Proposed amendments to the National Road Traffic Regulations would exclude driving licences, learner’s licences and traffic register number certificates from general identification
South Africa’s Department of Transport plans to amend the National Road Traffic Regulations to prevent traffic-related documents, including driving licences, learner’s licences and traffic register number (TRN) certificates, from being used as general forms of identification.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy said the proposed amendments follow an investigation conducted in 2023 in collaboration with the Department of Home Affairs, which uncovered widespread misuse of TRNs and other road traffic documents as identification.
“The TRN was created solely to enable people without a South African identity number to transact on the National Traffic Information System (NaTIS) for road traffic purposes while finalising their legal status with Home Affairs. It was never intended to serve as general identification,” the Department of Transport said in its statement.
The department said the practice of accepting TRNs and driving licences as general identification was inconsistent with the Identification Act, 1997 (Act No. 68 of 1997), which designates the Department of Home Affairs as the authority responsible for maintaining the National Population Register and issuing identification documents.
Under the proposed changes, Regulation 1 of the National Road Traffic Regulations would be amended to exclude TRNs and other documents issued under road traffic legislation from the definition of acceptable identification.
The department also plans to amend Regulation 335 to strengthen controls over the issuing and use of TRNs. Among the proposed changes, holders who obtain another acceptable form of identification would be required to notify the registering authority within 21 days and surrender their TRN certificates.
In addition, TRNs would be valid only for the period covered by the passport and permit submitted when the number was obtained. Holders of TRN certificates without an indicated validity period would have to apply for replacement certificates within three months of the amended regulations taking effect.
The proposed amendments have not yet come into force. The department said they would be published in the Government Gazette for public comment in accordance with the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996).
Interested parties and affected institutions would have 30 days from the date of publication to submit written comments. The submissions would be considered before the final regulations are published.