Gauteng Unveils New Tamper-Proof Number Plates in Bid to Curb Crime

After multiple delays, the Gauteng Provincial Government has officially unveiled its new high-security number plates, with a pilot phase now underway for government fleet vehicles.

Revealed during a formal announcement on Thursday, the new plates form part of a broader initiative aimed at curbing vehicle-related crime in the province. According to Premier Panyaza Lesufi, the introduction of these tamper-proof registration plates marks a critical intervention in the fight against car-related offences, which are said to be involved in 85% of crimes committed in Gauteng.

“If we have to fight crime, we have to overhaul the car registration regime,” Lesufi stated during the event.

The new number plates boast a range of advanced features, including embedded QR codes, track-and-trace capability, and tamper-evident security decals designed to expose any attempts at counterfeiting. Aesthetic and informative updates include the national flag, the name of the country, and the United Nations (UN) country code placed on the far-left side of the plate.

These innovations are intended to make vehicle identification more efficient and to eliminate the proliferation of cloned or fraudulent number plates frequently used in criminal activities.

Read | How Daimler Crushed Hendrik van Wyk Vervoer’s Rescue, and 181 Livelihoods

The project, originally announced in 2023, was expected to begin public rollout in April 2024. However, during his February 2024 State of the Province Address, Premier Lesufi revised the timeline, confirming that the system would first be piloted on g-Fleet Management vehicles. That pilot has now commenced as of June 2025.

For now, motorists are not required to switch to the new plates immediately. The full rollout will only begin after the six-month government pilot phase concludes. Once active, all vehicle owners in the province will be required to re-register and adopt the new plates at the time of their next licence disc renewal.

The initiative not only promises to enhance road safety but also aims to modernise an outdated numbering system that is fast running out of available sequences.