One-week warning for anyone with a driving licence in South Africa

The 30-day comment period following the gazetted proposal to increase the validity of South Africa’s driver’s licence cards to ten years ends on Thursday, 17 September 2026, leaving local motorists the week to have their say.

The Gazette follows confirmation from Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni at the end of July that Cabinet had approved the extension.

Once the public comment window closes, the Transport Department can move quickly to implement the proposed legislative changes.

If implemented, the validity period of half of South Africa’s licence codes will be extended from five years to ten years.

The affected codes include A, A1, B, or EB, covering the types of vehicles most commonly used by private motorists, while C1, C, EC1, or EC codes, covering medium and heavy commercial vehicles, will remain valid for 5 years.

According to Ntshavheni, this will align South Africa with international best practices and improve convenience for motorists by reducing renewal frequency, easing the burden on the department.

The change is also expected to lighten the load on Driver’s Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) by reducing the number of renewal applications they need to process.

That said, it will also reduce the workload of the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), the entity under the Transport Department responsible for producing the nation’s licence cards.

If this happens, the department may consider increasing driving licence renewal fees to cover the loss of revenue brought on by less frequent renewals.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy told Newzroom Afrika that her department is hoping to avoid “unintended consequences” when extending the validity period.

“There could be an implication that there isn’t enough revenue if it’s every eight years, and we may have to increase the tariff,” the minister said.

“So, that’s the issue that one is looking at, how we balance what it costs to produce the licence with the fact that we will be giving the public a longer period of time for licence validity.”

Those who wish to comment are invited to submit written comments, objections, or representations to the Department of Transport via email at [email protected] before Thursday.

A long-overdue extension

One of the loudest voices pushing for the Department of Transport to extend the validity period of South Africa’s driving licence cards has been the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA).

Best-known for being the company that took down e-tolls, it has set its sights on fighting the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act.

In the meantime, it had also been campaigning for the extension of licence card validity periods, and recently welcomed the decision by the department.

“This decision is almost six years overdue, but it is a victory for motorists and for common sense,” said OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage.

“Government has finally accepted that forcing motorists through an inefficient renewal system every five years wastes time and money without making our roads safer.”

Duvenage added that the government took “far too long to act”, especially since it had the evidence and power to address the burden, but noted that OUTA is pleased that it has arrived at the right decision.

Despite welcoming the decision, Duvenage had previously condemned the department’s thinking that the extension would force it to implement higher renewal fees.

He said that revenue should not be a priority for the government, as it is not intended to generate a profit and must only be sufficient to cover expenses.

“Our view is that the government is not in the business of making money. It is in the business of covering costs,” said Duvenage.

“If you have fewer licences to issue, you will have fewer costs and will therefore need less revenue to cover those costs.”