60,000 applications, 0 cards – How driver’s licence renewals in South Africa really go

The City of Cape Town revealed that it has processed almost 60,000 applications for driver’s licence cards and Public Driving Permits just in 2025 alone, but that it has received zero cards from the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA).

The DLCA – located in Pretoria, Gauteng – is responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of driver’s licence cards in South Africa.

“Not a single card has been received for those applications from the Driving Licence Card Account in Pretoria – a national entity that produces these driving licence cards for the whole country,” said the coastal metro.

“It is our understanding that the machine used in the production of the cards broke down yet again – and since repairs can only happen abroad, it is anyone’s guess as to when the situation will be remedied.”

Recent reports indicate that the card printer has been out of order since January 2025, after previously suffering a breakdown in September 2024.

The City thus advises motorists across the country to keep their old cards on hand after they expired and to apply for a temporary licence to avoid getting in trouble with law enforcement officers should they be pulled over.

You can drive with an expired licence card for up to three months before being eligible to be fined provided you can show proof that you applied for a new card before your current one expired.

However, if the card had already expired at the time of application for a replacement, you must also apply for a temporary driver’s licence at the same time and keep proof thereof in the vehicle.

A temporary licence is valid for six months, or until the new/replacement driving licence card is issued.

Should you be found without a valid driving licence card, you stand to receive hefty penalties.

In the municipalities of Tshwane and Johannesburg, operating a vehicle on a public road with an expired driving licence can net you a fine of R2,000 and impose three demerit points on your licence, as per the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act.

Nothing new

Driver’s licence renewal backlogs have been a harsh and frequent reality for South African motorists in recent years as the DLCA continues to rely on a single printing machine to produce the entire country’s cards.

The machine is approximately 25 years old and the only one of its kind still in service anywhere in the world, rendering any repairs a timely affair.

The country was supposed to be getting new driver’s licence cards this year as well as multiple new printing machines which would have seen an end to the continued renewal disruptions, however, the rollout of these upgraded cards has been put on hold for the time being.

An investigation into the tender for the new licences found numerous irregularities, prompting Minister of Transport Barbara Creecy to approach the High Court for guidance on how to proceed with the tender.

Either way, the new cards are likely to be hit with several delays.

If the tender gets cancelled, the Department of Transport will have to repeat the years-long process to appoint another service provider from the start.

If it goes ahead with the current provider – Idemia Identity and Security – industry stakeholders have vowed to fight the contract in court, which could be an equally lengthy exercise.

In the meantime, the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa) has formally written to Minister Creecy to ask what’s being done about the unreliability of the current machine as it appears we’ll have to continue making use of it for the forseeable future.

“Motorists are once again being subjected to delays and inconvenience due to the ongoing failures of this outdated system,” said Outa.

“The Department must explain why the machine is not operational, despite previous repairs and maintenance contracts.”