and living expenditures budgets. The payment is normally based on your Disposable income.

5. Do you have Joint Debts?

Where there is a joint debt each person is responsible for paying back the full amount. You can’t take out an administration jointly with the other person who shares your debt.

If you include a joint debt in an administration order the other person will still be chased by the creditor for the debt unless they also apply for a separate administration order.

Other Debt Solutions might be suitable for you

An Administration Order is not the only debt solution which might be suitable to resolve your debt problem. Before making your final decision to apply for an Administration Order you should also consider the other available debt solution options. For more information please see: Personal Debt Solutions