Debt help and consumer rights
Understand Debt Review in South Africa
Debt review is a regulated process under the National Credit Act for consumers who are over-indebted. Learn how debt counselling works, what it can cost, how repayments are handled and how to check that a debt counsellor is registered.
Written by the WiT Money editorial team. Act sections 71, 79, 86 and 88, and the NCR notes below, were checked 28 October 2026. No named specialist has reviewed this page. WiT Money is not a debt counsellor.
Debt review: the essentials
A regulated process
It sits in the National Credit Act. A registered debt counsellor does the assessment. A court or a consent order is what makes a rearrangement stick.
Not a new loan
Debt review does not, by itself, replace your agreements with one new credit agreement. Debt consolidation is that other product, and it needs its own approval.
New credit is restricted
After an application, section 88 limits further credit. A consolidation agreement is the narrow exception written into that section. It is not a loophole for ordinary borrowing.
You still pay
The debts remain. You pay under the arrangement that is legally in place. Missing that payment can put the process at risk.
How debt review works
Step 1
Contact a registered debt counsellor
Ask for the full name and the NCR registration number, then match both on the NCR register. A person who is not on that register is not a debt counsellor.
Step 2
Financial assessment
The counsellor looks at income, living costs and the credit agreements. Section 79 describes over-indebtedness as being unable, or likely to be unable, to meet all of those agreements on time.
Step 3
Notices
Section 86 requires the counsellor to notify the credit providers listed in the application and every registered credit bureau. The exact forms and times sit in the regulations. This page does not reprint them.
Step 4
A proposed rearrangement
If the counsellor finds you are not over-indebted, the application is rejected. If you are not over-indebted but are struggling, the counsellor may recommend a voluntary plan. If you are over-indebted, the counsellor may propose orders to the Magistrate’s Court. Credit providers can respond. Not every case takes the same path.
Step 5
Court or consent order
A rearrangement becomes effective when it is made an order, or recorded as a consent order, under the Act. A proposal on its own is not that order.
Step 6
Payments
You keep paying under the arrangement that is in force. The money is commonly paid through a Payment Distribution Agency, which pays the credit providers. Confirm that instruction. Do not pay a rearranged instalment into a personal account you have not checked.
Step 7
Completion
A clearance certificate is a separate step, under section 71, once the legal test for it is met. How long the payments last depends on the arrangement and on what you can pay. There is no single number of months.
Before you sign up: check your debt counsellor
The NCR register lists thousands of debt counsellors, with personal phone numbers and addresses. This page does not copy that list. A copied directory would be stale, and it would not be a check you can trust tomorrow.
- Ask for the counsellor’s full name and NCR registration number.
- Open the official NCR register and search that name.
- Confirm the number, the status and the contact details match.
- Ask which legal entity you will contract with.
- Ask for the services and the fees in writing, including VAT.
- Ask which Payment Distribution Agency will receive the money.
- Read the application before you sign. Form 16 is the application form the NCR publishes.
- Keep copies of everything you send and receive.
NCR register of debt counsellors
What to compare, without a ranking
Current registration
The name and NCR number must match the register on the day you check.
Who you are dealing with
The legal name, the trading name and a way to contact the practice.
Fees in writing
What is charged, when, and whether VAT is included. A total that cannot be explained is a reason to stop.
How money moves
Which Payment Distribution Agency will receive the instalment, and what you will get as proof.
The legal steps
A plain account of notices, the court or Tribunal, and what happens if a credit provider does not agree.
Your information
What documents are kept, who sees them, and how to complain.
What does debt review cost?
Fees arise at different stages. There is no single price for every consumer. Rand amounts from older NCR fee documents are not printed here, because that schedule was not confirmed as the current one.
Application
Section 86 allows a counsellor to ask for an application fee, not above the prescribed amount, before accepting the application. The counsellor may not take a fee from a credit provider for that application.
Rejection
A separate fee can apply if the application is rejected. The rand amount is in the NCR fee guidance. It is not copied here.
Restructuring and aftercare
Work after the application can carry its own fees. They are not one national total.
Legal costs
A court or Tribunal step can add legal costs. Those depend on the case.
Payment distribution
The agency that splits the payment may charge a permitted fee. Ask for it before the first debit order.
Where does your payment go?
1
You pay the arranged amount
One monthly amount, on the date the arrangement uses.
2
A distribution agency splits it
The agency pays the credit providers named in the arrangement. The counsellor does not have to be the person holding the money.
3
You keep the proof
Statements from the agency and the counsellor are what you use if a credit provider says it was not paid.
See the pressure in your own budget
This adds up the income, essential costs and debt repayments you type. A shortfall means those costs are larger than that income. It does not say that you qualify for debt review, that a counsellor must accept you, or that a credit provider will take a lower payment.
Budget planner · Debt payoff calculator · The payoff calculator shows what a payment does to a balance. It does not assume a creditor has reduced the interest.
Who can apply?
Section 79 says a consumer is over-indebted if the information available at the time shows that the consumer is, or will be, unable to meet all the credit agreements on time. The test uses financial means, prospects and obligations, and the history of repayment. The debt counsellor, and where it goes further the Magistrate’s Court, applies that test. A company is not in the same position: section 78 says this part of the Act does not apply where the consumer is a juristic person.
Credit cards, personal loans, store accounts, vehicle finance and a home loan can be credit agreements the process looks at. Section 86 excludes a particular agreement if the credit provider has already started the section 129 enforcement steps. A business debt in a company’s name is a different question. Not every sole proprietor has the same position as a consumer who signed in a personal capacity. Ask the counsellor about each agreement before you assume it is included.
What changes when you enter debt review?
- Further credit is restricted by section 88 from the application, apart from a consolidation agreement, until the events in that section.
- Credit bureaux are notified. That is a record of the process, not a score this site can calculate.
- You still owe the debts. Interest does not stop merely because an application was lodged.
- A proposal is not the same as a court order. Repayments change when the legal arrangement says they change.
- If you are in default, a credit provider may give notice to end the review after at least 60 business days.
- Selling a financed car, or dealing with a bond, has to follow the credit agreement and any order. The asset is not automatically protected.
How do you exit debt review?
Before Form 17.2
The NCR’s March 2022 explanatory note says that from 7 March 2022 a consumer cannot voluntarily withdraw before that form is issued. The old withdrawal option for that stage was switched off.
Before a court order
The 2021 withdrawal guidelines describe putting additional facts before the Magistrate’s Court, under section 87, so the court can find that you are not over-indebted. The guidelines themselves say the Act and case law come first.
After the debts are met
Section 71 is the clearance route once the test in that section is met. Paying a third party is not a substitute for the certificate.
A letter is not enough
The NCR’s Circular 2 of March 2025 says removal services often take a fee up front and the status is not removed. An affidavit or a cancellation letter does not, by itself, end the process.
What is a clearance certificate?
It is the document in section 71. You apply to the debt counsellor. In the Act text checked on 28 October 2026, the counsellor investigates and must issue the certificate if you have fully satisfied every credit agreement that was subject to the rearrangement, in line with that order or agreement. Otherwise the counsellor must refuse.
Later amendments changed the home-loan part of this test. That amended wording was not re-read line by line for this page, so it is not paraphrased here. If the counsellor refuses, you may ask the National Consumer Tribunal to review the refusal.
You may file the certificate with a credit bureau. The bureau must then remove the record of that rearrangement and the related default information described in section 71. Removing the flag is not an offer of new credit, and this page gives no number of days for the bureau update.
Warning signs
- A promise that the debt-review status will be removed, or that the debts will disappear.
- A large fee taken before the work is finished. The March 2025 circular describes complaints about upfront amounts, including figures up to R10 000.
- No NCR registration number, or a number that is not on the register.
- A request to pay a personal bank account, or to hand over an internet-banking password or a one-time pin.
- A claim that new credit will be approved while you are still under review.
- A badge that suggests the NCR endorses the advert. The NCR has not endorsed WiT Money.
Report the practice to the National Credit Regulator. Circular 2 of 2025.
Debt review, consolidation, and an informal deal
Debt review
The section 86 process, through a registered debt counsellor, for a consumer who is over-indebted.
Debt consolidation
A new loan, if a credit provider agrees, used to settle other debts. It is credit. It is not available as a way around section 88.
An informal arrangement
A payment plan you agree with a credit provider. It does not put the other agreements under a court order.
Situations that need a specific answer
Income drops
Tell the counsellor. The rearrangement was based on the figures they assessed.
A financed vehicle
Selling it or handing it back follows that credit agreement and any order. It is not a private decision.
A home loan
A bond can be part of the discussion. Clearance rules for a bond that is still running were amended after the original section 71. Ask which rule applies.
A couple
The assessment can look at adults who share a household, where section 78’s test is met. Whether you apply together is a question for the counsellor.
A disputed balance
Raise it with the counsellor and the credit provider, with the statements. A dispute about the amount is not the same as a request to stop paying everything.
Papers from a court
Do not ignore them. Section 86 does not cover an agreement once section 129 enforcement has started, and a termination notice is a legal step. Speak to the counsellor or an attorney.
What WiT Money does
WiT Money explains the process and offers the budget illustration and the payoff calculator. It does not accept debt-review applications, choose a counsellor, hold repayments, issue a clearance certificate, or remove a credit-bureau flag. Corrections · Loan eligibility · Credit reports · Credit scores
Questions readers ask
What is debt review in South Africa?
It is the process in section 86 of the National Credit Act. A consumer applies to a registered debt counsellor to be assessed for over-indebtedness. It is not a new loan, and it does not cancel what you owe.
What is the difference between debt review and debt counselling?
Debt review is the statutory process. Debt counselling is the work a registered debt counsellor does inside that process. Someone who is not on the NCR register is not a debt counsellor.
Who qualifies for debt review?
Section 79 looks at whether you are, or will be, unable to meet all your credit agreements on time, given your means, prospects, obligations and repayment history. The counsellor makes that assessment. This website does not.
How do I find a registered debt counsellor?
Use the NCR register of debt counsellors and match the full name to the registration number. This page does not list counsellors, because a copied list would go out of date and would publish people’s contact details.
How much does debt review cost?
There is an application fee capped by the prescribed amount, and other fees can follow for a rejection, the rearrangement, legal steps, aftercare and payment distribution. This page does not publish a single rand total. The NCR fee guidance is linked, and it was not re-checked as the latest schedule.
Does debt review cancel my debt?
No. A rearrangement changes how and when you pay. You still pay. A lower instalment can mean a longer time and more interest.
Can I get a loan while under debt review?
Section 88 says that after you apply, you must not take on further credit, other than a consolidation agreement, until one of the events in that section has happened. A lender offering a way around that is a warning.
Does debt review stop legal action?
Not in every case. Section 86 says the application does not cover a particular agreement if the credit provider has already taken the section 129 enforcement steps. If you are in default, a credit provider may give notice to terminate the review at least 60 business days after you applied. One missed payment does not have a single automatic result.
How does payment distribution work?
The arrangement says what each credit provider should receive. A Payment Distribution Agency usually collects one payment and splits it. Keep the statements. Do not pay into an unverified personal account.
What happens if I miss a debt review payment?
The arrangement can be put at risk, and a credit provider may use the termination notice in section 86 if you are in default. Tell the counsellor as soon as the income changes. This page cannot say what a court would do in your case.
How long does debt review last?
Until the rearrangement is completed, or until another lawful exit applies. That depends on the debts, the instalment and the order. There is no fixed number of months on this page.
Does debt review affect my credit score?
Credit bureaux are notified of the application. A score is a separate number, and this page does not predict how any bureau will move it. A clearance certificate is also not an approval for new credit.
Can I leave debt review?
It depends on the stage. The NCR’s March 2022 note on the 2021 withdrawal guidelines says that, from 7 March 2022, a consumer cannot simply withdraw before Form 17.2 is issued. Other routes, including a court finding and a clearance certificate, are different. Paying a removal company is not one of those routes.
How do I obtain a clearance certificate?
You apply to the debt counsellor under section 71. In the Act text checked for this page, the counsellor must issue it if every rearranged agreement has been fully satisfied, and must refuse it otherwise. Later amendments deal differently with a home loan that is still running. That later wording was not re-read clause by clause, so ask the counsellor which test applies. A refusal can be taken to the National Consumer Tribunal.
How long does debt review remain on my credit report?
Bureaux are told about the application. When a bureau receives a clearance certificate, section 71 requires it to expunge the rearrangement and certain related default information. This page does not give a number of days for that update.
Can I change debt counsellors?
A transfer is a practical step with the two practices and the NCR process, not something this website can do. If a counsellor stops answering, use the contact details on the NCR register and the NCR’s complaints route.
What happens if I lose my job?
Tell the debt counsellor. The arrangement was built on the income you had. A missed instalment has the risks described above. What a court will allow is legal advice, not a conclusion this page can give.
Is debt consolidation the same as debt review?
No. Consolidation is a new credit agreement used to pay other debts, if a lender approves it. Debt review is the statutory process for over-indebtedness. An informal deal with one credit provider is a third thing, and it does not replace an order.
How can I recognise a debt review scam?
Look for a promise to remove the status, a large fee taken before anything is done, a person who will not give an NCR number, a request for your banking password or a one-time pin, or a claim that the NCR has endorsed them. The NCR’s Circular 2 of March 2025 describes this pattern.
Can a company charge me to remove debt review?
Section 126A says a person who offers to remove credit-bureau information may not take payment until the service has been fully performed, and must give the prescribed disclosure. The NCR circular says many of these services are unregistered and the status is often not removed. Check the withdrawal guidelines before you pay anyone.
Sources
Page updated 28 October 2026. A source date is the day WiT Money checked that page, not a promise the institution has not changed it since.
- National Credit Act 34 of 2005, sections 71, 78, 79, 86 and 88
Parliament of the Republic of South Africa · checked 28 October 2026
- NCR register of debt counsellors
National Credit Regulator · checked 28 October 2026
- Circular 2 of 2025, debt review removal
National Credit Regulator · checked 28 October 2026
- Withdrawal guidelines issued 27 May 2021
National Credit Regulator · checked 28 October 2026
- Explanatory note to the withdrawal guidelines, March 2022
National Credit Regulator · checked 28 October 2026
- National Credit Regulator
National Credit Regulator · checked 28 October 2026