New requirements on the way for car licences in South Africa

South Africa’s new national requirements for vehicle registration and licences are now set to take effect in 2026.

The new system was meant to launch this past weekend on 1 November 2025, but was delayed at the last minute.

A requirement of the National Road Traffic Act, the new regulations are meant to change how vehicle licences are issued nationwide, creating a larger administrative hassle for road users.

While the system was originally meant to launch at the start of the month, the City of Cape Town revealed the plans had been delayed.

Cape Town’s management had previously been instructed to implement the changes to vehicle registration and licence offices on 1 November, and had sought clarity from the relevant authorities on certain aspects.

“After having sought clarity on a new national requirement for vehicle registration and licensing, the City has been informed that the implementation would be delayed,” it said in an official press release.

“The City had previously been informed that from 1 November 2025, original certified identification documentation will be required at all City Motor Vehicle Registration and Licensing (MVRL) offices. The City is an agent which was instructed to implement this new national requirement.”

The City of Cape Town stated that it will continue to engage with the authorities to seek clarity on the situation, revealing that a new directive will be issued in the new year.

The new system requires certified identification documents to be presented at all relevant offices for vehicle licensing transactions.

In this context, a certified identification document refers to one of the following:

• RSA ID Book or ID Card.
• Foreign ID
• Traffic Register Number (TRD) Certificate

However, South Africans are exempt from producing a certified copy of their ID if they received an SMS for the renewal of their licence from the relevant authorities, such as the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).

The City of Cape Town sought to clarify whether passports and driver’s licences were deemed certified identification documents.

Relevant documentation is required to be certified as true copies of the original by a Commissioner of Oaths, Notary, or Authorized Official.

Certification must comply with the Justices of the Peace Commissioner of Oaths Act of 1963, and it must be dated within three months of submission and contain an official stamp and signature of the certifying officer.

Hurdles for driver’s licences

The updates to vehicle licence requirements in South Africa comes at a time when motorists are already dealing with a system that can’t keep up with other demands.

The driver’s licence backlog, which began in February when the country’s only card printer broke down yet again, has still not been cleared.

The machine was only returned to service in May, at which point the Department of Transport and the Driver’s Licence Card Account (DLCA) were facing a backlog of more than 750,000 licence renewal applications.

Since then, the DLCA has been running non-stop 24-hour shifts to catch up with demand, which has thankfully dropped to roughly 200,000 as of late October.

The department now estimates that the backlog should be fully cleared by December.

Attempts to bring in a new licence card printer have also hit setbacks, as the tender awarded to Idemia for a new machine was flagged by the Auditor-General for multiple irregularities.

It had a value of R900 million, far higher than the original budget, and the winning bidder did not meet technical requirements.

Consequently, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy sought legal action to stop the tender.