Truth about the new traffic law that will stop you selling your car

A prominent driving skills specialist has disputed the claim that the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act will prevent people from selling their cars if they have outstanding fines.

After years of delay, the Aarto Act is officially set to rollout nationwide from 1 December 2025, starting with the nation’s 69 major municipalities.

This will be followed by a second phase on 1 April 2026 where the remaining 144 municipalities are added to the system.

Aarto is set to make significant changes to South African traffic law, distinguishing minor and serious road violations as “infringements” and “offences,” respectively.

In most parts of the country, all violations are treated as criminal offences subject to court processes.

The exception is Johannesburg and Tshwane, where Aarto has been piloted for nearly 20 years.

Once the act is implemented nationwide, minor violations will be handled by the Road Traffic Infringement Agency, while more serious actions will still be subject to a full legal process.

The most controversial aspect of the Aarto Act is a new driver’s licence demerit system, which adds points to a person’s licence for various infringements.

Last month, ChangeCars CEO Michael Pashut published a warning where he talked about the issues this system would bring.

Notably, he warned that the demerit system would link fines to the vehicle owner, affecting their ability to transfer ownership.

“If you try to sell a car with unresolved Aaarto infringements, you could be prevented from doing so,” he said. 

However, Driving.co.za managing director Rob Handfield-Jones told MyBroadband that vehicles belonging to private individuals cannot have unresolved Aarto infringements.

“All Aaarto demerit points and infringements apply to the person who committed the infringement, whether the owner or not,” he said.

“The points — and any applicable enforcement orders — do not accrue to a vehicle owned by a private individual.”

Handfield-Jones said if Pashut was alleging that an e-Natis block arising from an enforcement order also prevented a change-of-ownership, that was a “novel” claim which authorities have not confirmed.

“There is no indication that the change-of-ownership transaction itself would be prohibited, nor have I heard of any reports of such related to an enforcement order in the past.”

“Such a stance would create extraordinary complications for binding finance arrangements, repossessions, deregistration of destroyed vehicles, insurance cover, cessions of vehicles as security, vehicles in deceased estates, and more,” he said.

Good news for private motorists – But companies still face hurdles

Handfield-Jones claimed that, at worst, an enforcement notice blocking access to e-Natis would limit a person’s ability to order a new vehicle licence disc online.

The exception is for vehicles owned by judicial entities, including businesses, as these can still accrue demerit points.

“If the vehicle exceeds 15 points, it’s banned from the roads for three months for each point over the limit,” he said.

The company’s directors may also be sentenced to a one-year jail term if the banned vehicle is used on a public road.

“One can’t evade this by scrapping or selling the vehicle — the points simply accrue to the next vehicle registered by that entity,” Handfield-Jones said.

The new system will likely prove to be a headache for businesses, particularly those where staff drive company cars, service bakkies, or pool cars.

However, even if a vehicle exceeds the 15-point threshold, it is still unlikely that the demerit points will prevent the company from being able to sell it.

“Whether an enforcement order in respect of a vehicle would prevent a company from disposing of it is mere speculation for now,” he said.

Aarto will also require that companies nominate the driver responsible for the infringement, else the company itself will be liable for the fine and demerit points.

Private motorists can do the same thing by nominating the person who was driving at the time of the infringement, such as a family member who was borrowing the car.