How SA's new driving licence demerit system will work
The second phase will be implemented on December 1 in 69 municipalities, with the remaining 144 municipalities to follow on April 1 2026.
The demerit points system comes into effect countrywide on September 1 2026, designed to ensure that habitual traffic offenders are removed from South Africa's roads.
Aarto is the government's plan to replace the criminal system with an administrative one. With Aarto, drivers will be allocated points for offences and face suspension or cancellation of their licences if they accumulate too many, in addition to any penalty fee payable.
It is administered by the Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA), a state-owned entity financed from fines and money appropriated by parliament.
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The South African
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The Citizen
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SowetanLIVE
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How SA's new driving licence demerit system will work
On August 1 the government gazetted the legislation for the long-delayed Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) system to be rolled out. The second phase will be implemented on December 1 in 69 municipalities, with the remaining 144 municipalities to follow on April 1 2026. The demerit points system comes into effect countrywide on September 1 2026, designed to ensure that habitual traffic offenders are removed from South Africa's roads. Aarto is the government's plan to replace the criminal system with an administrative one. With Aarto, drivers will be allocated points for offences and face suspension or cancellation of their licences if they accumulate too many, in addition to any penalty fee payable. It is administered by the Road Traffic Infringement Authority (RTIA), a state-owned entity financed from fines and money appropriated by parliament.
