Here is some news for Pretoria motorists. Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga confirmed that printing the new driving licence cards is expected to start before the end of April.
According to Chikunga, 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 that is busy had to travel to France to see the machine for themselves,” the minister said.
Chikunga said the DoT 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.
- With the new printer, the 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 31 March 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).
- The front of the card will display the driver’s name, gender, date of birth, ID number, and information about the license, such as issuance date, code, license number, and validity period – much like the old one.
- A photo of the licence holder will be shown on the front of the card, along with their signature.
- The card body will be made from 100% polycarbonate material with specifically designed security elements, as stated in the tender documents.
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