10-year driver’s licences coming to South Africa

The Department of Transport (DoT) is gearing up to double the validity period of driver’s licences in South Africa, after Cabinet approved the change earlier this year.

The Department recently presented to the Standing Committee on Public Infrastructure and the Minister in the Presidency on the proposed amendments to Regulation 108 of the Road Traffic Act. 

These include extending the validity period of driving licence cards for codes A1, A, B, and EB, which cover light motor vehicles and motorcycles, from the current five years to ten years.

The validity period for heavy vehicle licences, covering codes C1, C, EC1, and EC, will remain unchanged at five years from the date on which it was ordered.

Additionally, the Department of Transport said it would look to retain the validity period of Professional Driving Permits at 2 years.

This is the biggest change to South Africa’s driver’s licence system in over 30 years, with the last comprehensive review taking place in 1995.

The Department recommended that the Standing Committee and the Minister in the Presidency take note of the proposed amendments on the extension.

It said the extension would modernise the country’s licence card renewal system and reduce renewal pressure and backlogs.

It also said it would align with international best practices and help the Department maintain tighter controls over drivers of heavy and professional vehicles.

Cabinet approved the extension on 29 July, with the DoT subsequently undertaking a public consultation process. The proposed amendments were then published on 17 August in a government gazette.

The DoT also mentioned measures being taken to protect the Driving Licence Card Account (DCLA), which depends on renewals for its continued operation.

“In order to cover the concomitant costs that relate to the extension of the validity period of the driving licence card, the Minister commissioned the DCLA to develop a pricing model,” the DoT said.

“It can utilise this to determine acceptable costing modalities for future adjustment considerations against the extension of the validity period of a driving licence card.”

A long time coming

The issue of extending driver’s licence validity periods arose during the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, as card production ceased during the initial lockdown.

While production was slowly able to resume as lockdown levels fluctuated, the disruption had led to a significant backlog of expired licence cards.

The pandemic also caused shortages of certain computer and manufacturing materials, which became an issue when South Africa’s sole licence card printer broke down in October 2021.

Because replacement parts for the machine were scarce, they had to be sent to France for repair, as they could only be repaired by the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM).

By the time the machine returned to production in January 2022, the backlog had grown even larger, and the government granted a temporary, extended grace period for renewals.

During this time, various organisations had already begun to campaign for an extension of the validity period, including AfriForum and the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).

OUTA researched driver’s licence validity periods in 35 countries across six regions and found an average validity of 8.5 years, with individual countries ranging from 3 to 20 years.

In June 2021, OUTA surveyed 3,685 motorists about their experiences with the licence renewal system, finding many were dissatisfied.

65% of respondents reported frustration with the online booking system, while 60% complained about long queues.

While OUTA welcomed Cabinet’s approval of the extension earlier this year, it said this did not mean the changes would come into effect immediately.

Until the proposed legal amendments are implemented, motorists will be required to continue renewing their licence cards every 5 years.

The DoT will now be required to undertake a Parliamentary public participation and consultation process on the published amendments.

Following this, stakeholder comments will be incorporated, and the DoT will resubmit to Cabinet for final approval to be officially incorporated into Road Traffic Regulations.