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- How do the regulations define a debt?
- Which debts can go into a debt payment programme?
- Which debts are shut out of the scheme?
- Why can ongoing bills not be included?
- Do you have to include everything you owe?
- What happens to debts that arise after approval?
- What happens to the debts that do go in?
- Related guides
- Frequently asked questions
Most consumer debts go in, including credit cards, loans, overdrafts and arrears of council tax, utilities, rent or mortgage. Student loans are excluded by regulation 3(2)(d), and mygov.scot says court fines cannot be included either.
The dividing line is not about which creditor is shouting loudest. It is set by the definition of debt in regulation 3 and by a short list of exclusions.
Part of your pay is protected by law
The deduction is set by statutory tables, not the creditor
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One idea explains most of it. A programme deals with what you already owe, so arrears go in and ongoing liabilities stay out, which is why how the Debt Arrangement Scheme works keeps coming back to the date of the application.
That matters more than it sounds. Paying your continuing liabilities on time is a standard condition of every programme rather than a piece of good advice.
How do the regulations define a debt?
By how the sum arose, not by who is owed it. Regulation 3(1) lists decrees and documents of debt, interest, contractual charges and penalties, leases, enactments and recoverable enforcement expenses.
The limbs, one by one
| What the sum is | In or out? | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| Sums constituted by decree or document of debt | In | Regulation 3(1)(a)(i) |
| Judicial or contractual interest | In | Regulation 3(1)(a)(ii) |
| Charges or penalties due under a contract on default or breach | In | Regulation 3(1)(a)(iii) |
| Sums due under a lease or tenancy agreement | In | Regulation 3(1)(a)(iv) |
| Sums due under an enactment, such as council tax | In | Regulation 3(1)(a)(v) |
| Sums secured by a standard security | In only to the extent that they are arrears of a periodic payment due under the loan | Regulation 3(1)(b), and regulation 3(2)(a) |
| Sums recoverable as enforcement expenses | In | Regulation 3(1)(c) |
What the definition does not turn on
It says nothing about who the creditor is, where they are based, or how old the debt is. A council, a bank and a utility company are all treated the same way.
That is why council tax arrears and a credit card balance can sit in the same programme, sharing the same monthly payment pro rata.
The two limbs worth reading twice
A sum secured by a standard security is in only to the extent that it is arrears of a periodic payment due under the loan. Everything else secured by that security is excluded by regulation 3(2)(a).
Enforcement expenses recoverable from you go in alongside the debt itself, which is why sheriff officer fees can be included. Whether council tax arrears can go into a programme covers the commonest case.
Which debts can go into a debt payment programme?
Ordinary unsecured borrowing and the arrears of most household bills. mygov.scot lists overdrafts, buy now pay later credit, credit cards, payday loans, personal loans, and missed payments of utilities, mortgage, rent or council tax.
In and out, in one table
| The debt | In or out? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Credit cards, personal loans, payday loans, overdrafts and buy now pay later balances | In | mygov.scot lists all of these |
| Arrears of council tax, utilities, rent or mortgage | In | Arrears only, and housing arrears on your own home are optional |
| Sheriff officer fees and other recoverable enforcement expenses | In | Regulation 3(1)(c) |
| Student loans | Out | Regulation 3(2)(d), in force 27 June 2015 |
| Court fines | Out | mygov.scot says so. AiB's guidance does not address fines either way |
| Hire purchase and conditional sale agreements | Arrears only | mygov.scot. The creditor can still repossess the goods |
| The rest of a mortgage balance | Out | Regulation 3(2)(a) |
| Liability under section 17(2B) of the Legal Aid (Scotland) Act 1986 | Out | Regulation 3(2)(b) |
| A money adviser's fee for the programme | Out | Regulation 3(2)(c). Since 4 November 2019 an adviser may not charge an individual at all |
| Ongoing bills, current council tax, rent, mortgage payments, insurance and child maintenance | Out | These are continuing liabilities and must be paid as they fall due |
Enforcement expenses go in with the debt
Sheriff officer fees added to a council tax debt are recoverable from you, so they fall inside regulation 3(1)(c) and go into the programme with the sum they were added to.
Arrears, not the bill itself
The list on mygov.scot is careful about that word. It is the missed payments that go in, not the ongoing liability that produced them.
Housing arrears are the one place you get a choice, and whether you can include rent or mortgage arrears deals with that decision on its own.
Which debts are shut out of the scheme?
Student loans, by definition. mygov.scot adds court fines, and hire purchase or conditional sale agreements other than their arrears.
Student loans
Student loans cannot go in. Regulation 3(2)(d), inserted with effect from 27 June 2015, excludes them from the debts a programme may cover.
The inserting instrument was the 2015 amendment regulations, and the exclusion does not affect a programme applied for before that date.
They are not a debt for these purposes at all. That means they cannot be included and are not protected by the programme.
Court fines
mygov.scot says court fines cannot be included, on a page last updated in January 2026.
The Accountant in Bankruptcy’s own guidance does not address fines either way, and the regulations name no such exclusion. So this is the Scottish Government’s public position rather than a rule you can point at in the instrument.
Take a fine to your money adviser rather than assuming either way. Deductions from benefits for a fine are handled separately from anything a programme does.
Hire purchase and conditional sale
Only the arrears go in. National Debtline adds the part that matters most: the creditor can still repossess the goods.
So a car on finance is not made safe by a programme. Say so to your adviser before the application goes in.
Not sure which of your debts qualify? Ask a free adviser in 60 seconds
Why can ongoing bills not be included?
Because they are continuing liabilities rather than debts you already owe. Paying them when they are due is a standard condition of the programme under regulation 27(2)(c).
What counts as continuing
Your gas and electricity, your phone, your insurance, your current council tax, your rent or mortgage payment, and child maintenance. mygov.scot lists all of them as things you keep paying separately.
Regulation 27(2)(d) then prohibits any other payment to a creditor taking part in the programme, apart from a continuing liability. So you cannot pay one creditor extra on the side.
Why the rule exists at all
A programme is built on a budget that assumes your ongoing bills are being paid. Putting this month’s rent into it would mean paying it twice over the life of the programme.
The same logic explains council tax. Last year’s arrears are a debt, and this year’s bill is a liability you carry as it falls due.
Where that goes wrong
New arrears building up during a programme are not covered by it, and failing a standard condition without reasonable cause is a ground for revocation. Why a Debt Arrangement Scheme is revoked sets out the grounds.
If the budget is not working, the answer is a variation rather than a missed bill. How to vary a Debt Payment Programme when your income changes covers it.
Do you have to include everything you owe?
Yes, with one exception. Regulation 20(2A) requires the programme to provide for the payment of all debts due at the time of the application that a programme is capable of covering.
The one thing you can leave out
Rent and mortgage arrears on your sole or main residence are the exception. Regulation 20(2AA), which has applied since 29 October 2018, lets an individual leave them out rather than requiring it.
Anything left out sits outside the programme’s protection as well as outside the programme. Interest and charges on those arrears are not frozen, and diligence for them is not recalled.
That carve-out is at your option and applies only to your sole or main residence. Whether you can include rent or mortgage arrears sets out the case for each choice.
Why that matters to you
A programme that leaves out a creditor is not a solution to your position. The creditor left out is not bound by it and its debt is not protected.
Debts you did not know about
Regulation 23(6) protects an approval where a creditor’s consent is missing, provided you did not know and could not reasonably have known who they were.
That is not a licence to leave a creditor off. Debts have to be verified before submission, and how to apply for a Debt Payment Programme covers what the adviser has to check.
What happens to debts that arise after approval?
They cannot be added. Regulation 37(2) prevents an application for variation being made in respect of any other debt of the debtor.
The two exceptions
A debt that existed at approval but was omitted or wrongly assessed through mistake, oversight or other reasonable cause can be brought in under regulation 37(1)(e). So can a future or contingent debt, known at approval, once it is quantified and due.
Neither of those covers new borrowing. A debt you take on next year stays outside the programme.
The credit you are allowed to take
| What is permitted | Where it comes from | The condition |
|---|---|---|
| Credit approved by a variation of the programme | Regulation 33(1)(b)(i) | No limit stated |
| Credit up to £2,000, alone or jointly with someone else | Regulation 33(1)(b)(ia), in force 29 October 2018 | Not available where you already owe £1,000 or more outside the programme, disregarding excluded home arrears |
| Further credit under a cyclical loan arrangement already running at approval | Regulation 33(1)(b)(ii) | Only where your payment does not vary because of it |
| Trade credit in the ordinary course of a business | Regulation 33(1)(b)(iii) | Written notice of the programme must be given to the lender |
| Credit for an emergency repair | Regulation 33(1)(b)(iv) | Defined in regulation 33(6), and written notice must be given |
| Credit for reasonable funeral expenses for an immediate family member | Regulation 33(1)(b)(v) | Individuals only, and written notice must be given |
An individual may take credit up to £2,000 without a variation, but not where they already owe £1,000 or more outside the programme, disregarding excluded rent and mortgage arrears on their home.
What happens if you take credit outside those rules
Regulation 33(3) bars that creditor from serving a charge for payment, commencing diligence, or founding on the debt in a sequestration petition, for as long as the programme is approved.
That protects you and penalises the lender, but taking credit beyond what regulation 33(1)(b) allows also breaches a standard condition. Whether all your creditors have to agree covers what creditors can and cannot do while a programme runs.
What happens to the debts that do go in?
They are repaid in full, at a rate you can afford, with interest and charges frozen from the date the application is recorded.
The freeze, and the write-off that is not one
Interest, fees, penalties and other charges stop being owed on the debts in an approved programme, under the Debt Arrangement Scheme (Interest, Fees, Penalties and Other Charges) (Scotland) Regulations 2011. Whether a Debt Arrangement Scheme freezes interest and charges covers what happens to those sums at the end.
A Debt Arrangement Scheme writes off none of the money you owe. Interest, fees, penalties and charges stop, so the balance stops growing, but the principal is repaid to the last penny.
Where a page advertises a percentage written off by a Debt Arrangement Scheme, it is describing a different solution. The scheme has no write-off mechanism except composition, which needs twelve years and seventy per cent first.
Whether a Debt Arrangement Scheme writes off any of your debt deals with the claim directly, and with the twelve-year composition route that is the only exception to it.
Getting the list right first time
The debts are verified before the application goes in, and the free advice sector will help you assemble them. Citizens Advice Scotland and National Debtline both publish guides, and our Debt Arrangement Scheme page explains how we help.
Frequently asked questions
Can council tax arrears go into a debt payment programme?
Yes. A sum due under an enactment is within the definition of debt in regulation 3(1), and mygov.scot lists council tax arrears among the debts you can include.
Can student loans go into a Debt Arrangement Scheme?
No. Regulation 3(2)(d), inserted with effect from 27 June 2015, excludes them from the debts a programme may cover, so they are not a debt for these purposes at all.
Can court fines be included in a debt payment programme?
mygov.scot says they cannot. The Accountant in Bankruptcy’s own guidance does not address fines either way, so take a fine to your money adviser.
Can you include a car on hire purchase?
Only the arrears. The agreement itself stays outside the programme and, as National Debtline points out, the creditor can still repossess the goods.
Can you choose which debts to include?
Not generally. Regulation 20(2A) requires the programme to cover every qualifying debt you owe at the date of the application, and only rent and mortgage arrears on your own home are optional.
Do you still pay your council tax and utility bills during a programme?
Yes. Those are continuing liabilities, and paying them when they fall due is a standard condition under regulation 27(2)(c).
Can you add a new debt to a programme later?
No. Regulation 37(2) prevents a variation being made in respect of any other debt, apart from one that existed at approval and was omitted or wrongly assessed, or a contingent debt that later becomes due.
Can you take out credit while you are in a Debt Payment Programme?
Only within regulation 33(1)(b). That includes credit up to £2,000, but not where you already owe £1,000 or more outside the programme, disregarding excluded home arrears.
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Written as general information about Scottish debt law rather than regulated financial or legal advice, and your own circumstances may change the answer. Free, impartial help is available from Citizens Advice Scotland, StepChange, National Debtline and Advice Direct Scotland.