What debt can I not include in a debt relief order?

You may not include the following debts in a DRO:

• Any fine imposed for an offence
• Certain obligations arising under an order made in family proceedings
• Obligations arising under a maintenance assessment under the Child Support Act 1991
• Obligations arising under a confiscation order under s1 Drug Trafficking Offences Act 1986
• Obligation arising from a liability under a Student loan

Such debts are excluded as a matter of public policy. It would not be right that, for example, an individual could evade payment of a fine by seeking the protection of insolvency proceedings. Student loans became non provable debts in bankruptcy as a result of the Higher Education Act 2004 and are excluded to protect public funds, because of the unique, non-commercial nature of these loans and their terms of repayment.