A debt relief order is an alternative to bankruptcy, which is intended to give debt relief to people in England and Wales who owe relatively little money, have little or no disposable income and no assets to repay what they owe, and cannot afford to make themselves bankrupt. The main effect of a debt relief order is to place a 'moratorium' period on the debts listed in the order. This means creditors cannot take any action to recover or enforce those debts during this period without a court order. The moratorium usually lasts for 12 months from the date of the order, although there may be exceptions, and after that time the listed debts will be discharged.