The national rollout of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (Aarto) Act has been pushed back seven months, with the Department of Transport announcing that implementation will now begin on 1 July 2026. The system had been scheduled to go live on 1 December 2025.
Transport Minister Barbara Creecy and Deputy Minister Mkhuleko Hlengwa confirmed the postponement after a departmental readiness review found that several municipalities were not yet equipped to operate the new enforcement framework.
The assessment highlighted incomplete training of traffic officials, uneven system integration across metros, and unresolved funding questions tied to municipal participation in Aarto.
What Aarto aims to change
Aarto represents a shift away from relying solely on the criminal courts for road-traffic enforcement. Instead, it introduces an administrative process for traffic infringements, supported by a national demerit-point system intended to curb repeat offences and improve driver behaviour.
Under the framework, infringements such as speeding, mobile-phone use while driving, or operating a vehicle without a valid licence will generate demerit points.
Accumulating too many points can result in licence suspension or cancellation, affecting both individual motorists and professional drivers.
The Act also introduces standardised procedures for issuing infringement notices, sending courtesy letters, escalating unpaid fines into enforcement orders, and managing appeals.
Despite the delay, the Transport Department said the existing phased implementation model remains in place.
Pilot municipalities will continue preparing for migration, while national and provincial authorities work on system readiness ahead of the new July 2026 deadline.
The postponement means that South African motorists, along with fleet operators and employers responsible for company vehicles, will have additional time to adjust internal processes, compliance frameworks and driver-management systems before the national demerit regime becomes enforceable.
