Over 500,000 driving licence cards await printing as backlog persists: here's how to avoid being fined

South Africa’s driving licence woes are far from over, but there could be light at the end of the tunnel, the Department of Transport (DOT) says.

South Africa relies on a single machine to print licence cards. It has been operational since 1998 and is currently prone to breakdowns.

The most recent of these took place in February 2025, rendering the machine inoperable until May as it was being repaired by its original manufacturer in France. The effect of this printing backlog is still being felt today.

Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi told SABC News recently that even though the Drivers' Licence Card Agency (DLCA) has printed over 800,000 cards since operations resumed in May, there was still a backlog of 539,000 cards. However, the department remains confident that the backlog will be tackled by the end of this year.

“I mean on a daily basis we get about more than 10,000 applications. So, that is why the backlog is difficult for it to go down. But we’ve given ourselves until December to be able to complete the backlog,” Msibi told the SABC.

The backlog has been reduced from 747,000 in May, when the DLCA extended the working hours of its staff in order to reduce the backlog.

In July, the DOT bowed to pressure from advocacy groups to waive the fees associated with temporary driving licence cards and halt penalties for motorists caught with expired licences. Minister Barbara Creecy said motorists would be permitted to drive with an expired licence card for up to three months before facing any fines, provided they could show proof that they applied for a new card prior to the current card’s expiration date. Motorists should therefore keep the receipt for the new licence in their car or wallet to serve as proof if they are stopped at a roadblock.

At the time Creecy also said her department was working on an interim solution with the Government Printing Works to lessen its dependence on the old printing machine.

The government currently has plans to introduce a new ‘smart’ driving licence; however, that tender found its way into the courts after Creecy asked the Auditor-General to investigate allegations of an irregular procurement process that led to Idemia being selected as the preferred bidder.

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