Home Affairs called in to help with driver’s licence print backlog
How severe is the driver’s licence print backlog that the Department of Transport has to seek help from Home Affairs?
The Department of Transport has turned to Home Affairs for help with the growing driver’s licence print backlog, after failing to secure a new printing system due to tender irregularities.
When South Africa’s only card printing machine broke down again in February, the backlog started piling up once more. Now, Transport Minister Barbara Creecy says the department is working with Home Affairs to develop what she calls a ‘temporary solution.’
2025 DRIVER’S LICENCE PRINT BACKLOG
Minister Creecy said last week that the department is concerned because its unreliable printing machine is running ‘day and night.’ While they are making progress in clearing the driver’s licence backlog, new licences keep expiring, creating what she described as a “never-ending cycle.”
However, the backlog is clearly worse than advertised, because the minister admits to meeting with the Department of Home Affairs last week, reports TimesLive. “We went to Home Affairs and said, ‘Can you help us?’ and they said, ‘Yes, of course, we can.”
BUILDING A PROTOTYPE MACHINE
Home Affairs is developing a prototype card printing machine for the Department of Transport, which will need approval from the State Security Agency (SSA) once completed, since a driving licence is a recognised legal form of identification.
Minister Creecy says the approval process should take no more than three months. As of early July 2025, the Department of Transport reported a driver’s licence print backlog of 602,831 cards, with Gauteng accounting for 192 856, followed by the Western Cape with 86 862, and KwaZulu-Natal with 85,313 still pending.
SIX-MONTH GRACE PERIOD
A reminder that you won’t be fined for an expired driving licence only if you have a valid receipt for renewal. “If you have an expired driver’s licence, you have a six-month grace period in which to get your renewal,” explains Creecy. “Motorists should not be penalised because this is not of their making. But you must keep your receipts to prove you have applied – then they can’t be fined,” the minister concluded.