A High Court application under section 124 of the Insolvency Act that ends the status of insolvency and discharges pre-sequestration debts.
Years in practice
Section 124 applications
Any SA High Court
No surprises
Sections 124 and 127A of the Insolvency Act set out the routes. Which one applies depends on your estate’s history.
Section 127A
Deemed rehabilitated by operation of law. No court application required, though confirmatory steps may be needed.
Section 124(2)(a)
All proved claims paid in full with interest and costs. No waiting period required.
Section 124(3)
Creditors accepted ≥50c in the rand with security. No further waiting once composition is approved.
Section 124(1)
12 months after Master confirmed the first trustee’s account, with no claims proved.
Section 124(2)(b)
The standard route: 4 years from sequestration (or earlier with Master’s recommendation).
Section 124(2)(c)
5 years from the date of the later sequestration if your estate was sequestrated more than once.
Section 124(2)(d)
5 years from completion of sentence for an insolvency-related fraudulent offence.
A realistic timeline. Most applications take 3–6 months from instruction to the granting of the order.
Fixed-fee consultation to confirm your pathway under section 124, check waiting periods, flag complications, and provide a written quote.
Engagement letter, power of attorney, FICA compliance. We obtain trustee’s accounts and Master’s confirmations.
The core of your application: a candid history, statutory pathway, waiting-period proof, and why the court should grant the order.
Published at least 6 weeks before the hearing. A statutory minimum that cannot be shortened.
Formal service on the Master (who will prepare a section 125 report) and your trustee.
Notice of motion and founding affidavit filed in the appropriate High Court. The Master prepares the section 125 report.
Usually unopposed, on the unopposed roll. Your physical attendance is typically not required.
Section 127 takes effect on the date specified. Insolvency ends. Pre-sequestration debts are discharged (subject to section 129 exceptions).
We notify the Master, trustee, and credit bureaux. Certified copies provided for banks, regulators, and transferring attorneys.
Rehabilitation after sequestration is often confused with other services. Here is what it is — and what it is not.
Myth
“Rehabilitation clears your credit record automatically.”
Fact
The court order ends your insolvency status. Credit bureaux must be notified separately; the listing update is administrative, not automatic.
Myth
“It is the same as debt review or debt counselling.”
Fact
Debt review is an NCR-regulated process under the National Credit Act for over-indebted consumers. Rehabilitation is a High Court application under the Insolvency Act for previously sequestrated individuals only.
Myth
“After 10 years you don’t need to do anything.”
Fact
Section 127A deems you rehabilitated automatically after 10 years. In practice, you may still need a court order or confirmatory step to prove the date and update third-party records.
Myth
“A company can be rehabilitated after sequestration.”
Fact
Companies are liquidated, not sequestrated. The Insolvency Act rehabilitation process applies to natural persons only.
Book a confidential screening consultation. We will confirm whether section 124 applies to you, which pathway is relevant, and what the fixed-fee package would look like.
Detailed guides on the statutory, procedural, and practical aspects of rehabilitation after sequestration.
The seven pathways under sections 124 and 127A — waiting periods, compositions, and disqualifications.
Stage-by-stage from screening consultation through Government Gazette notice to court order and post-order steps.
They are not the same thing. One is a High Court Insolvency Act application; the other is NCR-regulated debt counselling.
Section 127A: what “automatic” actually means, what it does not do, and why you may still need a court order.
How rehabilitation restores your capacity to buy and transfer property in your own name.
Companies Act disqualifications and how a section 124 order affects your ability to direct a company.