If you’ve got under R50,000 worth of debt (as an example), one of your options for reducing your payments is to apply for a debt administration order from a Magistrates’ Court.

Under debt administration, a debt administrator manages your finances and pays your credit providers from your salary. Your credit providers may only receive a payment every 3 months, but you still need to pay according to the court order, which may be every month or every week.

Not to be confused with debt review, debt administration is a different form of debt relief:

Debt administration	Debt review
The maximum total amount of debt allowed is R50,000	There is no maximum amount of debt allowed
The debt administrator pays your creditors from your salary	You are responsible for making your monthly payments to the payment distribution agency
You apply for a debt administration order yourself – you can do this with the assistance of an attorney	You need a debt counsellor to declare you over-indebted in order to apply for debt review
You can’t apply for more credit while under debt administration	You can’t apply for more credit while under debt review
A debt administrator can charge an administration fee up to 12.5% of the money received from you.	The fees for debt review include an application fee, administration fee, restructuring fee, National Consumer Tribunal submission fee and attorney fee, and monthly after care fees
Debt administrators don’t need to be registered	Debt counsellors need to be registered with the National Credit Regulator
A debt administration order shows on your credit record for 5 years or until removed by the court	When all your debt is paid then your debt counsellor will issue a clearance certificate and the debt review will be removed from your credit record