The Department of Home Affairs has announced that it will stop issuing the green ID book and fully replace it with the South Africa smart ID card.
Green ID books to be replaced with South Africa smart ID card by end of 2029
The green book, which has been used for decades, is seen as outdated and easy to forge, making it a security risk.
According to Home Affairs Minister Leon Schreiber, the department hopes to stop producing green ID books by the end of 2025. By 2029, the green ID book will no longer be valid at all.
This forms part of a broader plan to modernise how South Africans prove their identity.
The new smart ID card is a plastic card with a chip that stores your personal details in a secure way. Unlike the green book, which can be easily copied or altered, the smart card is harder to fake. Minister Schreiber said green ID books are the most defrauded form of identification in Africa, especially in banking and financial services.
About 18 million people in South Africa still use green ID books. The reason, Schreiber explained, is that many Home Affairs branches are not yet equipped to issue smart ID cards.
Right now, only about 75% of their offices can do this.
To fix this, the department is rolling out a new “live capture” system. This is a computer-based system that allows Home Affairs and some banks to take your photo and fingerprints digitally when you apply for an ID. This means fewer forms and less risk of errors.
Home Affairs wants to bring this system to all its offices and 100 more bank branches by March 2026. It then plans to partner with up to 1,000 more bank branches by March 2028.
Minister Schreiber said this rollout is part of a big change in how government handles people’s data. The goal is to make it easier and safer for people to get their ID, no matter where they live.
He added that Home Affairs is following the example of banks, where data is secure and stored digitally, but still belongs to the individual, not the state.
For now, people with green ID books don’t have to rush to get a smart ID card. But they are encouraged to apply for one as soon as it is available in their area. Once the green ID book is fully discontinued in 2029, it will no longer be accepted for official purposes. This includes applying for jobs, grants, or using banking services.