The Gauteng Provincial Government unveiled new “smart” number plates during a pilot launch event at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Soweto on Thursday, 5 June 2025.

The plates will initially be tested over six months on government-owned vehicles operated by G-Fleet Management. After years of anticipation and several missed deadlines, the Gauteng provincial government will launch the pilot phase of its new, high-security vehicle license plate system this Thursday, June 5, 2025.

The pilot’s commencement

The pilot’s commencement comes more than two months after it was initially supposed to be completed and two and a half years after Gauteng Premier Panyaza Lesufi first announced his new number plate plan.

The long-promised plates aim to boost the fight against crime by tracking criminals’ movements and assisting law enforcement in preventing crime.

The provincial government also said the new number plates will assist with revenue collection, regulation of roadworthiness and insurance, and provide data for planning and policymaking.

Other benefits the province touted include managing the supply chain of number plates and creating accountability from plate manufacturers. The most significant change is the embedding of a scannable QR code that holds the vehicle’s registration information.

A digital backend portal

A digital backend portal will enable law enforcement officials to verify that the car matches the registration details to help crack down on cloned plates.

Another security upgrade is an anti-tamper decal underneath the QR code that will “self-destruct” to show when someone has attempted to modify details on the plate.

The final visual change is the addition of the South African flag and the ZA UN country code on the left of the plate, separated from the plate number by a vertical line.

There appears to have been no change in the font used for the alphanumeric characters making up the registration number.

In addition, regular motorists’ number plates will retain the current two-letter, two-number, two-letter format.

R1,000 or more if re-registration is required

Lesufi previously said that…

Lesufi previously said that every person with a car would have to re-register and get a new registration number.

“Everyone must register their vehicle … If you spend 30 consecutive days in Gauteng, it means your car must be registered in Gauteng,” he said.

However, with the current alphanumeric format being retained, it is unclear why re-registration would be necessary.

It currently costs R216 to register a new vehicle in Gauteng, while an application for a motor trade plate number is R120.

A new registration will also require a new license disc. In Gauteng, that currently costs a minimum of R408, excluding the Road Traffic Management Corporation’s administration fee of R72.

The cost of the existing plates can vary….

The cost of the existing plates can vary depending on the chosen printer. A quick online search shows that the number of plates currently varies from around R400 to R500 per set.

With their new features, the updated plates will likely be more expensive. Therefore, a re-registration with new plates should cost most Gauteng motorists over R1,000.

The Organization Undoing Tax Abuse has previously warned that the province could lose revenue from fleet operators if the plates were too expensive.

“It would appear that the new vehicle license plate scheme is set to force new controls that will come at a price,” said OUTA CEO Wayne Duvenage.

“This may backfire on the province, as it could cause big fleet operations to license their vehicles at offices registered in other provinces in the country.”