Over 700 000 driver's licence cards still need printing
If you were expecting your driver's licence card anytime soon, you're in for some bad news. The Department of Transport (DoT) recently revealed that the backlog of cards that still need to be printed is sitting at a whopping 733 000.
According to BusinessTech , the DoT said in a parliamentary Q&A this past week that it did not yet have a clear path forward for procuring new driving 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.
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.
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