New driver’s licence card for South Africa

 ·4 Sep 2022

South Africa is set to introduce a new driver’s licence card with new secure design features that comply with international standards

Transport minister Fikile Mbalula said Friday (2 September) that the cabinet had approved the replacement of the current licence, with the current cards to be phased out. They will be valid until March 31 2029, reported the Sunday Times.

“The current driver’s licence card was introduced in 1998, and the production equipment was procured in the same year. The technology has become obsolete,” he said.

In a statement on Thursday, Cabinet said the technology has since evolved, and it is becoming expensive to maintain the current infrastructure.

“The new proposed card will make the country’s driving licence compatible with the International Information Technology Personal Identification Compliant Driving Licence (ISO18013),” Cabinet said.

Mbalula said the department would publish the changes to the driver’s licence card in the government gazette, with a procurement process for the new production infrastructure beginning next month.

A pilot phase of the new card would begin on 1 November, running through to 31 March 2024.

“The current driver’s licence card and the equipment used to produce it will be decommissioned on April 1 2024,” Mbalula said. “However, there will be a five-year period of transition from the old card to the new one. The current cards will continue to be recognised as valid until March 31 2029.”

10-year validity period

The transport minister has also said that his department is ready to look at amending the five-year validity period that currently applies to driver’s licence cards in South Africa.

“We are also looking at the duration time. It is five years, but in terms of the national land transport act, that issue is not very clear that it has to be five years,” Mbalula told SABC News.

Mbalula announced in February that a team at the Road Traffic Management Corporation would compile a report focusing on how extending licences to 10 years could impact safety and revenue.

He said his department completed the research on the matter.

“I’ve got the report now, and I’m ready to go to cabinet with new proposals to probably re-look at the five years in terms of the driver’s licence,” the minister said.

The Automobile has for some time called for driver’s license renewals to be extended to 10 years, among other things, including:

  • The extension from 5 to 10 years applies between the ages of 18 to 65 years;
  • That more efficient online application processes for DL renewals precede the actual renewal to allow for more effective service delivery and flow between appointment, eye test and licence delivery;
  • Multiple methods for DL renewal are made available through test centres and reputable service providers, i.e. stronger collaboration with neutral, third-party organisations such as the AA;
  • That current restrictions applicable to Professional Driver’s Permits either remain the same, or are possibly extended as well, but that this decision be based on more extensive research and the inclusion of input from bussing and tourism role players.

Data provided by Outa shows that across the world the average period of licence validity was 8.5 years, ranging from three to 20 years. Africa and the Americas had the lowest periods at five and six years respectively, while the Middle East/Asia, Australasia and Europe had the highest at 8.6 years, 10 years and 11.5 years respectively.

The group argued that there are no negative road safety implications from extending the validity period from five to 10 years, while the upsides are substantial social and administrative gains for motorists and the state.


Read: The cars you can afford with your salary in South Africa right now

Show comments
Subscribe to our daily newsletter