Debt review removal: how to get off debt review

Since Van Vuuren v Roets (2019) and the NCR withdrawal guidelines that apply from 7 March 2022, a consumer cannot voluntarily withdraw from debt review once they have applied. After a rearrangement order, the only exit is section 71: a clearance certificate.

The NCR says you can be cleared in only two situations:

1. All the debts covered by your restructuring order are paid in full.
2. All your short-term debts are paid and the only debt left is a home loan that is up to date under the order. Vehicle finance, credit and store cards and loans count as short-term debts.

Until then you cannot apply for new credit. That is only possible once a counsellor has issued the certificate.

1. Get your paid-up position confirmed. If you pay credit providers directly, you remain under debt review and must give your counsellor paid-up letters when you ask for the certificate.
2. Ask your counsellor for the certificate. Under section 71(1), the counsellor must issue it within seven days after you have met all your obligations. It is issued on Form 19, which certifies the debts as settled in full.
3. The counsellor files it. The counsellor must file a certified copy with the national register and the credit bureaus within seven days. Under NCR guideline 001/2026 (February 2026), after a 30 business day transition, counsellors can only file through the Credit Bureau Association debt counselling platform, and bureaus no longer accept emailed submissions.
4. The bureaus remove the flag. The counsellor first updates the Debt Help System, which may take about 3 days to appear at the bureaus. The bureaus then remove the debt counselling flag within three working days of that update, and the remaining debt review information within seven working days.
5. Check your credit report once your counsellor confirms filing.

If your counsellor refuses or fails to issue the certificate, you can apply to the National Consumer Tribunal to review the decision, and the Tribunal can order the certificate to be issued. You can also complain to the NCR.

When the bureaus receive the 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 flag is not a negative listing.

Your payment history is different. Under NCR guideline 003/2025, no payment profile information is expunged except as the retention periods prescribe, and credit providers must keep reporting your payments while you are under debt review. So keep paying as agreed. Our guide on your credit record has more.

These are not ways to opt out. They are limited outcomes set by law.

• A magistrate finds you not over-indebted before an order is made. If the Magistrate's Court makes that finding, the review ends. If it finds you over-indebted, the review continues. If the court rejects the application, you remain liable for the counselling fees for work done and for legal fees.
• You never applied. If the NCR finds the correct process was not followed, it is deemed that you did not apply, the review ends and the bureau listing is removed. Your counsellor must produce your signed Form 16 or the documents showing when you gave your information.
• Sequestration or liquidation. Either order ends the review. It is a separate and serious legal process.

Stopping payment is not on this list. A credit provider can terminate the review of a defaulted agreement at least 60 business days after you applied, and you then stay in debt review with the flag.

If your income has recovered or the plan is not working for you, you still cannot withdraw. No court can declare you no longer over-indebted after an order, and even before an order you cannot withdraw once you have applied.

What you can do:

• Pay the debts off sooner if you can, and collect a paid-up letter for each one.
• Transfer to another counsellor if the problem is your counsellor. You can do this at any stage without giving a reason.
• Talk to your counsellor early if you cannot keep up. Do not just stop paying.

Read more in how to cancel debt review.

The NCR has warned about firms that charge for 'debt review removal'. In March 2022 it said consumers were being charged in excess of R8000, which the law does not support. In NCR Circular 2 of 2025, it said consumers are asked to pay up to R10 000 upfront and in most instances the status is not removed as claimed. Most of these companies are not registered with the NCR, so disappointed consumers have no recourse.

What to know:

• Under section 126A(3), anyone offering to improve a credit record or remove bureau information may not receive any payment until the service has been fully performed. They must also give you a disclosure statement.
• No court can rescind a debt review order, so a firm claiming it will get one is misleading you.
• Only a registered debt counsellor can act as one. Not even attorneys can if they are not registered, so ask for the NCR registration number.
• The NCR holds no personal information about consumers and will never phone you about your debt review status. Report callers who claim to be NCR agents.

You can report a removal firm to the NCR on 0860 627 627 or [email protected].