How much you will get fined for driving without a licence in South Africa

If you are pulled over by police on public roads in South Africa and can’t produce proof that you have a valid driver’s licence, you stand to pay a hefty fine.

In the municipalities of Tshwane and Johannesburg, you will be prosecuted according to the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act, whereas outside these regions, the Criminal Procedures Act will be used to determine the applicable penalty.

Under Aarto, many of the infringements that were previously classed as criminal offences are decriminalised, with drivers instead being penalised with fines and demerit points on their licence.

At present, over 2,000 different infractions are listed under the revised Aarto Act which qualify for monetary fines, demerit points, or both, comprising everything from exceeding the speed limit to disobeying an officer’s instructions.

Aarto has been in effect in the municipalities of Tshwane and Johannesburg since 2008, and if you live in one of these metros, you will be fined R500 for driving without a licence card on your person in addition to receiving one demerit point on your licence.

If you don’t have a licence at all, or do not have the correct licence for the vehicle you are driving, you will be fined R1,250 and get four demerit points, as per traffic law experts Foresight Publications.

Meanwhile, citizens residing outside the municipalities of Tshwane and Johannesburg are prosecuted under the CPA.

This Act does not stipulate a fixed monetary value for fines issued to drivers who do not have valid proof of licence on their person, or who are unlicensed.

Rather, the amount varies based on the specific circumstances of the case, and the mood of the officer administering the penalty.

Why you get fined for driving without a licence, even if you can prove you have one

Strictly speaking, a driver’s licence does not expire in South Africa as long as the holder remains fit to drive. It’s only the driver’s licence card that expires every five years.

However, current legislation dictates that one must carry proof of a valid driver’s licence with them in a vehicle if they drive on public roads.

According to Section 12 of the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 (NRTA), no person shall drive a motor vehicle on a public road in South Africa except under the authority, and in accordance with, the conditions of a licence issued to them in terms of the Act or of any document deemed to be a licence.

The individual must also keep such licence or document, or any other prescribed authorisation, with them in the vehicle at all times, the NRTA states.

Failure to produce this proof means it may not be possible to determine whether the driver is, in fact, adequately licenced, or still allowed to have a licence, resulting in a fine being administered.