South Africa one step closer to 10-year driver’s licence cards

Motorists have nothing left to do but wait for the implementation of South Africa’s new 10-year driver’s licence cards, following the closure of the public comment period.

Earlier this year, Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy announced that her department planned to extend the validity period of the nation’s licence cards from 5 to 10 years.

She confirmed that the Department of Transport (DoT) gazetted the proposal on 17 August 2026. As is required, the changes were made available for public comment for a period of 30 days.

The public comment period closed this week, and motorists are now awaiting the final steps for the government to turn the proposals into reality.

The submitted changes include a 5-year validity period extension for driving licences with a code A, A1, B, or EB, covering motorcycles and light motor vehicles most commonly used by the average citizen.

However, this extension does not apply to licences for heavier commercial vehicles, including a code C1, C, EC1, or EC licence.

These licences will continue to utilize a 5-year validity period, which begins from the date on which it is ordered from the Card Production Facility.

Now that the comment period has ended, the DoT is expected to fast-track the matter to bring about the desired changes in a timely manner.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) said that, as long as there are no further political or logistical roadblocks, South Africans could get their hands on their new cards within months.

While the new laws have been met with a positive response from most stakeholders, a few concerns remain over the implementation of the extension.

Chiefly, the longer validity period will likely result in an awkward transition period for people with existing driver’s licences.

The DoT stated that all existing cards will only be valid for the current period and will expire on the date indicated.

This has sparked frustrations among motorists, who may have to renew their cards before the extension comes into effect.

This means they may be stuck with another 5-year card because their current licence expired before the extension was implemented.

Another concern is the decision to not grant the new 10-year validity period to all licence types, including ones for commercial vehicles.

AfriForum argued that there is no reason why these licences should be excluded from the process. It expressed concerns that the shorter validity period will discourage people from applying for these licence codes.

“It would be detrimental to the South African economy if fewer young people were able to drive heavy vehicles, as these types of licences are often a requirement when applying for jobs,” it said.

“It could also encourage lawlessness and result in large numbers of unlicensed and untrained drivers on the roads.”