Big question hanging over South Africa’s new driver’s licence cards

The Department of Transport (DoT) has not confirmed when it will begin producing new driver’s licence cards with the Department of Home Affairs’ printing division.

Last year, the DoT announced that it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government Printing Works (GPW) – an entity under the Department of Home Affairs – to print driver’s licence cards.

This was done as part of a plan to reduce the government’s reliance on the DoT’s single, old, unreliable licence printing machine, which is prone to breakdowns and has resulted in several months-long card renewal backlogs.

It was also introduced as an interim measure to ensure the nation could produce driver’s licence cards, following the announcement that the tender to procure a new printing machine from Idemia had been scrapped due to several irregularities.

Transport Minister Barbara Creecy previously indicated that the process for the GPW to generate driver’s licences was at an advanced stage and was being treated with urgency.

Our sister publication MyBroadband reached out to the Department of Transport to ask if the GPW would print new cards this year, but did not receive a direct answer.

DoT spokesperson Collen Msibi said officials are studying the recent High Court judgment through which the tender it awarded to Idemia to procure new driving licence printers was set aside.

“We are awaiting a way forward on the matter,” said Msibi.

“On our relationship with the GPW, we are starting a process to update Cabinet on the court outcome, but also to get Cabinet approval on how to proceed, especially given the fact that the prototype card design has been approved.”

While the department has yet to provide a definitive answer, Creecy has stated in recent interviews that they have already integrated the DoT’s IT systems with Home Affairs and developed a prototype card.

This is part of a broader plan to merge South Africa’s driving licences and ID cards into a single document – something that is already commonplace in other countries.

This also ties in with South Africa’s other plans to roll out a new digital driver’s licence.

“[The merger] obviously improves the integrity of both documents, but what it also does is it presents us with an opportunity going forward that we may only need to have one card and over time, that one card could become digital,” she said.

Back to square one for South Africa’s new licence card printer

The DoT signed its memorandum with the GPW in July 2025 after the Idemia licence card printer tender fell through.

The French company was previously selected to supply a new driver’s licence card printer to replace South Africa’s outdated one, but the appointment was flagged due to several irregularities in the tender process.

This prompted an investigation by the Auditor-General of South Africa, which led Creecy to approach the courts for a solution.

The Pretoria High Court ultimately handed down a declaratory order to set aside the contract in January 2026, requiring the DoT to issue a new tender.

The court instructed the department to re-advertise the tender for a new printer within the next 30 days from the time the ruling was passed on 6 January.

“On 6 January 2026, the Gauteng North High Court declared that the tender was irregular, invalid, unlawful, and unenforceable,” said the DoT.

“The Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy and the Transport Deputy Minister, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, have welcomed the High Court’s declaratory order.”

Creecy stated that the outcome was “a vindication of the department’s commitment to transparency and legitimacy.”

“The decision to approach the court for guidance on the matter was a necessary step for effective regulation,” she said.