Good news for driving licence renewals in South Africa

 ·24 Aug 2023

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) says that it has received confirmation from the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) that it will temporarily suspend enforcement orders that are currently blocking licence renewals in the country.

Outa said that it has received numerous complaints from drivers who say that they have been unable to renew their licences due to enforcement orders issued on old fines.

“Outa discovered that the RTIA is converting infringement notices dating as far back as 2019 into enforcement order status, which in turn blocks the ability to renew vehicle and driver’s licences,” it said.

The group added that, in its view, this is taking place well outside the prescribed time periods, as is stipulated in the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act.

“The enforcement orders are then loaded against the vehicle owners’ details in the national vehicle registry system (NaTIS), requiring the motorist or vehicle owner to pay these outstanding fines before their licences can be issued,” it said.

The group took the matter up with the RTIA, which said it would investigate the claims – in the meantime, however, it would lift the block on all enforcement orders issued until the investigation has concluded.

The actual process

Outa said that there is a process that needs to be followed by the RTIA to ensure that its enforcement orders are lawful and valid.

  • An infringer will be issued with an infringement notice to inform them of the offence.
  • This infringement notice must contain all relevant information related to the infringement, including that the infringer must within 32 days of the notice act on it – either by paying or contesting the fine.
  • Should an infringer fail to act within 32 days, the RTIA must issue and serve a courtesy letter on the infringer. The aim of a courtesy letter is to ensure that an infringer is informed of the infringement he or she has committed and the consequences thereof.
  • Only once an infringer has failed to act within 32 days on a courtesy letter may the RTIA issue and serve an enforcement order.

“Where the RTIA has failed to issue and serve the courtesy letter timeously, the RTIA has deprived an infringer of the opportunity to comply with an infringement notice, resulting in a more serious consequence,” Outa said

“If this is the case, it means that the RTIA has failed to follow its own process and cannot merely convert the old infringement notice to an enforcement order. In these circumstances the enforcement order might be considered to be unlawful and invalid.”

The group urged motorists to regularly check the Aarto website for infringement notices and follow the steps – especially before arranging for the renewal of their licences, both motor vehicle licences and driving licence cards.

Outa said it is vital for all motorists to know the following:

  • Licence renewals cannot be blocked by outstanding Aarto infringement notices (ie a fine that has not been converted into an enforcement order). Withholding licence renewals for this reason is not permitted by law and, in the event that happens, the motorist should report this to RTIA and/or Outa, and stand their ground if a licencing authority insists they pay their outstanding traffic fines before their licence can be issued.

  • Following meetings with the RTIA on Monday 21 August, the RTIA has assured us that all “enforcement order” blocks on their system will be lifted, until such time as they have completed their internal investigation into this matter. This needs to be pointed out to the issuing authority who may try to prevent motorists from renewing their licences.

  • Motorists cannot be arrested for outstanding traffic infringements, unless there is a warrant of arrest which must be produced to the motorist by the official claiming to be in possession thereof.

Read: Big fight over 5-year driving licence renewals in South Africa

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