Preparing your paperwork - administration order

An administration order is a formal and legally-binding agreement between you and your creditors to pay back your debts over a period of time. If you decide you want to get an administration order you will have to fill in an application form and hand it in to the court. Before you do this, there are things you should do to prepare.

This page tells you how to:

• make sure you are clear about what debts you have and who your creditors are

• complete a budget sheet

• what evidence you need to give to the court.

Your debts and creditors

You'll need to list your debts and creditors on your application form. Before you fill in the form, get all your debt paperwork together. For example, all your letters, statements and credit agreements. Try and sort out the letters so that you have a pile for each debt. On a separate sheet of paper, write down all your debts, even ones you owe jointly with another person. You should list:

• the type of debt. For example, credit card or bank loan.

• who the creditor is. This is the company that is now chasing you for the debt. Your debt may have originally been held with someone else but they may have sold your debt to a debt collection agency. If you think the debt has been passed around, write down who it has been passed to and when

• the amount of debt owing

• whether it is joint or not. If it is a joint debt, write down the name of the other person.

If you are already repaying some of your debts

If you are already repaying some of your debts, list these on another sheet of paper. You should write down:

• the type of debt. For example, credit card or bank loan.

• who the creditor is

• the amount of debt owing

• how much you are repaying each month.

Complete a budget sheet

The application form will ask you to list your income and spending for each month. It is vital that this information is accurate because the court will use this to decide how much you should pay your creditors each month. Before you fill in the application form, complete a budget sheet. You can then use this information to fill in the application form. A budget sheet lists all your monthly spending and income.

Preparing a budget

Contact the court

It would be helpful for you to contact the court before filling in your application form. You should find out from them what evidence you should provide of your debts and financial circumstances.

You can find your court's contact details at www.justice.gov.uk.

Debts to be included in the administration order

When you fill in the application form it will ask you to list all your debts if you owe more than £5,000 in total you will not qualify for an administration order.

Evidence of your circumstances

When you hand in the application form to the court, you will need to provide proof of your debts and financial situation. The court will tell you what you should give them but it's likely to include:

• proof of your income, such as payslips, benefits letters or recent bank statements

• proof of savings such as bank statements

• details of your mortgage or rent agreement

• details of your debts and creditors. This should include all the letters and papers you have relating to your debts and creditors.

Photocopy your documents and hand these in with your application form. Keep the originals for your records.

Next steps

• Applying for an administration order

• Is an administration order right for you?

• More about debts an administration order covers

• Other options for dealing with your debt.