Qualify for a free temporary driving licence with these conditions
The current backlog for South African driving license cards remains approximately 540,000.
2025 might be coming to an end soon, but the South African driving licence saga continues.
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The only driver’s license printer in the country had been out of operation since February 2025, when it was announced that it would be fixed in May.
This has resulted in a backlog of 747,748 outstanding cards that need to be printed.
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Since being back in operation, the backlog has dropped to just over 500,000, but that is still a significant amount, and if you are waiting for your licence, you are waiting for a while.
According to Jacaranda FM Newswatch, transport spokesperson Collen Msibi says working hours at the Driving License Card Agency have been extended to address the backlog.
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While thousands are waiting for their driver's licence to be renewed, the only solution is a temporary driver's licence.
During a ministerial meeting on 27 June, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said that a decision had been made to waive the cost of the temporary licences.
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However, the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has now clarified that motorists still have to pay the R72 fee, despite the announcement made by the Department of Transport.
MyBroadband reports that AfriForum contacted the RTMC's national office, which confirmed that people renewing an expired driving licence must still pay the R72 fee for a temporary licence.
AfriForum has received confirmation from the RTMC national call centre that payment for the acquisition of a temporary driver’s licence still applies. This is, although Barbara Creecy, Minister of Transport, has already promised several times in Parliament and the media that this fee will be scrapped amid the ongoing backlog.
Motorists waiting for a new licence can use the expired licence for only three months, provided they applied for a new one before the expiry date.
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If the new card takes longer than three months to arrive, drivers need a temporary licence.
Department of Transport spokesperson Collen Msibi told News24 that the exemption of the fee is only applicable to motorists who meet the following three conditions:
- Their licences expired during the period when the driving licence printer had broken down (between 5 February and 8 May 2025).
- They applied for a temporary licence within three months of their licence card expiring.
- They applied for a temporary licence after the fee exemption took effect on 23 July 2025.
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Image: Jacaranda FM Newswatch