Debt collection fees in South Africa: what a collector may charge in 2026

The tariff from 6 March 2026

Section 19(1) of the Debt Collectors Act 114 of 1998 lets a registered debt collector recover only three things from a debtor: the capital, interest legally due on it, and the expenses and fees the Minister prescribes. Those fees are in Annexure B to the Regulations relating to Debt Collectors, 2003. The current Annexure B was substituted by Government Notice R.7207 in Government Gazette 54273 of 6 March 2026 and applies from that date. It replaced the tariff of 22 May 2020 (Government Notice R.580), which many websites and AI answers still quote.

Cap: items 1 to 7 together may not exceed the capital amount of the debt or R1,225, whichever is lower (regulation 11, amended on 6 March 2026; it was R1,023). Items 8 and 9 fall outside the cap. The amounts exclude VAT, which a VAT-registered collector may add (regulation 14).

Attorneys and their employees are outside this tariff. They recover under the Magistrates' Courts tariff instead, for example R59 for a registered letter of demand under section 56 of that Act on a district court claim (Government Notice R.6752, from 28 November 2025).

How the cap works on a real account

A customer owes R900 in capital. The collector sends four letters (R100) and ten SMSs (R35), makes six calls (R150), holds one consultation (R60) and runs two bureau searches (R32): R377 under items 1 to 7, inside the cap. Had the capital been R300, those items would stop at R300. On a R20,000 debt they stop at R1,225 however much work is done.

Item 9 is counted separately: R100 on a R1,000 instalment, and no more than R610 on a R9,000 settlement payment. Never on the debtor's account: the agency's commission, tracing or admin fees beyond items 3 and 4(c), and any fee on a prescribed debt.

A debtor can have the collector's account taxed (formally checked) by the clerk of the magistrate's court for R20 (section 19(2), regulation 12) and gets one free settlement account every six months (section 19(4)). Recovering more than the tariff is an offence (regulation 13) and improper conduct, punishable by a fine, suspension or withdrawal of registration (section 15(3)).

Extra limits on credit agreements under the National Credit Act

For loans under the National Credit Act 34 of 2005 (NCA), section 101(1)(g) allows collection costs only up to the prescribed maximum and only as permitted by the debt enforcement rules in Part C of Chapter 6. Regulation 47 of the National Credit Regulations, 2006 limits them to the costs the credit provider actually incurred, under whichever tariff applies (Debt Collectors Act or court rules). Regulation 46 caps the default administration charge for each letter sent under Part C, such as a section 129 notice, at the court tariff for a registered letter of demand (R59 on a district court claim) plus reasonable delivery costs.

The in duplum rule in section 103(5) then caps the total. Initiation and service fees, interest, credit insurance, default administration charges and collection costs that accrue while the consumer is in default may not, together, exceed the unpaid principal at the date of default. If a R6,000 loan goes into default with R4,000 of principal unpaid, everything on that list that accrues afterwards stops at R4,000. The Supreme Court of Appeal held in Nedbank v National Credit Regulator [2011] ZASCA 35 that once the cap is reached no further charges accrue, whether or not the consumer has paid some of them.

Legal costs are different. In December 2019 the Western Cape High Court ruled that all legal fees are collection costs inside the cap. The Supreme Court of Appeal overturned that on 4 November 2021 in Bayport Securitisation v University of Stellenbosch Law Clinic [2021] ZASCA 156: collection costs are pre-litigation fees, legal costs begin with the summons and are awarded by the court, and section 103(5) does not apply after judgment. The Constitutional Court refused leave to appeal on 11 February 2022 (CCT 368/21). Legal costs must still be reasonable, and agreed or taxed, before they are charged (National Credit Regulator Circular 6 of 2023).

Prescription ends the fee question entirely. An ordinary debt prescribes after three years (Prescription Act 68 of 1969, section 11(d)) and is extinguished together with its interest and fees (section 10). Section 126B of the NCA bars selling a prescribed credit debt, and bars continuing to collect it once the consumer raises prescription or would reasonably have raised it. Track each account's due date and get a written acknowledgement of debt before three years pass: it restarts the clock (section 14).

What collection agencies charge the lender

The tariff controls what the debtor pays. What you pay the agency is a separate contract, and section 19(1) stops the agency adding its commission to the customer's account, so it comes out of what is recovered. Most agencies work on contingency, often sold as no collection, no fee: they earn a percentage of money actually collected.

Published rates rise with the age of the debt and with legal work. Kredcor states its pre-legal business-to-business rate typically sits between 10% and 15%. Collect A Debt states its commission typically ranges from 20% to 30%, including legal action in the courts it covers. Planar charges 8% on fresh arrears, 15% at one to three months and 25% on older debt. Before signing a mandate, check:

• whether commission is due on payments customers make directly to you after handover;
• fees for withdrawing accounts, and any minimum fee;
• whether tracing, legal and sheriff costs are extra;
• how fast money leaves the agency's trust account: section 20 requires a separate trust account and a monthly statement to you.

Check registration before you hand over accounts

Since 11 August 2003, section 8(1) has barred anyone except an attorney or an attorney's employee from acting as a debt collector unless registered with the Council for Debt Collectors. For a company, every director and every officer involved in collecting must also be registered. The Act covers anyone who collects another person's debts for reward, anyone who takes over debts in the regular course of business to collect them for itself, and agents of attorneys. A lender collecting its own book is not a debt collector under the Act. Acting unregistered is an offence carrying a fine or up to three years' imprisonment (section 25), and a mandate that conflicts with section 8(1) is invalid to that extent (section 8(3)).

1. Search the Active Register on cfdc.org.za by registration number, company name, surname or postal code, for the company and the people who run collections.
2. Ask for the certificate of registration: the Council says collectors must show proof on request.
3. If you cannot find them, call the Council on 012 804 9808 or email info@cfdc.org.za.

Contact rules a collector must follow

The Code of Conduct for Debt Collectors (Government Notice R.663 of 16 May 2003, made under section 14) binds every registered collector, and breaking it is improper conduct under section 15. The main rules:

• No calls or visits demanding payment on a Sunday, or between 21:00 and 06:00 on any other day, unless the debtor or spouse asks for it (paragraph 5(3)(j)).
• No contact that amounts to excessive harassment of the debtor, spouse or family (paragraphs 5(3)(i) and (k)).
• Every demand names the creditor, the balance, who is demanding and the basis of the claim (paragraph 5(3)(s)).
• No contact with the employer before final judgment to apply pressure, only to verify employment or earnings (paragraph 5(3)(m)).
• No contact with friends, relatives or neighbours unless they are sureties, or to get the debtor's address or number (paragraph 5(3)(n)).
• No empty threats of legal action, no letters that look like court process, no posing as police or a sheriff (paragraphs 5(3)(b) and (c); section 15(1)(c)).
• No force, threats or abusive language (section 15(1)(a) and (b); paragraphs 5(3)(d) and (e)).
• Once the debtor's lawyer asks in writing, deal only with the lawyer (paragraph 5(3)(f)).

Saturdays and public holidays are allowed within those hours. The Code is the minimum: you can set tighter hours in your mandate.

Questions people ask