The NCR Debt Help System, usually shortened to DHS, is the National Credit Regulator’s central digital platform for tracking every active debt review case in South Africa. It links registered debt counsellors, credit providers, credit bureaus, and Payment Distribution Agencies in one record so that your progress from application through to clearance is visible to everyone who needs to see it. If your case is not on the DHS, the legal protections of debt review do not take effect in the credit market. That is the practical importance of the system for you as a consumer.
What the System Does and Who Uses It
The DHS is a status-management platform. It controls how your debt review record is created, updated, suspended, reinstated, or transferred between counsellors. Only registered debt counsellors can log in, using credentials issued by the NCR, and each one can only manage the consumers linked to their own profile. Credit bureaus rely on DHS updates to apply or remove the debt review flag on your credit report, and that flag is what actually stops new credit from being issued while you are in the process.
Every change on the system is stamped with a date and the identity of the person who made it. That log is the definitive record if a complaint is ever raised about delays or mishandling. Some status changes go through immediately; others are locked until the NCR verifies them, which stops counsellors from skipping required steps. The regulator also uses the DHS to monitor how many cases each counsellor is handling and how those cases are distributed, which is its main tool for spotting counsellors who are underperforming or not following the National Credit Act.1South African Government. National Credit Act 34 of 2005
What Gets Recorded About You
Your DHS record holds your identification details, the NCR registration number of your assigned counsellor, and the Payment Distribution Agency handling your monthly payments to creditors. It also stores the outstanding balance on each account, the applicable interest rates, and the credit providers involved. Every key form in the debt review process is logged as it is issued.
The main forms tracked are:
- Form 16, your formal application for debt review under Section 86 of the National Credit Act.2National Credit Regulator. Application by Consumer for Debt Review
- Form 17.1, your counsellor’s notification to credit providers and credit bureaus that you have applied for debt review.3National Credit Regulator. List of Forms
- Form 17.2, the counsellor’s notification confirming whether you have been accepted as over-indebted with a restructuring proposal, or rejected.3National Credit Regulator. List of Forms
- Form 19, the clearance certificate confirming you have met your obligations under the debt rearrangement order.4National Credit Regulator. Form 19 – Clearance Certificate Issued
The date of the court order, or of the consent order obtained through the National Consumer Tribunal, is also recorded.5National Consumer Tribunal. Consent Order Application Your profile carries a full status history showing every code that has been applied and when it changed. Centralising this data is what stops discrepancies that would otherwise lead to illegal collection activity or incorrect credit reporting.
Check Your Counsellor Is Actually Registered
Only a registered debt counsellor can access the DHS and create your record. That makes verification the single most important step you take before handing over documents or paying any fees. Confirm your counsellor’s status on the NCR’s Register of Registrants at ncr.org.za.6National Credit Regulator. Register of Registrants Fraudulent operators who claim to be counsellors but are not registered with the NCR have no way in. They cannot place you under debt review or trigger any of the legal protections that come with it. If the person you are talking to is not on the register, walk away.
How Your Case Gets Onto the System
Once your counsellor accepts your application, they register your case on the DHS and issue Form 17.1 to notify your credit providers and the credit bureaus. This must be done within five business days of accepting your application.7National Credit Regulator. Debt Review Task Team Agreements of 2010 Guidelines That notification is the trigger. It places the debt review flag on your credit profile and stops you from taking on new credit agreements while the process is active.
Credit providers then have five business days after receiving Form 17.1 to supply a Certificate of Balance confirming what you owe on each account, including interest and arrears.7National Credit Regulator. Debt Review Task Team Agreements of 2010 Guidelines If a provider does not respond in time, your counsellor can proceed using the information you supplied. After the balances are in, the counsellor assesses whether you are over-indebted, issues Form 17.2, and sends a proposed rearrangement plan to the credit providers.8South African Government. National Credit Act – Regulations – Debt Counselling The matter then moves to the Magistrate’s Court or the National Consumer Tribunal for an order that makes the restructured payments legally binding.
The Protection the System Enforces
One of the core reasons the DHS exists is to make debt review’s legal shield visible and enforceable. Once a court or tribunal has granted a debt rearrangement order, your credit providers cannot take enforcement action against you on the agreements covered by that order, provided you keep up with the restructured payments. The DHS status codes are what credit bureaus read to update their records, so any provider checking your profile can see you are under active debt review. That is the mechanism preventing new summonses or repossessions while you are current.
Two limits are worth being clear about. The protection covers only the agreements included in the rearrangement order, and it lasts only as long as you meet the restructured payment schedule. Falling behind gives credit providers grounds to terminate the arrangement and pursue their original remedies, including legal action and asset seizure. Your counsellor monitors your payments through the DHS and is meant to flag problems early.
Fees Recorded and Regulated Through the System
Debt counsellor fees are regulated by the NCR and built into your repayment plan rather than charged as a lump sum upfront. The DHS gives the regulator visibility over what is being charged, which is part of its oversight function.
- Application fee: R50, payable once when you submit Form 16.9National Credit Regulator. Updated Fee Guidelines for Debt Counsellors
- Restructuring fee: the lesser of your first instalment under the rearrangement plan or R6,000 excluding VAT. Joint applications are capped at the same R6,000 excluding VAT.9National Credit Regulator. Updated Fee Guidelines for Debt Counsellors
- Aftercare fee: 5% of your monthly instalment excluding VAT, capped at R400 per month for the first 24 months. After that, the percentage drops to 3%, still capped at R400.9National Credit Regulator. Updated Fee Guidelines for Debt Counsellors
The aftercare fee covers the ongoing work of updating your DHS record, liaising with the Payment Distribution Agency, handling letters of demand from credit providers, monitoring your payments, and eventually obtaining settlement figures and issuing your clearance certificate. If a counsellor quotes fees well above these limits, report them to the NCR.
How Your DHS Record Gets Cleared
Your record is removed from the DHS when your counsellor issues a Form 19 clearance certificate. This certificate confirms you have discharged all obligations under the debt rearrangement order.4National Credit Regulator. Form 19 – Clearance Certificate Issued For unsecured debts, that means paid in full. For secured debts such as a home loan, it means being up to date under the restructured terms even if the full balance has not yet been paid off.
Once you meet the requirements, your counsellor must issue the clearance certificate within seven days and file it with both the NCR and all registered credit bureaus. The counsellor uploads it to the DHS, your status updates to reflect clearance, and the bureaus remove the debt review flag from your credit report. Your ability to apply for new credit is then restored.
If a credit provider or credit bureau fails to act on your clearance, the NCR can intervene. The National Credit Act imposes penalties for non-compliance, including administrative fines that can reach R1 million for certain offences.10Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. South Africa National Credit Act 34 of 2005 The DHS record itself is evidence that you completed the process, which strengthens any complaint you file.
You Cannot Voluntarily Withdraw Once You Are on the System
This part catches many people off guard. Once you have formally applied for debt review and your case is on the DHS, there is no voluntary withdrawal process. The NCR’s official Withdrawal Guidelines are unambiguous: no process in the National Credit Act allows a consumer to opt out after filing the application in the prescribed form.
If a Magistrate’s Court has already granted a debt rearrangement order, the only lawful exit is through Section 71 of the Act. You complete your restructured payments and obtain a Form 19 clearance certificate. There is no cooling-off period and no way to simply ask your counsellor to take you off the system because you changed your mind.
The DHS status codes reflect this. If a court finds that you are not actually over-indebted, your counsellor updates the DHS to a status code indicating rejection, and the debt review ends there. If the NCR finds that your application was not filed in the prescribed manner, they can direct the counsellor to update the DHS accordingly. Neither of these is a consumer-initiated withdrawal. They are findings by a court or the regulator that the process should not have started or cannot continue. Understand this before you sign Form 16, because debt review is effectively a one-way door until the restructured debts are paid.