The Legal Practice Council issued a September notice after receiving enquiries from magistrates and judges about how legal practitioners should be identified when attending courts and other government facilities, including police stations. The Council said its digital identity card system was introduced in January 2022, when manual or hard-copy cards were phased out
The LPC has encouraged practitioners to apply for digital identification and has written to Magistrates’ Courts and High Courts in Gauteng to clarify that physical cards are no longer issued. The Council describes the digital card as a safe, secure and reliable means of identifying legal practitioners and says its use should support smoother access to courts and other government facilities.