The Debt Arrangement Scheme is a Scottish statutory route that freezes interest, fees and charges and protects you from enforcement while you repay your debts in full — without being made insolvent. That combination has no equivalent anywhere else in the UK. It is the reason DAS is worth understanding properly rather than being skimmed past as a Scottish footnote to an article about individual voluntary arrangements.
DAS is set up through an approved money adviser, and free advisers can arrange it. It is administered under Scottish legislation, with the scheme overseen by the DAS Administrator within the Accountant in Bankruptcy.
What DAS actually does
You enter a debt payment programme, usually called a DPP. One affordable monthly payment is made and distributed among your creditors by a payments distributor. While the programme runs and you keep to it:
- interest, fees and charges on the included debts are frozen, and are written off on successful completion
- creditors included in the programme cannot pursue diligence against you
- the debts are repaid in full over an agreed period rather than written down
That last point is the crux. DAS repays; it does not reduce what you owe. What it removes is the escalation — the charges, the interest and the enforcement that make a debt grow faster than it can be paid.
Why “not insolvency” matters so much
A protected trust deed and sequestration are insolvency solutions. They involve a trustee, they appear on the insolvency register, and they carry consequences for some occupations and for asset ownership. DAS does none of that. There is no trustee taking control of your estate and no insolvency event.
For a homeowner with equity, for someone in a role where insolvency creates a professional problem, or for anyone whose objection to a formal route is losing control of their assets, that distinction can be the whole decision. Our guide to debt solutions in Scotland sets DAS alongside the insolvency routes so the trade-off is visible.
How a programme is set up
You cannot apply directly. A DPP is submitted by an approved money adviser, which includes free services such as Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, National Debtline on 0808 808 4000 and local authority money advice teams.
The adviser builds a financial statement showing income, essential expenditure and what is genuinely available, then proposes a payment and a duration. Creditors are given the opportunity to object; where objections are made, the DAS Administrator can still approve the programme if it is judged fair and reasonable. That is a meaningful protection — a single creditor holding out does not automatically defeat it.
Once approved, the programme is recorded on the DAS Register, which is a public register specific to the scheme and separate from the insolvency registers.
The moratorium: protection while you decide
Before a programme is submitted, a moratorium on diligence can be applied. It gives a period of protection from enforcement while advice is taken and the application is prepared, which stops a creditor from forcing the pace during exactly the weeks when a considered decision matters most. Ask your adviser about it at the first appointment rather than after a charge for payment arrives.
What DAS does not do
- It does not write off debt. Only the interest and charges are removed on completion.
- It does not cover every debt. Certain obligations sit outside the scheme, and an adviser will identify which of yours can be included.
- It does not stop ongoing liabilities. Current rent, mortgage, council tax and energy still have to be paid as they fall due — the programme deals with the arrears, not with your ongoing bills.
- It is not instant. Approval takes time, which is what the moratorium exists to cover.
DAS compared with the other Scottish routes
| Debt Arrangement Scheme | Protected trust deed | Sequestration | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Insolvency? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Debt written off | No — repaid in full | Yes, at the end | Yes, at discharge |
| Interest and charges | Frozen, written off on completion | Stopped | Stopped |
| Trustee appointed | No | Yes | Yes |
| Public record | DAS Register | Insolvency register | Insolvency register |
| Typical fit | Steady income, assets to protect, debts repayable over time | Surplus income, insolvency acceptable | No realistic prospect of repayment |
If your circumstances change
A programme can be varied. Income falling, hours being cut, or an unexpected essential cost are all reasons to go back to your money adviser and ask for a variation rather than simply missing payments. Programmes fail most often when people stop paying without telling anyone, and a variation requested early is a far better position than a programme that has broken down.
If a programme does fail, the protections end and interest and charges can be reapplied by creditors. That is the risk to weigh, and it is why the payment proposed at the outset should be one that survives a bad month rather than one that only works if nothing goes wrong.
Your credit file during DAS
A debt payment programme is recorded and visible to lenders, and accounts being paid through it will be reported accordingly by individual creditors. Credit reporting is UK-wide, so the general pattern applies: individual defaults run six years from their own default dates rather than from the date a programme ends. Our guide to checking all three credit reports free is the practical starting point, and practical ways to improve your credit score covers what genuinely helps afterwards.
When DAS is not the right answer
Because a debt payment programme repays in full, it only works where the debts can realistically be repaid from what is available after essentials. If the sums produce a programme lasting an implausible length of time, an adviser will say so — that is a signal pointing towards an insolvency route rather than a reason to stretch the figures.
It is also unsuitable where income is too unpredictable to sustain a fixed monthly payment, or where most of what is owed sits in debts that cannot be included. And it does nothing about ongoing liabilities: if current rent, council tax or energy costs already exceed what the household can pay, that shortfall needs solving first, because no repayment programme survives an ongoing deficit.
Common questions
Can I get DAS if I am in England or Wales?
No. It is a Scottish statutory scheme. The nearest English options are informal arrangements or a formal insolvency route — see debt solutions in England and Wales. This is one of the clearest cases where guidance written for one nation is simply unusable in the other.
Can a couple apply together?
Joint programmes are possible where debts are shared. An adviser will work out whether a joint or separate approach fits, which depends on whose name each debt is in as much as on the household finances.
Will I have to sell my home?
DAS does not involve a trustee taking control of your estate, which is precisely why it is often considered by homeowners. That is not a guarantee about any individual situation — take it through with an adviser using your actual figures.
How long does a programme run?
For as long as it takes to repay the included debts at the agreed rate. There is no fixed statutory term in the way a trust deed has one, and longer programmes are common. Your adviser will model the duration before anything is submitted.
What if a creditor objects?
Objections do not automatically stop a programme. The DAS Administrator can approve one that is fair and reasonable despite objection, which is one of the scheme’s practical strengths compared with a purely voluntary arrangement.
Next step
Speak to an approved money adviser — Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, National Debtline on 0808 808 4000, or your local authority money advice team — and take your figures with you. If you are still working out whether a formal route is needed at all, start with the first seven days sequence and the warning signs, then use the compare debt options page.
DAS rules, fees and administration are set under Scottish legislation and are revised periodically. Nothing on this page is regulated debt advice, and no outcome described here is guaranteed. Confirm current rules with the Accountant in Bankruptcy or an approved money adviser before acting.