Under AARTO, a fine on a company vehicle does not automatically land on the driver. It is served on the company, and if the company does not deal with it correctly and on time, the consequences roll up to the business: demerit points against the operator or the proxy, and enforcement orders that block disc renewals and stop the vehicle working. This guide sets out exactly what a company, fleet or e-hailing operator must do.
How AARTO treats company vehicles
When an infringement is committed in a vehicle registered to a company, close corporation, trust or other juristic person, the infringement notice is served on that entity, not on whoever happened to be driving. Camera fines in particular arrive addressed to the registered owner. It is then up to the business to identify and nominate the actual driver, or carry the fine itself.
Every company needs a proxy
A juristic person cannot deal with the traffic register itself, so it must appoint a natural person as its proxy: the responsible person registered in the national traffic register for that entity. Registering a proxy is straightforward and simply records who is responsible for the company’s traffic matters.
The proxy matters in practice because querying a company vehicle’s fines on the official AARTO portal requires the business registration number together with the ID number of the nominated proxy. Without a registered proxy, the company cannot properly see or manage its fines.
Nominating the driver, correctly and on time
If someone else was driving, the company nominates them using form AARTO 07, within 32 days of the notice being served or presumed served. The nomination must carry the driver’s full particulars: full names, RSA ID or passport number, address, cellphone number and email. You cannot nominate a vague or anonymous person. Once you nominate correctly, the RTIA withdraws the notice against the company and re-issues it to the driver, who then carries the fine and, once the system is live, the demerit points.
Two hard rules catch fleets out. You cannot nominate a driver once a courtesy letter has been issued, so the 32-day window is real. And a nominated driver cannot re-nominate someone else, so the first nomination has to be right.
Where the points land if you do not nominate
Failing to nominate within 32 days does not make the fine disappear. It fixes the liability on the business, and the demerit points land depending on the type of entity:
- For an operator, the points are applied to the vehicle’s operator card. An operator card can carry up to 12 points before it is suspended for three months, during which the vehicle may not be operated at all.
- For a company that is not an operator, the AARTO Amendment Act now applies the points to the proxy’s own driving licence if the proxy fails to nominate the driver in time.
Either way, unresolved company fines escalate to enforcement orders that block licence disc renewals. A blocked disc is an operational kill-switch: the vehicle cannot legally work until the matter is cleared.
The real obligation is proof
The practical duty AARTO places on a fleet is evidentiary. To nominate correctly, you must be able to show who was driving which vehicle, when. A business that does not keep a proper driver register cannot nominate, which means the infringements stick to the company and escalate on their own clock. Keeping an accurate trip and driver record, and keeping your eNaTIS contact details current so electronic notices reach you, is now core fleet admin, not optional.
E-hailing, rentals, deliveries and taxis
The juristic person provisions reach well beyond corporate fleets. Uber and Bolt vehicles, car rentals, delivery vans and bikes, and minibus taxis are all caught: fines on vehicles registered to an operator go to that operator. E-hailing and professional drivers also carry professional driving permit obligations, and a suspended operator card grounds the vehicle regardless of who is driving.
The salary deduction trap
There is a liability point every employer should understand. If the company proxy pays a fine, the company has taken legal responsibility for it, and the employer cannot then simply deduct that amount from the driver’s salary. The correct route is to nominate the driver so that liability, and any points, transfer to them, rather than paying and trying to recover it afterwards.
What your business should do now
Register a proxy in the national traffic register, keep a driver register that can prove who was driving each vehicle, keep your eNaTIS contact details current, and nominate drivers promptly inside every 32-day window. Done consistently, these steps keep the fines and points with the people who earned them and keep your vehicles on the road.
Frequently asked questions
How does AARTO work for company vehicles? Fines on company vehicles are served on the juristic person, not the driver. The company must nominate the actual driver on form AARTO 07 within 32 days, or carry the fine and points itself.
What is an AARTO proxy? A proxy is the natural person a company registers in the national traffic register as responsible for its traffic matters. Querying a company vehicle’s fines requires the business registration number and the proxy’s ID.
What happens if a company does not nominate the driver? The liability stays with the business. For operators, points go on the operator card, which is suspended at 12 points. For other companies, the Amendment Act applies the points to the proxy’s own driving licence.
Can my employer deduct a traffic fine from my salary? Not automatically. If the company proxy paid the fine, the company took legal responsibility. To pass liability to the driver, the company must nominate the driver rather than pay and recover it.
Does AARTO apply to Uber, rentals and taxis? Yes. Fines on vehicles registered to an operator, including e-hailing vehicles, rentals, delivery vehicles and minibus taxis, are served on the operator, and a suspended operator card grounds the vehicle.
