More than 700 000 driver’s licence cards remain unprinted
South Africa’s Department of Transport reported a large backlog of more than 700,000 driver’s licence cards waiting to be printed.
If you expected to receive your driver’s licence card soon, the Department of Transport (DoT) just delivered bad news.
The DoT recently revealed that it still needs to print a massive backlog of 733,000 cards.
During a parliamentary Q&A last week, the DoT told BusinessTech that it has not yet identified a clear plan to procure new driver’s licence card printing machines for South Africa.
Which means that South Africans are still left relying on the one and only, breakable printing machine in the country.
Driving licence cards reach backlog high
The department noted, however, that the backlog has been reduced by 14 500 cards since the printing machine became operational at the start of May. Although, this does not even begin to scratch the surface of the backlog.
At the start of May 2025, the backlog sat at 747 500 after the machine broke down in February this year. Which means that driver’s licence applicants still have a long wait ahead of them.
BusinessTech also reported that it would require around 40 to 53 days to clear this backlog (not including new card applicantions), as the driver’s licence card printer can usually process between 14 000 and 19 000 cards in a 14-hour shift.