Accredited Debt Relief review 2026

Struggling with debt is all too common — U.S. consumers carried an average balance of $104,755 in June 2025, from mortgage debt to credit card balances, according to credit bureau Experian.

If you're trying to pay that off, a debt settlement or debt relief company can help by negotiating with your creditors and potentially lowering the amount you owe. However, it's not free —the fee can be up to 25% of your total enrolled debt, and there's no guarantee that the companies will be willing to negotiate on the balance you owe.

Accredited Debt Relief has a standout track record, thanks to high standards for professionalism and accreditation, as well as many positive reviews on sites like the Better Business Bureau and Trustpilot. The brand states that it can help you lower your monthly payments and clear your debt in as little as 12 months.

Find out how Accredited Debt Relief works, how much it costs, how it stacks up to competitors and what you should know before enrolling.

How does Accredited Debt Relief work?

Accredited Debt Relief is available in 37 states and Washington, D.C. To enroll, you must have at least $10,000 of unsecured debt, like credit cards, personal loans, medical bills or private student loans. Similar to most debt settlement companies, Accredited Debt Relief doesn't work with secured debt, such as mortgages or car loans.

To start, you'll choose which of your debts to enroll. Then, you're instructed to stop paying those creditors and begin making deposits in an FDIC-backed savings account that Accredited Debt Relief sets up for you while they negotiate with your creditors to lower your balances.

Accredited Debt Relief's fee is a percentage of the customer's original enrolled debt, but you don't pay the company until after a settlement is negotiated.

Separately, Accredited Debt Relief can connect you with debt consolidation loans. While it's not a lender, it will direct customers to affiliated lenders that can provide loans of up to $100,000.

Working with any debt settlement company comes with risks: Since you'll be asked to stop paying your creditors, you could add penalties and interest to your debt, causing your balance to grow. Doing this could further hurt your credit score and expose you to lawsuits. In addition, any forgiven debt will be subject to income tax. This is true even when working with a company like Accredited, but some people take the risk knowing there's a chance a part of their debt could be forgiven.

Accredited Debt Relief offers a free consultation and doesn't charge any upfront fees. Instead, it takes a fee each time a settlement is reached, which can happen with each account you enroll. Your fee is typically about 25% of the enrolled balance.

Someone coming to Accredited Debt Relief with $20,000 of credit card debt, for example, would pay about $5,000 to Accredited Debt Relief when that debt is settled. Some competitors have a broader fee range and you may be charged less.

Find a debt settlement solution that works for you

Here's how Accredited Debt Relief stacks up against two major debt relief companies.

Accredited Debt Relief vs National Debt Relief

Accredited Debt Relief and National Debt Relief both negotiate with creditors to lower unsecured debts. National Debt Relief cites a broader fee range of 15% to 25%.

While Accredited Debt Relief doesn't operate in every state, National Debt Relief is available everywhere but Oregon, Vermont and West Virginia.

Both companies work with lending partners that offer debt consolidation loans of up to $100,000. Neither has a ceiling on the amount of debt they'll work with, but National Debt Relief has a lower minimum of $10,000.

Accredited Debt Relief vs Americor

Another leader in the debt settlement space, Americor works with clients carrying as little as $7,500 in unsecured debt. Americor is also available in more states — everywhere except Colorado — and its fee range is considerably broader, averaging between 14% and 29% of the enrolled balance.

Both Americor and Accredited Debt Relief work with partners that offer debt consolidation loans. Americor's partner, Credit9, has a $40,000 loan cap, which is less than half the $100,000 that Accredited Debt Relief can help clients access.

Accredited Debt Relief is a legitimate business with an A+ rating from the Better Business Bureau. It claims to have helped over 1 million clients repay more than $3 billion since its founding in 2011.

Accredited Debt Relief is also a member of several national debt relief professional groups, all of which have standards for consumer protection and auditing that companies need to adhere to to become members. This includes the American Association for Debt Resolution, the International Association of Professional Debt Arbitrators and the Consumer Debt Relief Initiative.

Working with any debt settlement company can adversely affect your credit, since you'll be stopping payments to your creditors. Payment history accounts for 35% of your credit score, the largest slice.

However, if Accredited Debt Relief can successfully lower the amount you owe, your score should go back up as you make payments.

If you're only a payment or two late on your bills, however, you may want to consider other options, like a debt consolidation loan or a debt management plan, which can have less of an impact on your credit and cost much less — plans average $30 to $50 a month. If this strategy interests you, the National Federation for Credit Counseling lists reputable agencies that offer debt management solutions.

On the Accredited Debt Relief website, you'll be asked to input the amount of debt you owe, as well as your name, phone number, email address and state of residency. You'll get an online quote with your new estimated monthly payment, how much you'll save using the service instead of paying down the debt yourself and how long it will take to finish the program. A consolidation specialist will then reach out to discuss options.

You can also reach the company by emailing customerservice@acrelief.com or calling 888-710-1253, weekdays from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. and weekends from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Accredited Debt Relief is a leading debt settlement company with broad availability and a strong record of customer satisfaction.

Before using a debt settlement service, you should understand the financial and legal risks. You should also consider alternatives like a debt consolidation loan or a debt management plan. It's good practice to comparison shop before committing to one lender or plan.

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At CNBC Select, our mission is to provide our readers with high-quality service journalism and comprehensive consumer advice so they can make informed decisions with their money. Every debt relief review is based on rigorous reporting by our team of expert writers and editors with extensive knowledge of debt relief products. While CNBC Select earns a commission from affiliate partners on many offers and links, we create all our content without input from our commercial team or any outside third parties, and we pride ourselves on our journalistic standards and ethics.

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