South Africa Approves 10-Year Driving Licences for Most Light Vehicles
South Africa’s cabinet has approved a move to stretch driving licence validity for most light vehicles from five years to 10. The change, announced on
South Africa’s cabinet has approved a move to stretch driving licence validity for most light vehicles from five years to 10. The change, announced on Thursday by Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshavheni, still needs legislative amendments before motorists can use it.
The longer renewal period will cover licence codes A, A1, B and EB. Code B, the standard licence for ordinary passenger cars, is the most common. Heavy commercial vehicles and public transport licences will stay on shorter renewal cycles of two or five years. Professional Driving Permits will also remain on a two-year renewal period.
Long wait at the licence office
The decision lands after years of frustration over South Africa’s licence-card system. The country’s only driving licence card-printing machine has repeatedly broken down, creating heavy backlogs and long delays for motorists trying to renew. Plans to buy a replacement machine also ran into legal trouble.
That bottleneck has made licence renewals a routine headache for drivers. The new 10-year period is two years longer than the eight-year option the Department of Transport had previously floated.
Pressure from civil society
Wayne Duvenage, chief executive of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse, has long pushed for the change. He previously described it as a common-sense step that would save motorists time and money.
OUTA said it had campaigned for 10-year driving licence cards since the licensing crisis that hit during the COVID-19 period in 2020. The group said research it carried out across 35 countries found an average licence validity period of 8.5 years.
But drivers should not expect an immediate switch. The approval is not yet law, and motorists must continue renewing expiring cards under the current system until the legal changes are completed and an implementation date is announced.
For now, the cabinet decision offers a lifeline. The paperwork still has to catch up.
