How Long Does It Take for a RAF Claim to Prescribe?

Under South African law, a Road Accident Fund (RAF) claim prescribes — meaning the right to sue is lost — three years after the debt becomes due, in terms of section 11(d) of the Prescription Act 68 of 1969. For identified claims the debt is generally treated as due on the date of the accident itself, while for unidentified (hit-and-run) claims separate lodgement deadlines under section 23 of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 can apply even sooner. In Makgati v Road Accident Fund (7316/2022) [2025] ZALMPPHC 27, the Limpopo Provincial Division of the High Court held in 2025 that the RAF cannot rely on prescription where the delay that would otherwise have caused the claim to prescribe was caused by the Fund’s own handling of the matter — a recent development that materially changes the practical risk profile for claimants whose files have stalled inside the RAF’s own process.

What “Prescription” Means in an RAF Claim

Prescription is the legal rule that extinguishes a creditor’s right to enforce a debt after a set period has run without the creditor having acted on it. Once a claim has prescribed, the creditor can no longer obtain a court order on it — the right is permanently lost unless the debtor acknowledges the debt in writing in the interim. In the RAF context, prescription is what determines whether a claimant can still lodge, prosecute, or enforce a claim against the Fund.

It is important to understand that prescription in South African law is extinctive, not absolute. The obligation technically remains — the debtor still owes the money in a moral sense — but the legal right to enforce it through a court of law falls away. That distinction matters for claimants who may still be able to negotiate a settlement even after prescription has technically run, but who cannot compel payment through litigation.

The General Rule: Three Years Under the Prescription Act

Section 11(d) of the Prescription Act 68 of 1969 sets a three-year prescription period for any civil debt that is not covered by a more specific statutory provision. A “debt” for these purposes is anything that can be claimed in a court of law, including a liquidated or unliquidated claim for damages.

For RAF claims, the three-year clock starts running on the date the debt becomes due. For identified claims, that date is generally the date of the accident itself, since the cause of action arises on that date. However, in the RAF context the debt does not become “due” for the purpose of prescription until the claim has been lodged and the RAF has either admitted liability and quantum or formally rejected the claim — a distinction that has significant practical consequences for files that have been sitting inside the Fund’s queue.

The Lodgement Layer: Section 23 of the RAF Act

The Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 (as amended) imposes its own lodgement requirements on top of the Prescription Act’s three-year period. Section 23 of the Act requires claims to be lodged within defined periods, and the operative period has been amended over time. Practitioners should always check the current text of the section for any matter approaching a deadline.

Failure to lodge a claim form with the RAF within the applicable period is itself a basis for the Fund to reject the claim, separate and apart from the Prescription Act’s three-year prescription. This is a critical distinction: lodgement and prescription are two separate hurdles, and a claim can fail at either stage.

Stage	Governing Rule	What Happens If Missed
Lodgement	Section 23 of the RAF Act 56 of 1996	RAF may reject the claim on lodgement alone — no need to reach the prescription argument
Prosecution	Section 11(d) of the Prescription Act 68 of 1969 (3-year rule)	Claim prescribes; right to enforce is lost unless revived by acknowledgement or service of process

Lodging the claim and prosecuting the claim are two distinct stages. A claim that is lodged in time can still prescribe if it is not properly prosecuted within three years of the debt becoming due.

Identified vs Unidentified Claims

The prescription analysis differs depending on whether the vehicle that caused the accident can be traced. Misclassifying a claim at lodgement stage can jeopardise the file’s prescription status and create avoidable disputes with the Fund.

Claim Type	Description	Lodgement Profile	Prescription Profile
Identified claim	The driver or owner of the motor vehicle that caused the accident is known — typical personal-injury claim against a registered, insured vehicle	Standard section 23 lodgement window	Three-year Prescription Act clock generally runs from the date of the accident
Unidentified claim	The vehicle that caused the accident cannot be traced — typically a hit-and-run	Tighter statutory lodgement windows under the RAF Act apply	Distinct lodgement and procedural rules; the prescription analysis differs from identified claims

The practical upshot is that hit-and-run claimants face earlier deadlines than claimants who know the identity of the responsible driver or vehicle owner. Anyone who is unsure which category their matter falls into should have it classified by a practitioner before lodging — relodging under a different classification at a later date does not restart the clock.

When the Clock Pauses: Interruption and Suspension

Prescription is not always a clock that runs uninterrupted. South African law recognises two ways in which the prescription period can be stopped from running — interruption, which resets the clock to zero, and suspension, which freezes it for a defined period without resetting.

Interruption

Prescription is interrupted by:

• An acknowledgement of debt in writing signed by the debtor (the RAF, in this context); or
• The creditor serving process on the debtor (for example, issuing summons against the Fund).

An acknowledgement of debt does not have to take any particular form, but it must be a clear, unambiguous admission by the debtor that the debt exists. Service of summons or similar process interrupts prescription once it has been effected — even if the summons is later set aside for procedural reasons, the interruption stands for prescription purposes.

Suspension

Prescription is suspended in certain circumstances, including where the creditor is:

• A minor (the period does not run against a minor until they reach majority);
• Under curatorship;
• Prevented from running the claim by a supervening impossibility (for example, a court order that bars further proceedings).

The 2025 Makgati Judgment: RAF Cannot Benefit From Its Own Delay

In Makgati v Road Accident Fund (7316/2022) [2025] ZALMPPHC 27, the Limpopo Provincial Division of the High Court held that the RAF cannot rely on prescription where the delay that would otherwise have caused the claim to prescribe was caused by the Fund’s own conduct. The judgment is significant for claimants whose files have been sitting inside the RAF’s claims-handling process for years without meaningful progression.

It is also a reminder that prescription is a defence that the RAF must actually plead and prove — it does not automatically arise in every long-running matter. Practitioners should treat the Makgati holding as a developing area of law; earlier decisions took a stricter view, and the position may continue to evolve on appeal or in later decisions from other provincial divisions.

For a Gauteng claimant whose RAF file has been stalled for years without progress, Makgati materially changes the practical risk calculation — but it is not a blanket exemption from the three-year rule. A practitioner still needs to assess the file, the procedural posture, and whether the delay can fairly be attributed to the Fund’s own conduct. Burger Huyser Attorneys’ general litigation practice handles MVA and RAF claims work across Gauteng, with Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo responsible for the MVA claims work at the firm’s Roodepoort branch.

What Happens If a Claim Has Prescribed

A prescribed claim cannot be enforced by court action; a summons issued on a prescribed debt is liable to be dismissed on exception or special plea. The debtor (the RAF, in this context) does not get prescription of its own motion — it must raise prescription as a defence if it intends to rely on it. Once raised, the creditor bears the onus of proving that the debt has not in fact prescribed, by demonstrating that the period was interrupted or suspended.

Narrow grounds for condonation exist under the court rules, but condonation for prescription is not granted lightly and requires a full, satisfactory explanation for the entire delay. The courts treat prescription differently from other procedural deadlines precisely because of its finality: a procedurally late claim can be revived by condonation; a prescribed debt generally cannot.

Practical Steps to Protect a Claim From Prescription

1. Note the date of the accident and calculate the three-year expiry date from that date — for identified claims, that is the accident date itself.
2. Lodge the formal claim form with the RAF as soon as the injury has stabilised and quantum can be reasonably assessed, and well before the three-year mark.
3. Keep written records of every acknowledgement or communication that could interrupt prescription, including any correspondence with the RAF or its representatives.
4. If the claim has already been lodged but the Fund has been silent for an extended period, instruct an attorney to issue summons before the three-year expiry rather than assume the RAF’s delay is harmless.
5. If unsure whether the period has already run, treat the matter as urgent — prescription is one of the few defences in South African law where a one-day error is fatal.

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a RAF claim take to prescribe?

A RAF claim generally prescribes three years after the debt becomes due, under section 11(d) of the Prescription Act 68 of 1969. For identified claims, the debt is typically treated as due on the date of the accident, which means the practical prescription clock often starts running on the day of the collision itself.

Is the lodgement deadline the same as the prescription deadline?

Not necessarily. The Prescription Act sets a three-year outer limit, but section 23 of the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 imposes its own lodgement requirements that may apply earlier, and the operative lodgement window has been amended over time. A claim must be lodged in terms of the RAF Act and prosecuted in terms of the Prescription Act — both deadlines need to be tracked separately and the current text of section 23 should be checked for any specific matter.

Does the RAF have to raise prescription, or does it happen automatically?

The RAF must raise prescription as a defence — it does not apply automatically. If the Fund does not plead prescription in its papers, the claimant can proceed on the merits regardless of how long the matter has been running. This was reinforced by the 2025 decision in Makgati v Road Accident Fund, where the Limpopo Provincial Division of the High Court held that the RAF cannot rely on prescription where the delay that would otherwise have caused prescription was caused by the Fund’s own conduct.

What is the difference between an identified and an unidentified claim?

An identified claim is one where the driver or owner of the motor vehicle that caused the accident is known. An unidentified claim is one where the vehicle cannot be traced — typically a hit-and-run. The two have different lodgement and prescription profiles under the RAF Act and case law, so classifying a claim correctly at the lodgement stage is important to the file’s prescription status.

Can a prescribed claim ever be revived?

Not in the usual sense — once a debt has prescribed, the right to enforce it is permanently lost unless the debtor acknowledges it in writing or process has been served in the interim. Narrow grounds for condonation exist under the court rules, but condonation for prescription is not granted lightly and a satisfactory explanation for the entire delay is required.

Should I instruct an attorney if my RAF file has been sitting for years?

Yes — prescription is one of the few areas of South African law where a delay of even a single day is fatal, and the longer a file has been silent inside the RAF’s process the more urgent it is to confirm whether the three-year period has already run. A practitioner can check the file, calculate the prescription date, and — if necessary — issue summons before the deadline to interrupt the clock.

If your RAF claim has been running for a long time and you are not sure whether the three-year prescription period has already run, contact Burger Huyser Attorneys’ general litigation practice through the Roodepoort branch on 011 668 0030 (or any of the firm’s Gauteng branches — Bedfordview, Sandton, Centurion, Pretoria, Randburg, Alberton, Midrand). The firm handles MVA and RAF claims through its general litigation practice, with Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo responsible for the MVA claims work. A short initial consultation will confirm whether the period has run, whether it has been interrupted by acknowledgement or summons, and what the next step is before the deadline expires. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”) and fields this work across its Gauteng branches.