The Department of Transport plans to amend the National Road Traffic Regulations to prevent driving licences and other documents from being used as general forms of identification.
GOVERNMENT TO STOP DRIVERS’ LICENSES BEING USED AS AN ID
Have you ever forgotten your ID and used your drivers’ license as an alternate proof of identity? Well, that habit may soon be on it’s way out. The Department of Transport plans to amend the National Road Traffic Regulatiins so that traffic register number (TRN) certificates, learner’s licenses and driving licenses can no longer be treated as general identification.
The proposal follows a 2023 investigation, in which Transport helped the Department of Home Affairs look into the misuse of road traffic documents. The department says the TRN was created only so that people without a South African ID number could transact on the National Traffic Information System while their legal status was being finalised with Home Affairs. It was never meant to serve as a general ID.
However, some institutions have been accepting TRNs and licences as proof of identity, which the department says goes against the Identification Act of 1997. That law makes Home Affairs the sole authority for the National Population Register and for issuing identification documents.
Two regulations will change. Regulation 1 will drop TRNs and all other road-traffic documents from the definition of acceptable identification. For people whp are not permanent residents of South Africa, acceptable ID will mean an unexpired passport together with the relevant Home Affairs permit. Companies will use their registration or incorporation certificates.
Regulation 335 will tighten control of TRNs. Provisions recognising a TRN as acceptable identification will be deleted. A TRN holder who obtains another form of acceptable identification must notify the registering authority within 21 days and surrender the TRN certificate.
A TRN will also be valid only for as long as the passport and permit used to obtain it. Anyone holding a TRN certificate without a validity period must apply for a new one within three months of the regulations taking effect.
FOR ORDINARY SOUTH AFRICANS
For ordinary South Africans, a green ID book, smart ID or passport is the document to carry when proof of identity is needed. A driver’s licence will still prove that you are licensed to drive. However, it should not be the document that proves who you are.
It is important to note that this is not final as yet. The amendments will be published in the Government Gazette, and the public will have 30 days to submit written comments. All submissions will be considered before the final regulations are published.
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