Major upgrades planned for taxpayer-funded NATIS system in 2026
In just four years, South Africa’s National Traffic Information System (NATIS) has transformed online licensing, and even bigger changes are on the way.
It’s hard to believe the South African National Traffic Information System (NATIS) is only four years old. The Road Traffic Management Council (RTMC) launched it in 2021 as a simple platform for renewing vehicle licence discs online.
Back then, taxpayers had plenty of alternatives: banks, the post office, and supermarkets. But in just a few years, NATIS has become the go-to online renewal portal, with other platforms now relying on it to process applications.
BIG BOOST COMING FOR NATIS
Over the past five years, NATIS has steadily added new services, including driver’s licence renewals and learner’s licence bookings. More recently, it began offering certified damage reports to support insurance claims after vehicle accidents.
Last week, Deputy Minister of Transport Mkhuleko Hlengwa announced ambitious plans to upgrade NATIS next year. The system will broaden its scope by onboarding at least four new registration clients. This will improve the already excellent efficiency, reducing queues and wait times further, according to TopAuto.
HOW THE UPGRADES WILL HELP YOU
One of the RTMC’s goals for NATIS is a new Software-Defined Wide Area Network (SD-WAN). Currently, the online portal relies on copper connectivity technology, but the former will improve network speed and security tremendously.
Likewise, NATIS will introduce biometric identity verification as a means to eliminate fraudulent activities. And one of the biggest changes will be digitised learner and driver’s licence applications.
GOOD NEWS FOR LICENCE APPLICATIONS
The department plans to continue rolling out Computerised Learner’s Licence Testing (CLLT) and fully digitised driving licence tests. According to Hlengwa, the system will modernise how South Africa assesses driver competence.
In the last financial year alone, NATIS processed over two million online vehicle licence renewals—a 54% increase from the previous year. It also handled 78,566 online vehicle registrations and 112,845 online change of ownership transactions.