Aarto Demerit System Final Countdown: What South African Drivers Need to Know Now

It's been long teased, but it appears to be finally happening. The Aarto Demerit system kicked off on 1 July 2026 in 62 municipalities and, throughout October and December 2026, will expand to the remaining 151 municipalities as a phased rollout. Before all of this, South African roads were governed by the Criminal Procedure Act (CPA). Traffic Fines are no longer something to ignore when it comes time to renew your license disc. The Demerit System, like other parts of the world, is here, and this is what you need to know.

What is the new Aarto framework, and what is it replacing?

Previously, traffic fines were issued under the Criminal Procedure Act, where ignoring them could even land you with a summons and a court date. With Aarto now in place, this introduces an administrative process for traffic offences that bypasses the CPA. The system is fully electronic and now implements a demerit-point system to hold motorists accountable for repeat offences and promote safer driving.

How does the demerit points system work?

Every licensed driver has a points record. We all start with a clean slate, which gets sullied when you've committed an infringement prescribed in Schedule 3  of the Aarto Regulations. Points are added to a motorist's driving license or vehicle operator's license when dealing with Juristic Persons (Company Drivers). When a penalty fine is paid either in full or in instalments, points are added if an infringer is found guilty in a court of law, or when an enforcement order is issued. A threshold of 15 demerit points may be incurred before a driving license is suspended. When the threshold is exceeded, the license is suspended for 3 months for each point over the threshold. This doesn't mean a license is only suspended for 3 months, though. If, let's say, you have 17 points in total (2 points above), it's a 6-month suspension; 18 points means a 9-month suspension.

A driving license or vehicle operator card can only be suspended twice. During suspension, you're not allowed to drive; if you do, then the action is treated as a criminal offence. If the license has already been cancelled twice and there are demerit points exceeding the threshold, the driving license will be cancelled. That means the offender will have to attend a driver rehabilitation programme, then re-obtain a learner's licence and a driver's licence once the suspension period has lapsed.  The regulations surrounding vehicle operator cards are unclear, though.

The Driver Rehabilitation programme is intended for habitual offenders. It is available only after the licence is cancelled. Though it's not designed to help motorists avoid suspension or correct bad behaviour, the role of it all is unclear and appears to be administrative. If you complete this course, then you can knock off 4 demerit points.

Regarding company vehicles, according to the RTIA (Road Traffic Infringement Agency), vehicle owners don't automatically receive demerit points for traffic offences committed by other drivers; the company owners nominate the responsible driver, and the demerit points are assigned to that driver.

Infringement points table