South Africa’s driver’s licence card validity period will be increased from five to eight years, significantly cutting down on the number of renewals motorists will need to apply for.
A longer licence validity period is something that motorists and civil action groups have been calling for for years, as it would cut down on a time-consuming process and lower the risk of another licence backlog if the country’s sole printing machine were to break again.
AfriForum made this point after the printer broke down last year, leading to a backlog of roughly 750,000 card renewals.
“No new printer has been purchased, and the current printer could break down again any day,” said AfriForum campaign officer Louis Boshoff.
“Once driver’s licences are made valid for eight years, there will be a period of reduced demand during which the equipment and systems for printing and issuing driver’s licences can be upgraded.”
Since then, the government has finally started the process to extend South Africa’s licence validity period from five to eight years.
The Department of Transport’s annual performance plan for 2026/27 outlined a road map for the implementation of the longer licences.
The first short-term goal to submit the licence validity proposal to the Transport Minister was completed in June 2026.
The remaining short-term goals for the 2026/27 period are as follows:
- September 2026 – Validity period submitted to the Shareholders’ Committee
- December 2026 – Validity period submitted to the relevant Forum of South African Directors-General (FOSAD) Clusters
- March 2027 – Validity period of the driving licence cards extended to 8 years, approved for submission to Cabinet
The FOSAD groups referred to here include the Economic Sectors, Investment, Employment and Infrastructure Development (ESIEID) and Justice, Crime Prevention, Peace and Security (JCPS) clusters.
Once these steps are concluded, the department will move on to the medium-term goals, which stretch into 2028:
- 2026/27 – Validity period of the driving licence cards extended to 8 years, approved for submission to Cabinet
- 2027/28 – Validity period of the driving licence cards extended to 8 years, approved for submission to Parliament
While this is a positive development, the roadmap also illustrates how long the extension process will take.
This issue is exacerbated by the fact that the extension has already been delayed several times, as South Africa was meant to receive its longer licences years ago.
The department was previously meant to submit its decision to parliament for endorsement by the fourth quarter of the 2025/26 financial year, which it did not.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy expressed her approval to extend the validity period back in November 2025.
The department’s director-general, Mathabatha Mokonyana, later confirmed the move in December 2025.
However, at the time, the department stated that the cost-benefit analysis was still underway, flagging concerns about “unintended consequences of the move”.
This is in reference to one of the department’s stated concerns about the longer validity period – a loss of revenue.
It reasoned that longer validity periods would result in fewer renewal fees, which could negatively impact the funding for the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA).
“This proposed change forms part of broader efforts within the transport sector to enhance administrative efficiency, reduce the frequency of renewals for motorists, and alleviate service demand pressures within the licensing system,” it said.
“While the policy shift may yield operational benefits at a system-wide level, it is likely to have material implications for the financial sustainability of the organisation.”
The DLCA added that the extended validity period would reduce the volume of card renewals processed in a given cycle, which in turn may impact revenue flows linked to card production and issuance.
“The policy development process is still underway, including the necessary regulatory reviews, stakeholder consultations, and impact assessments,” it said.
“The organisation will continue to monitor these developments closely and assess the potential operational and financial implications.”
A change that has been in the works for years
The plan to extend South Africa’s driver’s licence card validity period is not new, with promises dating back to Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s time in office back in 2022.
That year, Mbalula announced that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) would conduct a study to extend the validity of the cards to 10 years.
The study was completed and submitted to Cabinet, but the results were only publicly announced when the next Transport Minister, Sindisiwe Chikunga, took office.
In 2024, the study results were shown to be in favour of the proposal, but Chikunga’s department shut the plan down.
The stated reasoning was that there was a health risk with regard to communicable diseases, which were responsible for many of the accidents on South Africa’s roads.
The department, therefore, argued that the shorter five-year validity period was necessary for more regular renewals with mandatory eye tests.
This explanation was largely dismissed by the public and industry stakeholders, who believed that the extension was cancelled due to financial motivations.
Chikunga’s department never confirmed this; however, Creecy later said that the concerns over the DLCA’s funding were a primary reason for the delays.
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