Abstract A discrete version of Foster's reactance theorem is developed and, subsequently, used to delineate necessary and sufficient conditions for a given polynomial with complex or real coefficients to be of the Schur type. These conditions, obtained from the decomposition of a polynomial into its circularly symmetric and anti-circularly symmetric components, facilitate the construction of stability domains for a family of polynomials through the use of linear inequalities. These results provide the complete discrete counterpart of recent results for a family of polynomials which are required to be tested for the Hurwitz property.