High Court Sets Aside Driving Licence Card Tender, Clears the Way for New Bidding Process

The Minister of Transport, Barbara Creecy, and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa have welcomed a declaratory order issued by the Gauteng North High Court setting aside the appointment of IDEMIA as the preferred bidder for the Driving Licence Card Machines tender.

The ruling, handed down on 6 January 2026, found the tender process to be irregular, invalid, unlawful, and unenforceable. As a result, the court set aside the tender and ordered the Department of Transport to re-advertise it within 30 days. Pending the appointment of a new service provider through the re-advertised process, the court further authorised the Department to temporarily outsource the printing and issuing of driving licence cards to the Department of Home Affairs.

The declaratory order followed an application brought by the Department of Transport itself after the Auditor-General of South Africa identified irregularities in the tender process. Minister Creecy said the court’s decision affirmed the Department’s commitment to transparency and lawful procurement, adding that approaching the court was a necessary step to ensure proper governance and effective regulation.

Backlog cleared after printing disruptions

Separately, the Department confirmed that the Driving Licence Card Account cleared a significant backlog of outstanding driving licence cards on 9 December 2025. The backlog had accumulated after a breakdown of the card printing machine between February and May 2025.

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Between 8 May and 8 December 2025, a total of 2,239,456 driving licence cards were successfully printed, restoring normal operations.

Progress on interim solution

As part of interim measures, the Government Printing Works has developed a prototype driving licence card that has now been approved by the State Security Agency. In addition, the establishment of a secure network connection between the Road Traffic Management Corporation and Government Printing Works has been successfully tested, enabling the transfer of data required for card production.

A Cabinet process will be initiated shortly to seek approval for the prototype card design.

The Department of Transport said further updates would be communicated as the re-advertised tender process and interim arrangements progress.