A charge of driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs is more than a traffic ticket. In South Africa it is a criminal offence, and a conviction is recorded against your name on the South African Police Service National Criminal Register. For many motorists the first real worry, after the court matter is over, is how long that entry stays there and whether it can ever be removed.
The short answer is that a drunk driving conviction does not fall off your record by itself. It remains on the criminal register indefinitely until it is formally expunged. There is. A legal route to have it removed, set out in section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, and it becomes available once ten years have passed and certain conditions are met.
This article explains the difference between a charge and a conviction, how a DUI enters the criminal register, how long it stays, and what expungement requires in practice. It is written for motorists, job seekers, and anyone who needs to understand what a past drunk driving matter means for their future.
What Is a DUI?
DUI stands for driving under the influence. In South Africa the offence is driving a vehicle on a public road while under the influence of intoxicating alcohol or a drug having a narcotic effect, prohibited by section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996. It is a criminal offence, not a traffic infringement, which is why a conviction is entered on the SAPS National Criminal Register rather than on a traffic fine record.
The Difference Between a Charge and a Conviction
It is important to separate two things that people often confuse. A charge is an allegation. It is what the State lays against you after an arrest, typically under section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996, and it is only the start of the criminal process. A charge on its own does not give you a criminal record.
A conviction is a finding of guilt, made by a court after a trial or after a valid plea of guilty, or recorded when you pay an admission of guilt fine. Only a conviction is captured on the SAPS criminal register. If your matter was withdrawn, the State declined to prosecute, or you were acquitted, there is no conviction and therefore no criminal record arising from that charge.
This distinction matters because a common question, “how long does the charge stay on my record?”, often has two different answers depending on whether the charge ended in a conviction. Where there was no conviction, nothing is entered on the criminal register in the first place, although the arrest itself may still appear on a SAPS fingerprint enquiry until the docket is formally closed.
How a Drunk Driving Conviction Reaches the Criminal Register
Once a court convicts you of driving under the influence, or of driving with excessive blood or breath alcohol, the conviction is sent to the South African Police Service Criminal Record Centre for entry onto the National Criminal Register. Your fingerprints, taken at the time of arrest, are linked to the conviction, and the record becomes searchable on any future police clearance certificate.
An admission of guilt fine has the same effect. Many first-time offenders pay such a fine at the police station or court, believing the matter is then finished. In criminal law terms it is not finished: payment of an admission of guilt fine amounts to a conviction, and it is recorded on the criminal register in the same way as a guilty verdict after a trial.
How Long the Conviction Stays on Your Record
There is no automatic expiry date. A drunk driving conviction remains on the National Criminal Register for the rest of your life unless one of two things happens: you successfully apply to have it expunged, or you receive a presidential pardon. Time alone does not remove it. Five, ten, or twenty years later, the conviction will still appear on a police clearance certificate requested by an employer, a licensing authority, or an embassy.
This is the reason a DUI matter is treated seriously from the outset. The immediate penalties, such as fines, licence endorsement, and, are only part of the picture. The lasting cost is the record itself, which can affect employment, travel, professional registration, and firearm licensing for years afterwards.
Expungement Under Section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act
The legal mechanism for clearing certain old convictions is found in section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, which is administered by the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development. It allows a person to apply, in writing, to have a conviction expunged from the criminal register once a set of conditions is satisfied.
The main conditions are that at least ten years must have elapsed since the date of the conviction, and during that ten-year period you must not have been sentenced to direct imprisonment, that is, imprisonment without the option of a fine. A sentence of a fine, a suspended sentence of imprisonment, or correctional supervision will generally not disqualify you, provided the fine did not exceed R20 000 and no later conviction in that period attracted imprisonment.
Because a typical drunk driving sentence is a fine, with or without a suspended term of imprisonment, many first-offence DUI convictions become eligible for DUI conviction expungement once the ten-year mark has passed. Convictions that resulted in direct imprisonment, or in fines above the statutory threshold, are excluded, and convictions for sexual offences against children or persons who are mentally disabled carry separate restrictions.
The application is made on the prescribed form to the Director-General of the Department of Justice, supported by a clearance from the SAPS Criminal Record Centre confirming that there are no other convictions barring expungement. If the application succeeds, the conviction is removed from the register and, in ordinary background check terms, it is as though it never existed.
When the Matter Does Not End in a Conviction
Where the charge does not lead to a conviction, no criminal record follows. This includes situations where the State withdraws the charge after problems with the blood or breath evidence, where the prosecutor declines to prosecute, or where the court acquits the accused after a trial.
In these circumstances there is nothing to expunge, because there is no conviction on the register. The docket, the arrest record, and the fingerprint enrolment may still exist internally, but they do not constitute a criminal record for the purposes of employment vetting or police clearance. If you are unsure whether a past matter ended in a conviction, the safest first step is to request a police clearance certificate from the SAPS and check what is actually recorded.
For those who are still inside the court process, understanding the consequences of drunk driving charges in South African law before any plea is entered can make the difference between a record that lasts a lifetime and a matter that ends without conviction.
The Wider Effect of a Criminal Record
A drunk driving conviction can be disclosed, or discovered, in a range of ordinary situations, and the effects are often wider than people expect.
- Employment. Many employers require a clean criminal record as a condition of appointment, particularly in finance, security, education, and roles involving driving.
- Professional registration. Certain regulatory bodies ask applicants to disclose any criminal conviction, and a DUI may be treated as relevant to fitness to practise.
- Travel and visas. Destination countries such as the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom routinely ask about criminal history on visa application forms.
- Firearm licensing. The South African Police Service considers criminal history when deciding whether a person is fit to hold a firearm licence.
- Insurance. Insurers may increase premiums or decline cover where a drunk driving conviction is present, particularly on motor and life policies.
Because these consequences can persist long after the court matter has been finalised, the question of how to clear the record through record clearance options, or how to avoid a conviction in the first place, is often the most important part of any drunk driving case.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does a drunk driving conviction stay on your record in South Africa?
A drunk driving conviction stays on the SAPS National Criminal Register indefinitely. It does not expire automatically and will remain there until it is formally expunged under section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act 51 of 1977, or until a presidential pardon is granted.
Can a drunk driving conviction be removed from your criminal record?
Yes, in many cases. Under section 271B of the Criminal Procedure Act, you may apply to have the conviction expunged once ten years have passed since the conviction date, provided you were not sentenced to direct imprisonment without the option of a fine, the fine did not exceed R20 000, and you have no later conviction that attracted imprisonment during that period.
Does a drunk driving charge show up on a criminal record if there was no conviction?
No. Only a conviction is recorded on the National Criminal Register. If the charge was withdrawn, the State declined to prosecute, or you were acquitted, there is no criminal record arising from that charge, although the arrest docket may still exist internally until it is closed.
Does paying an admission of guilt fine for drunk driving give you a criminal record?
Yes. Paying an admission of guilt fine amounts to a conviction and is recorded on the criminal register in the same way as a guilty verdict after a trial. It is not a way of avoiding a criminal record, and legal advice should be taken before any admission of guilt is signed or paid.
When can you apply for expungement of a drunk driving conviction?
You can apply once ten years have elapsed since the date of conviction, provided the sentence was not direct imprisonment without the option of a fine, the fine did not exceed R20 000, and you have received no further conviction attracting imprisonment during the ten-year period. The application is made to the Director-General of the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development.
Get help with a criminal law matter. If you are dealing with a drunk driving charge, an old conviction, or an application to expunge a criminal record, the Criminal Law department at Otrebski Attorneys can advise you. We are a 100% women-led firm with a Level 4 B-BBEE rating, rated 5 stars across 12 reviews, working from our single Sandton office, and our Director Nastasja Otrebski leads the team that assists clients across Gauteng and South Africa.
Disclaimer. This article is general information about South African criminal and road traffic law, not legal advice for a specific matter. The rules on expungement, sentencing, and the National Criminal Register are set out in legislation and government policy and can change. Outcomes depend on the facts of each case. For advice about a particular charge or conviction, consult a qualified attorney or Legal Aid South Africa.