The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) plans to move away from physical vehicle licence discs towards a new electronic system that relies on number plate scanning technology.
The RTMC, an entity under the Department of Transport, revealed these plans during a recent update on its Annual Performance Plan at a meeting of the National Council of Provinces on 3 June 2026.
One of the key issues highlighted at the meeting was corruption at licence centres, as investigations have revealed that there are widespread criminal networks involving driving examiners, traffic officers, and members of the South African Police Service.
The investigations also found that fraudulent driving licences are rampant, often being sold for between R3,500 and R14,000.
Additionally, the entity noted that it had observed widespread use of fake vehicle licence discs.
According to Motselesi Juma, the RTMC’s programme management office and strategy general manager, the issue is particularly prevalent in the public transport and freight logistics sectors, where fleet managers only register 10 out of 100 trucks or buses and use duplicate discs for the remaining 90.
Juma said that the RTMC plans to combat this fraud by modernising its systems, moving the country away from physical licences to a new “discless” environment with “gadgets” that can show a vehicle’s registration when scanning the number plates.
The corporation wants to equip its officers with “e-force” gadgets that can also be used to log traffic fines, thereby replacing physical ticket books.
It added that these devices will be necessary for the national rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) system, which is scheduled to begin less than a month from now on 1 July 2026.
The RTMC also plans to digitize the nation’s driving licence testing centres to crack down on the illegal sale of licences at these locations.
Juma said that roughly 2.8 million of the 13.5 million licence holders in South Africa have registered on the eNatis website, which offers online licence disc renewals, among other services.
South Africa is finally going digital
Industry stakeholders have been calling for the Transport Department to make the shift towards digital licence documents for years.
One of the sector’s loudest voices has been Driving.co.za managing director Rob Handfield-Jones, who submitted his recommendations for digital driver’s licences and car licence discs to the transport portfolio committee in 2025.
He told our sister publication MyBroadband that there is no need for analogue documents for licences, as all vehicles have a VIN and drivers have fingerprints.
“The metro departments use real-time Automatic Number Plate Recognition and connections to eNatis at roadblocks to identify vehicles with expired licences or owners who have outstanding fines,” he said.
Handfield-Jones explained that most new smartphones already have biometric sensors, including fingerprint scanners and facial recognition, which could be used for driver identification.
He also pointed out that the Natis backend has been digital since 2008, and that all that was required for fully digital licences was a frontend system.
“All that is needed is a system to extend those capabilities to an individual officer context as a system they could access on their phones or tablets.”
The Presidency, Home Affairs, and communications department have stated that they plan to introduce digital IDs on the MyMzansi platform with support for digital driving licences before the end of 2026.
Home Affairs has already gazetted the digital ID policy, which details how the new identification system will work.
The ID will be optional and function alongside the physical smart ID.
Voluntary adopters will be able to use their biometrics and the MyMzansi app on their phones to verify their identity.
The plan is to expand the app’s scope over time, introducing support for securely storing various key civic documents, including driver’s licences, marriage and birth certificates, and firearm licences.
The transport department had previously planned to launch a standalone digital driving licence app, but this was met with criticism.
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