South Africa is “definitely” getting an extension on its driver’s licence validity period from five to eight years.
This was stated by Director-General Mathabatha Mokonyana, who informed the Parliament’s Select Committee on Public Infrastructure and the Minister in the Presidency that a decision had been made.
“We have just concluded, although it took a little bit of time, the issue around extending the validity period of the driver’s licence card from five to eight years,” he said.
“Our analysis and assessment is that South Africans do favour a longer period. They don’t want to come back to us every five years. So we definitely will be moving to eight years soon.”
This was further confirmed by Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi, who, speaking to MyBroadband, noted that South Africa will shift to an eight-year driving licence even though the department hasn’t yet finished its cost-benefit analysis.
“It is true. However, the cost-benefit analysis has not been completed as yet,” he said.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy also previously voiced her support for the change in mid-November this year.
She noted that the change was the right move and that the department had already done research into changing the validity period.
“People who are either driving heavy vehicles that can cause significant accidents or those driving passengers should be renewing on a two-yearly basis,” said Creecy.
“However, with regard to the driver’s licence for ordinary citizens like you and me, the suggestion was that we go for a period of eight years. I think it’s something that we view in a favourable light.”
She further explained that the renewal period is how the entity responsible for producing driving licences, the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), generates revenue.
Should the validity period be extended, this would result in less revenue for the DLCA. Therefore, she has instructed her department to investigate the impact of the extension in greater detail.
“What I asked is: can we understand the financial implications if we make this decision?” said Creecy.
“I’m not saying that one would make this decision if there were significant financial implications, and I don’t think it’s wise to make a decision in an executive office if you don’t understand the consequences.”
Implementation of the eight-year driving licence
A timeline for the proposed implementation of the eight-year driving licence was included in the Department of Transport’s Annual Performance Plan for the 2025/26 financial year.
This timeline includes quarterly targets, and, unfortunately, the department has already seemingly missed its target for the second quarter of the financial year.
It had planned to consult with the executive committee, the committee of transport officials, and MECs in the first quarter as part of its initial planning.
The results of these consultations remain unclear, which has impacted its goal for the second quarter, which was to publish a notice in the Government Gazette for public comment.
The second quarter closed on 30 September 2025, which implies the notice was originally planned to be released between 1 July and 30 September 2025.
However, there was no mention or sign of such a notice in any of the publications from the Department of Transport and the National Government Gazette over this period.
This then raises questions about the third-quarter goal, which is to initiate consultations with its stakeholders’ committee.
The final step in the fourth quarter is to present a proposal for the eight-year validity period to Parliament, sometime between 31 December 2025 and 31 March 2026.
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