Debt counselling practice publishes corrected reference for NCR debt review status codes

Debt Solutions 4U has published a corrected public reference for the National Credit Regulator's debt review status codes, after finding that several widely-read online guides carry definitions contradicting the NCR's own circular.

The codes are not academic. They determine what a consumer must do to exit debt review, and getting them wrong sends people down the wrong route entirely.

What the guides get wrong

Some published references reverse the meanings of codes F1 and F2, which distinguish between a consumer whose restructured debts are fully settled and one whose mortgage remains outstanding. A consumer reading the wrong version could believe they qualify for full clearance when their bond still disqualifies them.

At least one guide describes code B — which records an assessment that resulted in rejection, ordinarily because the consumer was not found over-indebted — as confirmation that the consumer is formally under debt review. That is the opposite of what the code means.

The current codes

The corrected reference follows NCR Circular 02 of 2022.

Two codes are legacy. A1, recording a voluntary withdrawal before a consumer was declared over-indebted, is marked in the 2022 circular as no longer applicable. Code H, historically associated with a debt counsellor withdrawing services, is an inactive historical code that may still sit on older records.

Withdrawal does not end debt review

Code H is where most of the confusion sits. A debt counsellor may suspend services, but that is recorded through a suspension indicator following Form 17.W(b), and the consumer remains on whichever status code already applied.

“A counsellor stepping back from a matter does not end a consumer's debt review. What has changed is the paperwork. A suspension is recorded through a Form 17.W indicator and the consumer stays on whichever code already applied. If you are reading an older record and you see an H, that is history rather than your current position.”

— Rowan Breeds, Lead Debt Counsellor, Debt Solutions 4U (NCRDC2423)

The NCR's March 2026 guideline on updating status codes, issued when the Debt Help System returned online after a period offline, expressly provides for updates to codes A, B, C, D3, D4, F1, F2, G, G1, I and J, together with 17.W suspension indicators. It makes no provision for updates to H.

In use is not the same as active

The reference also separates two ideas that published guides tend to merge. A code can be currently in use on the NCR's system while meaning the debt review has ended. Codes I and J, recording a deceased or sequestrated consumer, are operationally current but terminate the process rather than continue it.

The full reference is published free and the practice has invited correction if any definition is found to be out of date.