What every debt option really costs, and how the companies behind them get paid.
Debt Disclosure Project is a free public-records library for people deciding what to do about debt. We explain how each option works, what it costs in total, and what is verifiable about the companies behind them: ownership, fees, funding, and what regulators have found. Every fact links to the public document it came from.
If you're carrying debt you can't pay off, everyone with an answer is selling something.
Every provider's website is a pitch. It leads with the monthly payment and the success stories. The numbers that really matter, total cost, program length, and how many people finish, are much harder to find.
Reviews measure how the sales experience felt, usually in week one. They can't tell you who funds the company, what the program costs in total, or whether the reviewer ever finished it.
The real answers are here. IRS filings, state registries, and complaint databases are all public, but they're scattered across a dozen systems and written for regulators, not for you.
This site puts the numbers and the funding model on the same page. We do the reading and publish the result.
What's on file
Three tools, in the order most people need them: figure out which option fits your situation, look up the companies that offer it, then put two of them side by side.
Provider Directory
A record for every company we've compiled, sorted by what it offers: debt relief, credit counseling, or bankruptcy. Tax status, ownership, fees, and regulatory history, each field linked to the document it came from.
Browse the directory Layer 2Comparisons
Two provider records side by side, generated from the records themselves, so a comparison can never disagree with the record behind it.
See the comparison tool Layer 3The Debt Navigator
Plain explanations of how each option works, a calculator that runs every option on the same assumptions so you can see total cost, and a tool that maps your situation to the options that fit it.
Start learningHow a record gets filed
Pull the source documents
IRS Form 990s, state corporate and licensing registries, published fee schedules, and complaint databases.
Extract each field
Tax status, ownership, fees, and financials are entered as they appear in the filing, not summarized or interpreted.
Attach the citation
Every field links to the specific document and filing date it came from.
Review and date-stamp
Records are re-checked against the source on a fixed schedule and marked with the date last verified.