Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland)
The Debt Arrangement Scheme (DAS) is a statutory Scottish debt-help solution that lets you repay debts through a Debt Payment Programme (DPP) at an affordable monthly amount. Once approved, it freezes interest and charges and protects you from enforcement.
A Scottish resident with £18,000 of non-priority debt agrees a DPP through an approved money adviser. The DPP runs for six years at £200 a month, with interest and charges frozen from approval. Creditors cannot pursue further enforcement while the DPP is in force.
- DAS is for Scottish residents. England and Wales have Debt Management Plans (informal) and IVAs (formal) but no direct equivalent to DAS.
- DAS freezes interest and charges and protects from enforcement. A DMP in the rest of the UK does not give the same legal protection.
- DAS does not write off debt. You repay the full amount over the DPP term. Trust deeds and sequestration involve debt write-off; DAS does not.
Why it matters
DAS is one of the main formal debt solutions in Scotland. It sits between informal arrangements (negotiating directly with creditors) and the more serious options of a Scottish trust deed or sequestration.
DAS is administered by the Accountant in Bankruptcy. To enter DAS you work with an approved money adviser, who produces a Debt Payment Programme. Once creditors approve (or a Scottish minister approves it on their behalf), you have legal protection: interest and charges are frozen and creditors cannot pursue further action.
DAS suits people who can afford to repay their debts over time but need that pressure to ease while they do so.
Common confusion
People sometimes assume DAS is the same as a DMP elsewhere in the UK. It is not.
- A DMP in England and Wales is informal. Creditors are not legally obliged to freeze interest or stop contact, though most do.
- A DAS / DPP in Scotland is statutory. Once approved, interest and charges are frozen by law and enforcement is paused.
People also confuse DAS with debt write-off solutions. DAS does not write off any of the debt. You repay everything you owe over the programme. Trust deeds and sequestration write off debt; DAS does not.
Free help in Scotland
- Citizens Advice Scotland (cas.org.uk)
- StepChange Scotland (stepchange.org)
- Accountant in Bankruptcy (aib.gov.uk) for official DAS information