New ‘self-destructing’ number plates for Gauteng

Gauteng is launching a new number plate pilot project – with security features that will ‘self-destruct’ to prevent tampering.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy published a government gazette announcing that vehicles owned by the Gauteng Provincial Administrative (G-Fleet) can use the new number plate.

The new aluminium number plates will require a South Bureau of Standards certification mark on the bottom right below the Gauteng province’s licence mark.

It must also display the South African flag in the top left corner.

Notably, the number plate must bear a 1cm by 1cm security feature (a barcode) positioned immediately below the United Nations’ country sign, “ZA.”

A decal must also be attached below the security feature that will “self-destruct” if any attempt is made to remove it.

The decal will have at least nine numbers and letters identifying the car that depicts the year of the expiry of the number plate.

The new number plates are set to look incredibly similar to the Red Government Vehicle National Number plate seen below:

The latest news follows a series of promises from government officials.

In February 2024, Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi announced the introduction of upgraded license plates, with Gauteng residents needing to apply for a new number plate.

The new license plates were initially set to launch in April but missed their deadline.

After stating that the new plates would be available to all motorists in Gauteng, Lesufi changed his tune and revealed that the pilot would start with government vehicles and then head to private vehicles.

A key reason for the change is that Gauteng’s number plates are easy to clone and that criminals can use fake plates.

Another reason for the shift in number plates is that the province’s car registration plates are running out of numeric and alphabetic combinations.

The Gauteng Department of Transport did, however, previously tell our sister publication TopAuto that the current series of number plates (AA 11 AA GP) would remain in use until they were fully exhausted, which is expected to last until around 2038.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) previously expressed concerns over the new system, stating the new vehicle license plate scheme may come at a cost.

Replacing the plates, as well as new controls and registration requirements, could increase costs for individuals and businesses, especially those with large fleets.

Outa said this could lead to the scheme causing big fleet operations to license their vehicles in other provinces across the country.

Outa stressed that these costs might tempt fleet operators to register vehicles outside of Gauteng to avoid the higher expenses, resulting in significant revenue losses for the province.

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