South African motorists could soon spend less time at driving licence testing centres after Cabinet approved extending the validity period for certain driving licences from five to 10 years. The decision applies to Code A, A1, B and EB licences, which cover motorcycles and light motor vehicles. Heavy commercial and public transport vehicles will remain under the existing five-year renewal cycle, while Professional Driving Permits will continue to be valid for two years. The Department of Transport said the move was informed by a study by the Road Traffic Management Corporation, which found that a longer validity period could improve administrative efficiency, reduce the number of renewals and ease pressure on the licensing system.

For motorists whose licences are expiring now, however, nothing has changed. The 10-year validity period has been approved by the Cabinet but is not yet law. The Department of Transport said Regulation 108 of the Road Traffic Regulations must first be amended before the new system can be implemented. The draft notices will be submitted for further consideration and public comment before being sent to the State Law Adviser for legal scrutiny. Until that process is completed, motorists must continue renewing their licences under the current five-year system. “Motorists must therefore continue to renew expired driving licence cards until the new law takes effect,” the department said.

The decision comes after years of debate over how long South Africans should be required to renew their driving licences. The Department of Transport had previously been working towards an eight-year validity period, while civil society groups argued that the government should go further and move to 10 years__. OUTA__ has campaigned for the longer validity period since 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic exposed serious problems in the country's licensing system. The organisation says its research across 35 countries found an average driving licence validity period of 8.5 years, with some countries issuing licences valid for up to 20 years.

OUTA CEO, Wayne Duvenage, welcomed the Cabinet's decision but said the government had taken too long to act. “This decision is almost six years overdue, but it is a victory for motorists and for common sense,” Duvenage said. He argued that requiring motorists to renew their licences every five years creates unnecessary pressure on an already inefficient system and does not make South African roads safer. “The government has finally accepted that forcing motorists through an inefficient renewal system every five years wastes time and money without making our roads safer,” he said.

OUTA said the change could save motorists both time and money by reducing the number of times they have to visit licensing centres. The organisation has previously raised concerns about long queues, problems with online bookings, poor service and delays in issuing licence cards. Its latest statement says the 10-year period is a welcome reform, but the government must now provide motorists with clarity on when the change will take effect and whether it will apply only to new cards or to cards already in circulation.

For ordinary motorists, the government's immediate message is therefore simple. Cabinet's approval does not mean that existing licences have automatically been extended by another five years. Anyone whose licence is expiring must still renew it under the current rules. The government says the longer validity period will only begin once the amendments to the regulations have been completed and the new law comes into effect.

The reform could eventually reduce the number of motorists visiting licensing centres and take some pressure off a system that has struggled with backlogs and service problems. But the policy's success will depend on how quickly the government moves from Cabinet approval to implementation. For now, the five-year system remains in place, leaving motorists to wait for the legal changes before they can benefit from a licence that lasts twice as long.