The Department of Transport has cleared the air on who exactly qualifies for a free temporary driving licence, following months of confusion caused by the breakdown of South Africa’s only driving licence card printer earlier this year.
The machine, which is solely responsible for producing all driving licence cards in the country, was out of operation between 5 February and 8 May, creating a massive backlog and long queues at testing centres nationwide. During that period, motorists were allowed to continue driving for up to three months after their licence expired, provided they could prove that they had applied for a renewal.
When Transport Minister Barbara Creecy announced in June that the government would scrap the fee for temporary licences to ease the pressure on motorists, many assumed the waiver applied to everyone. However, the Department has now clarified that the exemption only applies under three specific conditions.
According to Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi, the waiver covers motorists:
- whose permanent licence cards expired during the breakdown period (5 February to 8 May);
- who applied for a temporary licence within three months of expiry; and
- who applied after the exemption took effect on 23 July 2025.
Motorists outside of those criteria must still pay the normal fee, which varies by province — R45 in the Western Cape and R85 in Gauteng, for example.
Msibi emphasised that the special arrangement no longer applies to new applications, as the printing machine has been fully operational since 8 May. He added that if any province failed to honour the exemption, the affected motorists’ fees would be refunded or credited accordingly.
Read | Driving Licence Cards Backlog on Track to Be Cleared by Christmas
Meanwhile, the Driving Licence Card Authority (DLCA) has been working around the clock to reduce the backlog. As of 11 October, the backlog had dropped to 206,705 cards, down from over 750,000 when the machine came back online in May. The Department expects the backlog to be completely cleared by December 2025.
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