Pretoria: Motorists have been advised to continue renewing expired driver's licence cards for light motor vehicles and motorcycles until a new law extending the validity period from five to 10 years comes into effect. This follows Cabinet's approval of the extension for driving licences for Codes A, A1, B and EB, a decision welcomed by Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
According to South African Government News Agency, the Cabinet approval serves as an endorsement for the draft notices for the extension of the driving licence validity period to be submitted to the Shareholders Committee and also to the Secretary of Parliament for public comments, and also to the office of the State Law Adviser for legal scrutiny. The Department of Transport stated that motorists must continue to renew expired driving licence cards until the new law is fully implemented.
The department explained that the implementation of the extension requires the amendment of regulation 108 of the Road Traffic Regulations. Specifically, it involves the modification of paragraph (a) of sub-regulation (5) such that a driving licence card for codes A1, A, B, and EB licence will now expire 10 years from the date on which it has been ordered from the Card Production Facility. However, a driving licence card for codes C1, C, EC1, and EC licence will continue to expire five years from the date on which it has been ordered from the Card Production Facility.
The extension to a 10-year renewal period will only apply to light motor vehicles, with heavy commercial and public transport vehicles remaining on the existing five-year renewal cycle. Professional Driving Permits (PrDPs) will remain on a two-year renewal cycle. The department further explained that the change was informed by a study undertaken by the Road Traffic Management Corporation. The study recommended that extending the validity period would align with international best practices, enhance administrative efficiency, reduce the frequency of renewals for motorists, and ease service demand pressures within the licensing system.