From December 1, 2025, South Africa is introducing sweeping changes in how traffic violations are handled under the AARTO (Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences) regime. These reforms will affect everything from how fines are issued to the introduction of a demerit-points system and license enforcement.
Instead of traffic violations being prosecuted in criminal courts, they will now be handled through an administrative adjudication process. This is intended to streamline enforcement and reduce court backlogs.
When you commit a traffic infringement, you’ll get a formal infringement notice. This will include:
After receiving an infringement notice, motorists will have several options:
Pay the fine (often with a discount if within a given period)
If someone else was driving, supply their information to transfer liability
Renewal of your driver’s licence or vehicle licence disc may be blocked until outstanding fines/fees are settled
Every offense is recorded in a national Contraventions Register, which tracks demerit points and offences tied to your driving record
One of the major shifts is the introduction of demerit points against your driving record:
Different offenses incur different point values, especially for serious violations
If you accumulate more than 15 demerit points, your licence may be suspended for three months for every point over the threshold
A licence will be cancelled entirely after three suspensions
If you go three months without further offences, one demerit point will be subtracted from your record
The first rollout (69 municipalities) begins 1 December 2025, including key metros such as Cape Town, Johannesburg, Pretoria, Durban, etc.
The demerit system (Sections 24–27) is expected to come into force 1 September 2026 (i.e. later phase)
Faster adjudication — fewer cases clogging up criminal courts
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