New licence imminent

TRANSPORT Minister Sindisiwe Chikunga says her department is making strides with introducing new driving licence cards, with printing expected to begin by the end of this month.

Speaking at a media briefing for the scrapping of e-tolling in Gauteng, the minister said her department was at the 'tail-end' of the process of procuring a new printing machine for the cards.

“Before the end of this month, we will be printing new driving licence [cards] and will launch at least the first 100 per province. We are moving in that regard,” she said.

Chikunga revealed in January that the Department of Transport (DoT) had not awarded a tender for the new printer and that it planned to finalise the process before April.

The new driving licences were expected to be launched at the end of March this year.

With the new printer, the Driving Licence Card Account (DLCA) should be able to produce a card within five working days – nine days faster than the current printer. According to the DLCA, the new licence will be aligned closer to international practices, with the card allowing for the incorporation of new technologies.

It will have improved security features, including biometric data, holograms and watermarks to reduce fraudulent licences and improve road safety.

Tender documents published in November 2021 revealed how the new card should look. The front will display the driver’s name, gender, date of birth, ID number and information about the licence, such as date of issue, code, licence number and validity period - much like the old one.

The licence holder's photo and signature will also be shown on the front of the card.

The card body will be made from 100% polycarbonate material with specifically designed security elements, as stated in the tender documents.

The more significant changes come with the enhanced security features, such as a secondary image of the licence holder’s face engraved during the personalisation process, with micro text and tactile features included.

A security background will overlap with the image of the licence holder, and the card’s serial number will be printed in barcode format on the reverse side - which also includes a QR code and a ghost image. In addition to its updated design, the new driver’s licence will have a validity period of eight years instead of the current five, reducing the frequency of DLTC visits for motorists.