New South African driving licence cards being printed in April

It has been confirmed that the printing of the new driving licence cards in South Africa is expected to start before the end of April.

CHIKUNGA CONFIRMED THAT THEY WILL SOON PRINT THE NEW SA DRIVING CARDS

Transport minister Sindisiwe Chikunga says that her department was at the “tail-end” of procuring a new printing machine for the cards.

She spoke at the media briefing last week about scrapping e-tolling in Gauteng.

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

SHE SPOKE AT THE E-TOLL MEDIA BRIEFING LAST WEEK

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

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

“Before the end of this month, we will be printing new driving licences (cards). And it will be launched launch at least the first 100 per province. We are moving in that regard.”she said.

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.

HERE ARE FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THE NEW CARDS

Here are five things you should know: 

• They was supposed to decommission the printing machine that produces the current driving licence cards in 2023.
• 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 be valid for eight years, instead of the current five.
• A trial on the new cards would run until March 2024.

The new card will also make the SA driving licence compatible with the International Information Technology Personal Identification Compliant Driving Licence (ISO18013).