AARTO demerit points have not started. As at 18 October 2026 no commencement date has been gazetted, and no South African driver is carrying points. The date that was widely reported, 1 September 2026, came from a proclamation that was withdrawn in November 2025.
What is running is the rest of AARTO: infringement notices, courtesy letters and enforcement orders, handled administratively by the Road Traffic Infringement Agency (RTIA) rather than through the criminal courts. That process went live in the first group of municipalities on 1 July 2026. The points are a separate step that has not been switched on.
Why 1 September 2026 never happened
Proclamations gazetted on 1 August 2025 set out a phased schedule that ended with the demerit point sections of the AARTO Act taking effect on 1 September 2026. Those proclamations were withdrawn on 28 November 2025, after Transport Minister Barbara Creecy postponed the first phase from 1 December 2025 to 1 July 2026. The reasons given were unfinished training of law enforcement and back-office staff, municipal systems that had not been harmonised, and funding.
When the replacement proclamations of 29 June 2026 brought AARTO into force on 1 July 2026, they left out sections 24 to 28 of the Act, which contain the demerit point system. The RTIA has said the Minister of Transport will set a commencement date in due course. A further phase is expected in 2027, but nothing has been gazetted.
Older insurance blogs, driving guides and news reports still repeat the 1 September 2026 date. It is no longer valid.
What is running right now
In the municipalities where AARTO is live, a traffic fine is an infringement notice from the RTIA instead of a summons. You have 32 days to act. Miss that window and a courtesy letter follows, which removes the discount and adds a fee. Miss the next 32 days and an enforcement order is issued, which blocks NaTIS from issuing you a driving licence, professional driving permit or vehicle licence disc until it is paid or revoked.
| Step or option | Value |
|---|---|
| Discount for paying within 32 days | 50% |
| Courtesy letter fee | R100 |
| Fee if a representation fails | R200 |
| Window to act on a notice or courtesy letter | 32 days |
| Window to appeal to the Appeals Tribunal | 30 days |
| RTIA target to process a representation | 21 working days |
| Instalment term, penalty up to R750 | 6 months |
| Instalment term, penalty above R750 | 12 months |
Fines issued before AARTO applied in your area stay under the Criminal Procedure Act until they are finalised. They carry no demerit points, but they are still payable.
How the points will work when they start
The RTIA has published the mechanics, and they have been stable across several years of delays. Every driver starts at zero. Points attach when a fine is paid, when an enforcement order is issued, or on conviction in court.
| Rule | Value |
|---|---|
| Threshold before disqualification | 15 points |
| Maximum points for an infringement | 5 |
| Maximum points for an offence after conviction | 6 |
| Suspension per point above the threshold | 3 months |
| Points removed per 3 infringement-free months | 1 |
| Points removed by a rehabilitation programme | 4 |
| Rehabilitation programmes permitted per 12 months | 1 |
| Exceedances before a licence is cancelled | 3 |
A driver on 17 points would face six months off the road. A third time above the threshold cancels the licence rather than suspending it, and the driver has to pass the learner’s and driving tests again.
The 15-point threshold is not settled
The 15-point threshold comes from the RTIA’s own FAQ. The original 2008 AARTO Regulations set the threshold at 12. New regulations were published on 30 June 2026 alongside the Phase 2 proclamations, but because the demerit sections themselves have not commenced, it is not clear that any revised threshold in them is legally operative yet.
Treat 15 as the RTIA’s stated intention rather than settled law.
What to do now
The delay does not make an unpaid fine safer. Enforcement orders are being issued now, and they block your driving licence renewal and your licence disc.
- Check what is outstanding against your ID at aarto.gov.za, on the AARTO mobile app, or through the RTIA call centre on 086 122 7861.
- Make sure your address and contact details on NaTIS are current, because serving a notice starts the 32-day clock whether you collect it or not.
- If a notice is wrong, submit a representation on form AARTO 08 within the window rather than ignoring it.
- If you cannot pay in full, apply for instalments on form AARTO 04 before the deadline passes.
For the wider enforcement picture, see our coverage of the RTIA warning to licence holders, the new speeding fines system, the 10-year driving licence decision and our guide to driving licence renewal.
Where to check
The RTIA administers AARTO, and its site is rtia.co.za. A commencement date for the demerit points has to appear in a presidential proclamation in the Government Gazette before it applies. Until it does, treat any reported date as unconfirmed.
HOW WE REPORTED THIS
- Read Bowmans' analysis of the two AARTO proclamations dated 29 June 2026 for the 1 July 2026 commencement, the exclusion of the demerit points sections 24 to 28 and the expected further phase in 2027
- Read Government Gazette 53746 of 28 November 2025, as reported, for the withdrawal of the proclamation that set 1 September 2026
- Carried over the RTIA's published infringement process and demerit point rules from the earlier version of this guide
