Debt Review in South Africa: How It Works Under the National Credit Act (2026)

Debt review is the process the National Credit Act (NCA) gives an over-indebted consumer to have their debt formally restructured under a debt counsellor's supervision and a court or consent order, rather than being sued by each credit provider individually.

Information last verified on 23 July 2026. This page provides general legal information about the National Credit Act's debt review process, not legal advice on your individual situation. It is informational only: it does not recommend, endorse or refer readers to any specific debt counsellor or debt-review service.

What debt review is, and who it is for

Section 86(1) of the NCA gives any consumer the right to "apply to a debt counsellor in the prescribed manner and form to have the consumer declared overindebted." A debt counsellor then works through the Act's over-indebtedness test against your actual income, expenses and credit agreements. Debt review is not available for every situation, though: section 86(2) blocks an application in respect of a particular credit agreement once the credit provider under that agreement has already taken the steps in section 130 of the Act to enforce it, so applying early, before legal action starts, matters.

The process, step by step

• Application (Form 16). You apply to a debt counsellor registered with the NCR. If you are married in community of property, both spouses must apply jointly, since neither can apply for debt counselling without the other's consent.
• Notice to credit providers and bureaus. On receipt, the debt counsellor gives you proof of receipt and must notify every listed credit provider and every registered credit bureau in the prescribed manner (s86(4)). In practice, the NCR's own guidance states this notice, on Form 17.1, goes out within 5 business days of the debt counsellor accepting the application.
• The flag on your credit record. A credit bureau places a debt-review flag on your profile once notified. The NCR's own description of this is worth repeating precisely: it "is not a negative listing or 'blacklisting'."
• Assessment. The debt counsellor assesses whether you are over-indebted, in the prescribed manner and within the prescribed time (s86(6)).
• Outcome (s86(7)). There are three possible outcomes: (a) the counsellor rejects the application if you are not over-indebted; (b) if you are not over-indebted but are struggling, the counsellor may recommend a voluntary rearrangement; or (c) if you are over-indebted, the counsellor issues a proposal recommending that a Magistrate's Court make a reckless-credit finding, a debt rearrangement order, or both.
• Confirmation. If you and every credit provider accept the proposal, it is filed as a consent order under section 138 of the Act (s86(8)(a)). If not everyone agrees, the debt counsellor refers the matter to the Magistrate's Court to decide (s86(8)(b)). If the debt counsellor rejects your application outright, you may still apply directly to the Magistrate's Court, but only with the court's leave (s86(9)).

A separate, smaller track exists for very small unsecured debt: debt intervention under section 86A, applied for directly to the NCR rather than through a debt counsellor, for consumers whose total unsecured debt does not exceed R50,000. That is a different route from the ordinary debt review process described above.

The double freeze while your review is under way (s88)

Section 88 protects you in two separate ways once you have filed an application, or told a court you are over-indebted. First, you must not take on any further credit or incur further charges on a credit facility, other than a consolidation agreement, until the review is resolved (s88(1)). Second, and just as important, a credit provider that has received the notice of your application "may not exercise or enforce by litigation or other judicial process any right or security under that credit agreement" while you are under genuine review (s88(3)). That second protection, the stay on enforcement, is what actually stops you being sued while your debt review is genuinely under way.

When a credit provider can end your review early (s86(10) and s86(11))

A credit provider is not free to walk away from your debt review whenever it wants. It may give notice to terminate the review only if you are in default under the agreement, and only at least 60 business days after the date you applied for debt review (s86(10)(a)). Once your application has already been filed in a court or at the National Consumer Tribunal, no credit provider may terminate it at all (s86(10)(b)). Even where a credit provider does terminate and then proceeds to enforce the agreement, the court hearing that enforcement case may order the debt review to resume on conditions it considers just (s86(11)), so a termination is not necessarily the end of the road.

A clearance certificate, even with a mortgage still running (s71)

Once you have satisfied every obligation under a debt rearrangement, you must be issued a clearance certificate within 7 days (s71(1)(a)). What often surprises people is that you do not have to have finished paying off everything to qualify. Section 71(1)(b) also allows a clearance certificate where you demonstrate the financial ability to satisfy your future obligations under a mortgage agreement, or another prescribed long-term agreement, provided there are no arrears on that agreement and every other debt in the rearrangement has already been settled in full. In other words, you can exit debt review, and have the flag cleared, while you are still paying off your home loan.

If a debt counsellor refuses or fails to issue your clearance certificate, you may apply to the National Consumer Tribunal to review that decision and compel it to be issued (s71(3)). Once the certificate is issued, a credit bureau or the national credit register must expunge the related negative information from its records (s71(5)).

What debt review costs (NCR Fee Guideline, Circular 001/2018)

The National Credit Regulator has published a fee structure for debt counsellors. This guideline is dated 2018, and no newer NCR fee circular was found linked from the NCR's own site as this page was researched, so treat these as the currently published figures rather than a fresh 2026 rate (all figures excluding VAT, per the guideline):

• Application fee: R50, for completing and submitting Form 16, payable upfront.
• Administration fee: R300 per application, covering the consultation, the Form 17.1 notice process and loading the matter onto the Debt Help System, payable upfront.
• Restructuring fee: the lesser of the distributable amount or R8,000 for a single applicant (R9,000 for consumers married in community of property), payable in the first month after the proposal is drafted and submitted.
• Reckless lending fee: R1,500 per application, payable in the second month, after the written reckless-lending assessment outcome.
• Aftercare fee: the lesser of 5 percent of the distributable amount or R450 a month, for as long as aftercare services (payment queries, clearance letters, updating the Debt Help System) are rendered.
• NCT submission fee: R500, excluding the National Consumer Tribunal's own filing fee, charged in the second month after restructuring is complete.
• Attorney fee: agreed with the attorney upfront, but only payable once a credit provider has rejected the repayment plan, the attorney has drafted the resulting court application, and the attorney has attended the hearing.

Finding a registered debt counsellor, and complaining about one

The NCR maintains a live, searchable register of registered debt counsellors at its own register page, where you can search by name or by registration number in the NCRDC format. If you have a complaint about a debt counsellor's conduct, the NCR's Complaints Department, established under section 15 of the NCA, receives and investigates complaints about registrants. You can reach it on 0860 627 627 or at complaints@ncr.org.za.

A current scam warning: paid "debt review removal" services

The NCR issued Circular 2 of 2025, dated March 2025, warning specifically about companies and individuals offering "debt review removal" services, claiming they can have a consumer's debt-review status removed from the credit bureaus for a large upfront fee, often reported as up to R10,000. According to the NCR, in many instances the status is not actually removed as claimed. The circular points to section 126A(3) of the NCA, which bars such a service from receiving any payment from a consumer until the service has been fully performed. If you see an offer to remove a debt-review flag for an upfront fee, that pattern is exactly what the NCR is currently warning against.

This page does not refer you to a debt counsellor

This page is deliberately informational only. It does not recommend, endorse or refer you to any particular debt counsellor, debt-review company or paid service. Use the NCR's own register, linked above, to find and verify a registered debt counsellor yourself.

Related reading

• Prescription of Debt
• Garnishee and Emoluments Attachment Orders
• Your Rights When Debt Collectors Call
• Debt and Consumer Law in South Africa
• South Africa Laws

This guide is general legal information, not legal advice. For advice on your own situation, consult an attorney, or contact Legal Aid South Africa on 0800 110 110 if you cannot afford one.