How to clear your name from debt review

Under section 71(5), once the bureaus receive a copy of your clearance certificate, they must expunge the fact that you were under debt review, the defaults that led to it, and any record that an agreement was subject to it. The NCR says the debt counselling flag is not a negative listing.

Some things stay. NCR guideline 003/2025 says no payment profile information or history is expunged except as the retention periods prescribe. Credit providers must also keep reporting your payments while you are under debt review, so keep paying as agreed.

Other records follow their own periods, for example a court judgment is kept for the earlier of 5 years or until it is rescinded or abandoned, and the payment profile is kept for 5 years. See our guide to your credit record.

1. Confirm you are paid up. All the debts in your restructuring order must be paid, or all short-term debts paid with only an up-to-date home loan left. Vehicle finance counts as a short-term debt.
2. Collect paid-up letters for any credit providers you paid directly. You remain under debt review and must give these to your counsellor when you ask for the certificate.
3. Ask your counsellor for the clearance certificate. They must issue it within seven days after you have met your obligations. It is issued on Form 19.
4. The counsellor files it. They must file a certified copy with the national register and the bureaus within seven days. Under NCR guideline 001/2026 (February 2026), after a 30 business day transition, they can only do this through the Credit Bureau Association debt counselling platform.
5. The bureaus act. The counsellor first updates the Debt Help System, which may take about 3 days to show at the bureaus. The bureaus then remove the debt counselling flag within three working days of that update and the remaining information within seven working days.
6. Check your credit report once your counsellor confirms filing.

You are entitled to one free credit report from the bureaus once in any 12 months. Check that:

• The debt review flag is gone.
• The defaults that led to debt review are gone.
• The accounts in your plan show as settled.

If something is wrong, dispute it with the bureau. Disputing is free, and the bureau has 20 working days after you lodge a dispute. If you are unhappy with the outcome, the National Financial Ombud (0860 800 900) can help, and its services are free.

If the problem is your counsellor, for example they refuse to issue or file the certificate, you may apply to the National Consumer Tribunal to review the decision. You can also complain to the NCR on 0860 627 627 or [email protected].

You cannot clear your name while debts in your plan are unpaid. You cannot withdraw once you have applied, and no court can rescind a debt review order. Until you have a certificate you also cannot apply for new credit.

While you wait:

• Keep paying as agreed. Stopping payment does not end debt review, and a credit provider can terminate the review of a defaulted agreement at least 60 business days after you applied.
• If your counsellor is the problem, you can transfer to another one at any stage without giving a reason.
• If you never applied, complain to the NCR. If the NCR finds the correct process was not followed, the review ends and the listing is removed.

Our page on how to cancel debt review covers these options.

The NCR has warned that consumers are asked to pay up to R10 000 upfront for 'debt review removal' and in most instances the status is not removed as claimed. Most such firms are not registered with the NCR, so you may have no recourse.

Under section 126A(3), anyone offering to improve a credit record or remove bureau information may not receive payment until the service has been fully performed. The NCR also never phones consumers about their debt review status, so report callers who say they are NCR agents. See free debt review removal for more.