The South African Department of Transport (DoT) has announced that it wants to extend the validity period of driver’s licence cards from five to eight years.
This idea was first proposed by former transport minister Fikile Mbalula all the way back in October 2022, but was previously shot down over alleged health and safety concerns.
The department tabled its annual performance plan for the 2025/2026 financial year in April this year, which includes submitting a proposal to parliament to extend the country’s licence period.
It outlined a timeline for the validity extension process, which will begin with a consultation of the executive committee, the committee of transport officials, and MECs during the first quarter of the 2025/2026 period.
The DoT’s goal for the second quarter will be to conduct a public consultation for the proposed extension, which will be published as a draft notice in the government gazette.
Should everything go according to plan, the department will move onto a consultation with its stakeholders’ committee in the third quarter, followed by a submitting of the proposal to parliament in the fourth quarter.
Why it hasn’t happened already
There have been several calls to extend the validity period of South Africa’s driving licences over the past few years.
Many of these calls are a response to the fact that the country only has a single dilapidated licence card printing machine, which has broken down several times in the past five years.
This has resulted in extensive card renewal backlogs, which is compounded by the nation’s relatively short licence turnaround time of five years.
Lengthening the validity period to eight or more years would, therefore, result in less frequent renewals and a less severe backlog when the printer inevitably breaks down again.
Beyond the practical considerations, groups like the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) have conducted studies that found a longer validity period would be beneficial and more in line with international practices.
This prompted Mbalula’s initial announcement back in 2022 where he voiced support for an eight-year period.
“We are changing the lifespan, timeframe of the driver’s licence…it will be eight years. We are going to the cabinet with that,” said the former minister.
However, this change was never implemented, and AfriForum later challenged the regulation in court in 2023 to get the validity period extended.
The civil action group argued that the five-year expiry date conflicts with the terms of the National Road Traffic Act, which states that South Africa’s driver’s licences do not expire.
However, the Pretoria High Court dismissed the case on a technically, leaving the country with its five-year licence cards.
In 2024, a new controversy emerged when it was revealed that the DoT had ignored its own research proving that an eight-year validity period would be better for the country.
The DoT and RTMC made multiple claims as to why it hasn’t extended the period, starting with an argument that the materials the cards are made from won’t last more than five years.
It also argued that communicable diseases are a frequent cause of car accidents and that motorists must therefore be subjected to regular health checks to prove they are still fit to control a vehicle.
This idea was dismissed by the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which described the RTMC’s reasoning as absurd.
Outa went on to accuse the RTMC and DoT of disregarding the research supporting a longer renewal period in favour of the current system, which is supported by debunked or non-existent evidence.
The civil group requested access to the RTMC’s report from 2022, which was only provided in 2024.
The report did not include any data supporting the communicably diseases claim, and when Outa requested this info, the RTMC refused to provide it.
The DoT went one step further, claiming that such a report does not exist.
In response, Outa accused the DoT and RTMC of hiding their own research to maintain the status quo, which allows for more money to be generated from frequent licence renewals.
Fast forward to today, and South Africa is still using a five-year licence card system.
The announcement that the DoT will finally pursue an extension to eight years therefore comes as good news to motorists, though Outa argues that it doesn’t go far enough.
“We’ve been saying to Barbara Creecy for some time, and the previous ministers: start by extending the validity period of the driver’s licences from five to ten years,” said Outa CEO Wayne Duvenage.
“It’s a norm around the world, and that takes a lot of pressure off the department straight away.”
Outa confirmed that it has written to the transport minister requesting that the validity period be extended to 10 years, rather than eight years as proposed.
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