How to check your status
Your debt counsellor can tell you your DHS status, or you can contact the NCR directly on 0860 627 627. Victor DC checks your status free of charge: WhatsApp us your ID number and we will tell you your status and exit route within minutes.
Status A: Applied for Debt Counselling
Applied for debt counselling and being assessed
Status A means you have applied for debt counselling and the debt counsellor is assessing your financial situation. At this stage, the counsellor is gathering information about your income, expenses, and outstanding debts to determine whether you are over-indebted.
Many consumers remain on Status A for far longer than they should: sometimes years: because the debt counsellor has not progressed the file. A significant number of consumers we assist on Status A did not even know they were placed under debt review. In many cases, a sales agent approached them offering to "reduce their interest rates": and the consumer signed documents without understanding they were applying for debt review. If this happened to you, read our guide: I didn't know I was under debt review.
Exit route from Status A
Depending on your circumstances, you may qualify for a Form 17.2 Rejection (if you are not over-indebted), a Clearance Certificate (if all accounts are paid up), or a Court Removal Order. A free status check confirms which applies.
Status B: Assessment Resulted in Rejection
Assessment has resulted in a rejection
Status B means the debt counsellor completed the affordability assessment and found that the consumer does not qualify for debt review: the application has been rejected. A Form 17.2 rejection notice should have been issued to all credit providers.
Once the DHS is updated to Status B, the credit bureaus are notified and the debt review flag should be removed from your credit report within 5–10 working days. There is no separate "exit route" required: the rejection itself is the removal.
However, many consumers on Status B still find the flag on their credit report. This happens when the DHS was never updated to reflect the rejection: the Form 17.2 was issued but the status change on the system was never made. If this is your situation, the DHS needs to be updated correctly, after which the bureaus will follow automatically.
What to do on Status B
If you are on Status B and the flag is still showing, the DHS update was not completed properly. Contact us to investigate and correct the DHS record: the bureau update follows within 5–10 working days once the DHS is right.
Status C: Consumer Is Over-Indebted
Assessment has resulted in a decision that the consumer is over-indebted
Status C means the debt counsellor has assessed your financial position and determined that you are over-indebted: your debt obligations exceed what you can reasonably afford to repay. This is the most common status for consumers actively under debt review. From here, the debt counsellor will propose a restructured repayment plan to your creditors.
Consumers on Status C are typically paying reduced monthly instalments through a Payment Distribution Agency (PDA). The debt review flag remains on your credit report until the process is completed and a Clearance Certificate is issued: which could take years. If your debt doesn't seem to be decreasing despite making payments, read: Why is my debt not going down?
Exit route from Status C
If all accounts under the plan are fully paid up, you qualify for a Clearance Certificate (Form 19): the Form 19 is uploaded to the CBA with your paid-up letters, the DHS is updated, and bureaus remove the flag within 5–10 working days. If accounts are still running and you want to exit, a Court Removal Order is required.
Status D3: Court Restructuring Commenced
Formal debt re-structuring through the courts has commenced
Status D3 means the debt counsellor has applied to court for a formal debt restructuring order, but the court order has not yet been granted. The matter is in process: either waiting for a court date, or the hearing has taken place but the order has not been finalised.
At this stage, your repayment plan may already be running under a voluntary arrangement with creditors, but the legal force of a court order has not yet been applied.
Exit route from Status D3
Because the court order has not yet been granted, you may still qualify for withdrawal from debt review if your circumstances have changed. If debts are paid up, a Clearance Certificate is the fastest path. If the court process needs to be stopped and reversed, legal advice is recommended.
Status D4: Court Order Granted
Formal debt re-structuring is completed, and a court order granted
Status D4 means a court has granted an order confirming the debt restructuring plan. The court order has the force of law: creditors are legally bound to accept the reduced instalments and cannot take further legal action against the consumer for the debts covered by the order.
Status D4 does not mean you are "done" with debt review. The flag remains on your credit report until all debts under the order are fully paid and a Clearance Certificate is issued. For many people this takes five to ten years or longer.
Exit route from Status D4
If all accounts are fully paid up, a Clearance Certificate (Form 19) can be issued: uploaded to the CBA with paid-up letters, and the DHS updated. Bureaus remove the flag within 5–10 working days. If you want to exit before paying everything off, a Court Rescission Order is needed: a separate court application to rescind the original order. This requires an attorney.
Status F1: All Debts Settled Except Mortgage
All restructured debts have been settled except mortgage agreement
Status F1 means all your restructured debts have been settled: credit cards, personal loans, store accounts: except your mortgage (home loan). Because the mortgage is typically a long-term agreement, the NCA allows for a Clearance Certificate to be issued once all other debts are paid, provided the mortgage repayments are up to date.
What to do on Status F1
You qualify for a Clearance Certificate (Form 19) as long as your mortgage payments are current. Once the Form 19 is issued, it is uploaded to the CBA together with the paid-up letters from your creditors. The DHS is updated and the credit bureaus remove the flag within 5–10 working days.
Status F2: All Debts Settled
All restructured debts have been settled
Status F2 is the best possible outcome: every debt included in your debt restructuring has been fully settled. You are entitled to a Clearance Certificate (Form 19) and full removal of the debt review flag from your credit report.
If you are on Status F2 and the flag is still on your credit report, someone failed to complete the process. The Form 19 should have been issued and all credit bureaus notified. This is unfortunately common: consumers finish paying and assume the flag will drop off automatically. It does not.
What to do on Status F2
You should already have your Clearance Certificate (Form 19). If you do not, contact your debt counsellor: or if they are unreachable, a removal specialist can issue the Form 19, upload it to the CBA with the paid-up letters, and update the DHS. The credit bureaus remove the flag within 5–10 working days once the DHS and CBA records are correct.
Status G: Court Rescission Granted
Magistrate rescinded the debt review court order / consumer opposed and declared not over-indebted (Option C on Form 17.W)
Status G means a Magistrate has rescinded the debt review court order, or the consumer opposed the debt review application and has been declared not over-indebted. This is recorded as Option C on Form 17.W. The court has formally ended the debt review.
This is a successful court-based exit from debt review. The consumer is no longer under the court order and should no longer be flagged on credit bureau records.
What to do on Status G
Once the DHS is updated to Status G, the credit bureaus are notified and the flag is removed within 5–10 working days. If the flag remains, the DHS was not updated after the court order was granted. Contact us to correct the DHS record.
Status G1: Court Rejected the Application
Application for debt review rejected by Magistrate: not over-indebted (Option D on Form 17.W)
Status G1 means the Magistrate rejected the debt review application and found the consumer is not over-indebted. This is recorded as Option D on Form 17.W. The court has determined that debt review was not warranted in the first place.
What to do on Status G1
The court has found you are not over-indebted. Once the DHS is updated to Status G1, the credit bureaus remove the flag within 5–10 working days. If the flag remains, the DHS update was not completed. Contact us to investigate.
Lapsed Debt Counsellor
Your debt counsellor's NCR registration has lapsed or they have closed
This is not an official status code but it is one of the most common situations we encounter. Many consumers discover their debt counsellor has deregistered, closed, or is unreachable: yet the file and bureau flag remain active. Nobody is managing the file, nobody is distributing payments correctly, and the consumer has no way to exit through normal channels.
What to do
A transfer to a new NCR-registered debt counsellor is possible even when the original DC is unreachable. In many cases, documents available on the DHS or from credit bureaus are sufficient. Victor DC handles lapsed-DC transfers regularly.
Other Status Codes
Status A1: Voluntary Withdrawal. The consumer voluntarily withdrew from debt review before being declared over-indebted. If the debt review flag still appears on your credit report despite the withdrawal, the bureau update was not completed: contact us to have it resolved.
Status F: No Longer Over-Indebted. Your debt counsellor has declared that you are no longer over-indebted. Once the DHS is updated to Status F, the credit bureaus remove the flag within 5–10 working days. If the flag remains, the DHS update was not completed: contact us to correct it.
Status I & J: Deceased or Sequestrated. These statuses are assigned when a consumer has passed away (Status I) or been sequestrated through the High Court (Status J). The debt review process ends and outstanding matters are handled through the deceased estate or insolvency process respectively.