Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga confirmed that printing the new driving licence cards is expected to start before the end of April. Chikunga said her department was at the ‘tail-end’ of procuring a new printing machine for the cards.

“We are at the tail-end of the procurement process. This is because the team had to travel to France to see the machine for themselves,” the minister said.

Chikunga said the department had not awarded a tender for the new printer in January. But that it planned to finalise the process before April.

They were expected to launch the new driving licences at the end of March 2024.

What you need to know about the news driving licence cards

• With the new printer, the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) should be able to produce a card within five working days. This is nine days faster than the current printer.
• The new card will be valid for eight years, instead of the current five.
• Current cards will continue to be recognised as valid until March 31, 2029.
• They will introduce a new system with driving licence cards linked to smart-card technology.
• The new driving licence card in South Africa will have improved security features, including biometric data, holograms, and watermarks, to reduce fraudulent licences and improve road safety.
• The new card will also make the SA driving licence compatible with the International Information Technology Personal Identification Compliant Driving Licence (ISO18013).