The Department of Transport is moving to extend the validity of driving licence cards in South Africa from five to eight years, with the process laid out in its annual performance plan for 2026/27.
According to the department, it plans to have the policy document for the change sent to Cabinet for approval by the end of the 2026/27 financial year (March 2027).
The broader plan is to have it then approved for submission to Parliament by the end of the 2027/28 period (March 2028).
The new dates and deadlines for the plan reflect a protracted, heavily delayed process for something intended to be implemented years ago.
The department’s plans lay out the following short-term and longer-term goals:
Medium-term goals (2026/27-2028/29)
- 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
- 2028/29 – None stated
Short-term goals (2026/27)
- June 2026 – Validity period submitted to the Minister
- 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 applicable FOSAD clusters are the Economic Sectors, Investment, Employment and Infrastructure Development (ESIEID) cluster and the Justice, Crime Prevention, Peace and Security (JCPS) cluster.
The extension process, being part of the Department of Transport’s annual plan, reflects the adoption of the change by Minister Barbara Creecy.
Creecy expressed her approval and willingness to extend the validity period in November 2025, and the department’s director-general, Mathabatha Mokonyana, confirmed the move in December.
At the time, however, the department noted that the cost-benefit analysis was still underway, flagging concerns about “unintended consequences of the move”.
This directly relates to the impact on government revenue, especially the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA).
In the DLCA’s annual performance plan, it flagged these risks.
The DLCA acknowledged the “emerging policy directive” to extend the driving licence card’s validity period to eight years, noting that this may impact its financial stability.
“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 group said that an extended validity period would reduce the volume of card renewals processed over a given cycle, which in turn may impact revenue flows that are linked to card production and issuance.
“The policy development process is still underway, including the necessary regulatory reviews, stakeholder consultations, and impact assessments.”
“The organisation will continue to monitor these developments closely and assess the potential operational and financial implications,” it said.
Long road dotted with empty promises and lies
The extension of driving licence card validity has been a contentious issue for several years, with promises to review the period going back to former Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula’s time in office.
Mbalula announced in 2022 that the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) would conduct a study on extending the validity of the cards to 10 years.
While the study was completed and submitted to Cabinet, the details were only revealed during the shorter tenure of his successor, Sindisiwe Chikunga.
In 2024, it was revealed that the RTMC’s study proposed and supported an extension of driving licence card validity to eight years; however, Chikunga’s department completely walked back the plan.
At the time, Chikunga put forward absurd reasons for rejecting the extension, such as nonsensical ties to health and communicable diseases.
The department attempted to reason this by saying that “many” accidents on South African roads relate to infectious and other diseases, making regular eye tests crucial.
Critics widely panned this, immediately pegging the department’s move to scupper the plans and to reject the RTMC’s research as being financially motivated.
Driving licence card renewals are a significant source of revenue for the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA), and by extending the validity, the entity would lose out on this money.
While previous leadership never admitted this, Creecy confirmed in late 2025 that this had been the main stumbling block.
