Licences stripped of ID status after Home Affairs probe exposes widespread abuse of traffic numbers meant for people without SA IDs
The Transport Department is amending the National Road Traffic Regulations so that traffic register numbers, learner's licences and driving licences can no longer be used as general identification, following a 2023 investigation with Home Affairs.
Government is moving to stop driving licences, learner’s licences and traffic register number (TRN) certificates being used as ID. A joint 2023 investigation with Home Affairs uncovered “widespread abuse” of TRNs, which are road-traffic numbers issued to people who have no South African identity number.
“The TRN was created solely to enable people without a South African identity number to transact on [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. The probe found institutions accepting TRNs and licences as ID, in breach of the Identification Act.
Under the proposed rules, people who are not permanent residents will need an unexpired passport plus a valid Home Affairs permit. TRN holders who get proper ID must hand back their TRN certificate within 21 days. Separately, a joint verification found that TRNs issued between 2000 and mid-2023 “could not be verified,” and holders have 60 days to come forward. The public has 30 days to comment once the draft is published in the Gazette.
The department says accepting them as ID is contrary to the Identification Act, 1997 (Act No. 68 of 1997), which designates Home Affairs as the sole authority responsible for maintaining the National Population Register and issuing identification documents. The amendments are therefore necessary, the department says, to remove legal ambiguity, prevent abuse and align road traffic legislation with the Identification Act.
Under the amendment to Regulation 1, TRNs and all other documents issued under road traffic legislation will be excluded from the definition of acceptable identification. For a person who is not permanently resident in the Republic, acceptable identification will mean an unexpired passport issued by the person’s country of origin, accompanied by the relevant permit issued by the Department of Home Affairs in terms of the Immigration Act, 2002 (Act No. 13 of 2002). For a company it will mean a certificate of incorporation, registration certificate, memorandum of incorporation or name-change certificate issued in terms of the Companies Act, 2008 (Act No. 71 of 2008). For a close corporation converted into a company, it will mean the certificate of incorporation issued to the company in terms of Schedule 2 of the Companies Act, 2008.
In effect, a TRN, learner’s licence or driving licence will no longer be regarded as an identification document.
Regulation 335, which governs the control of traffic register numbers, will be tightened in four ways. The provisions that recognise a TRN as a form of acceptable identification, in paragraph (b) of subregulation (1) and paragraph (b) of subregulation (2), will be deleted. A TRN holder who obtains any other form of acceptable identification will be required to notify the registering authority on form ANR within 21 days and surrender the TRN certificate. A new subregulation will provide that a TRN is valid only for the validity period of the passport and permit submitted when it was obtained. And a further new subregulation will require all natural persons holding a TRN certificate that does not reflect a validity period to apply for a new certificate within three months of the regulations coming into effect.
The amendments will be published for public comment in accordance with the National Road Traffic Act, 1996 (Act No. 93 of 1996). Interested parties and affected institutions will have 30 days from the date of publication in the Government Gazette to submit written comments, and all submissions will be considered before the final regulations are published.
This report is based on the government’s own summary of the proposed amendments, published by SAnews (South African Government News Agency) at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/government-amend-regulations-prevent-traffic-documents-being-used-identification, on reporting by TimesLIVE at https://www.timeslive.co.za/news/south-africa/2026-10-11-transport-department-wants-to-ban-licences-as-form-of-general-identification/, and on Government Gazette No. 55422 at https://www.gov.za/sites/default/files/gcis_document/202609/55422gon7936.pdf.
