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South Africa extends driver licence renewal to 10 years

Delny Demana

Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni announced on 30 July 2026 that Cabinet approves the extension for the country’s licence card. 

Photo: Minister in the Presidency Khumbudzo Ntshaveni 

This extension applies to all private motorists using A, A1, B and EB licence codes categories for motorcycle and light vehicles. The extension has not taken effect yet due to required legislative amendments. Motorists will still be required to renew their expired licenses under the current five-year system until amendments are complete.

The Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (OUTA) welcomed the announcement as a victory for motorists who have been advocating for the change for almost six years. OUTA believes the current 5-year renewal system wastes time and money, highlighting the massive backlog of expired cards during the COVID-19 lockdowns. The organisation conducted a survey on 3 685 motorists with results depicting that 60% complained about long ques, 45% referred to poor staff attitude with more than 10% of the motorists witnessing bribery. “Our work showed that the 5 year renewal cycle placed unnecessary pressure on the system already struggling with inefficiency, corruption and poor service delivery “ OUTA stated.

South Africa’s sole licence printing machine contributed to the February 2025 backlog where 730 000 cards were cleared at the end of the year due to the breakdown of the machine. Government’s process to replace the unreliable printer has been delayed due to several flagged irregularities surrounding the tender process. This new validity period will help reduce the severity of such breakdowns due to the decrease in renewal applications.

Minister Ntshaveni said this 10-year renewal will align South Africa with international best practices and improve convenience for motorists. It will also help ease pressure on the Department of Transport and the Drivers Licence Testing Centre(DLTCs) which are struggling to keep up with the high demand for renewals from the current validity period.


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