South Africa’s Department of Home Affairs has announced two separate dates for ending the green bar-coded ID book: production is due to stop on 31 March 2027, and the book is due to stop being recognised as valid identification on 31 March 2028. The second date is part of the Minister’s announced roadmap; check for a later formal legal notice before treating it as an implemented change.
What the two dates mean
| Announced date | What Home Affairs says will happen |
|---|---|
| 31 March 2027 | Production of green ID books will end and the production machines will be decommissioned, according to the Minister’s 1 October 2026 announcement. Source: Department of Home Affairs, 1 October 2026 |
| 31 March 2028 | The green book is announced to cease being recognised as valid identification. The Minister linked this date to section 25(1)(b) of the Identification Act; confirm formal implementation before relying on it as a definitive statement of current statutory status. Source: Department of Home Affairs, 1 October 2026 |
The year between those dates is the announced transition period for holders to move to a Smart ID. Stopping production does not, by itself, mean the books become invalid on the same day.
What green-book holders should do
Home Affairs is directing holders to apply for the Department-issued Smart ID card. The Minister said 14.7 million citizens and permanent residents still held only a green book as of 1 October 2026, down from 16 million six months earlier. These are Department-reported figures for different dates, not a current estimate of how many people still need to switch. Source: Department of Home Affairs, 1 October 2026
Apply at a participating bank branch
Home Affairs has introduced a bank-branch route for Smart ID applications, including green-book replacements. The Minister said the process takes as little as five minutes and requires no prior booking or paperwork. That is the Department’s description of the service, not a guarantee of the time every applicant will spend at every branch. The rollout is phased: check the Department’s participating-branch information before travelling, and confirm that the branch offers the service you need.
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The Department’s March 2026 announcement described the bank service as available to South Africans, qualifying naturalised citizens and permanent residents replacing green books, as well as existing Smart ID holders seeking re-issues. Source: Department of Home Affairs, March 2026
Fee exemptions stated by Home Affairs
The Minister said first-time Smart ID applicants and applicants over 60 remain exempt from the application fee. The announcement does not establish fee rules for other cases, so check with Home Affairs for your circumstances.
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Applicants not yet enabled for the service
The Minister said the remaining cohort of naturalised citizens and permanent residents, along with South African citizens abroad, would be enabled to obtain Smart IDs before 31 March 2027. If you fall into one of these groups, check current Home Affairs guidance for the application channel available to you rather than assuming a bank branch can process your application.
Why Home Affairs is replacing the booklet
Home Affairs says the paper booklet and its manually replaceable or manipulable photograph create security weaknesses. That is the Department’s rationale for the change; the announcement does not provide an independently verified comparative fraud rate. Department statement, 1 October 2026
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How the announcement relates to earlier expiry rumours
In November 2017, Home Affairs rejected a rumour that green ID books would expire on 31 March 2018, saying they remained a legal form of identification at that time. Department statement, 20 November 2017
An earlier Government Gazette notice provided for phased replacement of green bar-coded documents with identity cards. It said green books would remain valid until a future Gazette notice set an invalidity date, unless an individual’s document had already been cancelled or replaced. That 2013 notice is background, not confirmation that the announced 2028 date has since been formalised. Government Gazette 36648, 11 July 2013
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How far the bank rollout had reached
Home Affairs reported 515 branches offering replacement services and more than 822,500 users of the service by 1 October 2026. In a 15 May 2026 budget speech, the Minister had reported 167 branches and 118,434 applications processed through the new system in its first eight weeks. These are snapshots from different dates and should not be read as same-day comparisons or as a live branch count. Use the Department’s branch information to check current availability.
October figures: Department of Home Affairs, 1 October 2026; May figures: Department of Home Affairs, 15 May 2026.
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