AARTO Act: Municipality-Specific Commencement Dates Gazetted

Posted 29 June 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category New Legislation

Brought to you by SA Legal Academy: Two presidential proclamations have been gazetted, establishing 1 July 2026 as the commencement date for specific sections of the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Act, No. 46 of 1998 and the Administrative Adjudication of Road Traffic Offences Amendment Act, No. 18 of 2019, within designated municipalities.

In terms of these newly published presidential proclamations, the implementation of these provisions follows the withdrawal in December 2025 of previous commencement proclamations that had been published in August 2025. The revised schedule outlines the specific municipalities where the legislation will take effect on the new target date of 1 July 2026.

The proclamations identify the affected local authorities through detailed schedules. This phased, municipality-specific rollout is designed to manage the transition to the AARTO system, which introduces a demerit system for traffic offences and restructures the process of road traffic adjudication.

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

  • For yourself: You must monitor your personal traffic fines and prepare for the demerit system’s impact on your driving licence status if you reside or drive within the scheduled municipalities from 1 July 2026.
  • For your business: Corporate fleet managers and compliance officers must audit company vehicle policies, update driver agreement terms, and establish systems to track employee traffic infringements to mitigate the risk of corporate fleet suspensions.
  • For your clients: Logistics, transport, and corporate clients operating in the affected municipalities must align their operational risk frameworks and employment contracts with the phased AARTO rollout schedule.

Originally published at https://legalacademy.co.za/news/read/aarto-act-municipality-specific-commencement-dates-gazetted

The views expressed herein are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Acts Online. Acts Online accepts no responsibility for the accuracy, completeness or fairness of the article, nor does the information contained herein constitute advice, legal or otherwise.