Ramaphosa proclaims new driving laws for 62 municipalities in South Africa starting this week
President Cyril Ramaphosa has proclaimed the list of 62 municipalities in South Africa where the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act (AARTO) will go live this week.
In two separate gazettes, the Presidency, through the Department of Transport, has proclaimed the commencement of the AARTO Act and the AARTO Amendment Act in the municipalities.
The first gazette proclaimed the commencement of sections 17, 18, 19, 19A, 19B, 20, 23, 29, 30, 31, 32, 34 and 35 of the AARTO Act in 60 municipalities.
The sections relate to the general rollout of the system, outlining the processes for infringement notices and penalties, as well as other regulations that give effect to the system.
It excludes section 24, which is directly related to the points demerit system, which is expected to be implemented further down the line.
The AARTO rollout includes major metros like Buffalo City, Nelson Mandela Bay, Mangaung, the City of Ekurhuleni, and Durban, among others.
The cities of Johannesburg and Tshwane are excluded from the AARTO rollout commencement as the system has already been in place in these metros for years.
The second gazette proclaims the commencement of the AARTO Amendment Act in full, except for section 2(g). This is being implemented in 62 municipalities.
The provisions of the Amendment Act are going live in all 62 new municipalities, which include the City of Johannesburg and City of Tshwane.
The full list of municipalities can be found below:
The second gazette can be found here.
Phase 2 of the rollout
The rollout of AARTO this week marks the delayed start to phase 2 of the national driving law overhaul, which was initially expected to start in December 2025.
The full system would have been fully implemented by 1 September 2026, when the driving demerit system would be in operation nationwide.
However, the Transport Department postponed the rollout in November 2025 when a readiness assessment flagged deficiencies around municipal integration.
These deficiencies included the finalisation of the law enforcement and back office personnel, as well as the lack of harmonisation of the current law enforcement systems used by various municipalities.
At the time, the rollout was effectively delayed by six months.
A key component of the AARTO system is the new driving demerit system, which does not yet have a specific launch date.
Phase 1 of the rollout involved establishing AARTO infrastructure and service centres in preparation for the system.
Phase 2 of the rollout will commence from 1 July 2026, targeting 62 municipalities (down from 69 previously).
Phase 3 is expected to commence in the third quarter of the year (circa October 2026), targeting 151 municipalities (up from 144 previously).
Phase 4 will see the launch of the demerit system, currently expected sometime in 2027.
| Phases | Target | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1 | The establishment of AARTO infrastructure, including service outlets, and ensuring eNATIS could handle payments. | Completed |
| Phase 2 | Introduction of AARTO to 62 municipalities. | 1 July 2026 |
| Phase 3 | Introduction of AARTO to 151 municipalities. | Q3 (October-December 2026) |
| Phase 4 | Implementation of the demerit point system and rehabilitation programme. | TBA |
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