AARTO Commencement Proclamations Withdrawn

Posted 01 August 2025 Written by Acts Online
Category Transport

Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: Presidential proclamations regarding the phased commencement of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act and its 2019 Amendment Act have been withdrawn.

In terms of notices published on 1 December 2025, the presidential proclamations intended to operationalise the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences (AARTO) Act, No. 46 of 1998, and the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2019, were withdrawn. These withdrawals were backdated to 28 November 2025. Furthermore, the implementing regulations originally gazetted on 31 October 2025 have also been withdrawn.

The original rollout schedule, which has now been suspended, proposed incremental implementation across specific municipal areas on the following dates:

  • 1 December 2025;
  • 1 April 2026; and
  • 1 September 2026.

The AARTO Act, No. 46 of 1998, as amended by the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act, No. 4 of 2019, aims to promote road traffic quality by establishing a uniform system for adjudicating road traffic infringements and implementing a demerit point system. The withdrawal of these proclamations effectively halts the national expansion of the AARTO scheme and the associated demerit system until further notice.

Click here to download the withdrawal notice for the implementing regulations.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: No immediate changes to the current traffic fine adjudication process or the introduction of the demerit point system will occur on the previously announced December 2025 date.
  • For your business: Companies with vehicle fleets should pause the implementation of new compliance protocols or software updates specifically designed for the AARTO national rollout until new commencement dates are gazetted.
  • For your clients: Advise clients that the legal transition to the AARTO demerit system and its specific municipal jurisdictional changes has been delayed, and existing road traffic enforcement frameworks remain in place.

Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/aarto-commencement-dates-proclaimed

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