What is the Road Accident Fund Settlement Process? | Step-by-Step Guide

The Road Accident Fund (RAF) settlement process in South Africa runs under the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996 and follows a defined sequence: the claimant lodges a Form 1 (RAF 1) claim with the Fund; the RAF assesses merit (whether the driver of the insured vehicle was negligent and whether the injuries qualify); the file moves to quantum — the calculation of general damages (pain, suffering, loss of amenities of life) and special damages (past and future medical expenses, past and future loss of income); settlement negotiations typically begin once an independent medical examination has been conducted and both sides have expert reports in hand; and most RAF matters resolve through a Section 17 settlement agreement registered with the court. End-to-end, an uncontested RAF claim commonly takes 18 to 36 months from lodgement to settlement, with the Fund’s actual payment of an agreed settlement often adding a further delay on top.

The Legal Framework: What the RAF Is and Who Can Claim

The Road Accident Fund is a statutory insurance fund established by the Road Accident Fund Act 56 of 1996, replacing the earlier Motor Vehicle Accidents Fund. Compensation is available to victims of motor-vehicle accidents caused by the negligent driving of an insured vehicle (or, subject to additional requirements, of an unidentified or hit-and-run vehicle).

The Fund pays the wrongdoer’s statutory liability — not the wrongdoer’s actual liability. This is the core distinction between an RAF claim and a private insurance claim, and it is the reason RAF settlements follow a fixed statutory formula rather than a negotiated liability figure. Three categories of damages may be compensated:

• General damages — pain, suffering and loss of amenities of life, assessed against the RAF’s published tariff for serious injuries.
• Special damages — past and future medical expenses and past and future loss of earnings, calculated out-of-pocket (for the past) and on an actuarial basis (for the future).
• Loss of support — claims brought by dependants of a deceased victim.

The “serious injury” threshold that used to gate general damages under the previous dispensation has been abolished by amendments to the Act — claimants no longer need to prove a threshold injury to claim general damages.

Eligibility and the First Steps After the Accident

Before any claim is lodged, the underlying evidentiary record has to be in place. The steps below are the foundation of every RAF file:

1. Report the accident to the South African Police Service within 14 days and obtain the official Accident Report (Form AR / SAPS docket). This is the evidentiary foundation of the claim and must be obtained even where there are no apparent injuries at the time of the accident.
2. Seek medical treatment and keep a complete record of consultations, prescriptions, hospital records, receipts, referrals and follow-up visits. Special damages are calculated off these records.
3. Identify and record the registration number of the other vehicle, the driver’s name and contact details, witnesses, and any photographic or video evidence.
4. Note any third-party (drivers’ insurance) cover that may also apply. RAF claims do not replace first-party insurance recoveries, and the two are typically pursued in parallel.
5. Lodge within three years of the date of the accident (or, for a minor, within three years of turning 18). The prescription period is strictly enforced, and late lodgement ordinarily requires a court application for condonation.

Lodging the Claim: Form 1 and the RAF’s Required Documents

The claim is lodged on the Fund’s prescribed form — Form 1 for claims arising before 1 August 2008, and the current RAF 1 form for claims from that date onwards — submitted to the nearest RAF regional office (Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and others) or, following the Fund’s digitisation drive, via its online claims portal.

The Fund’s published checklist requires a defined set of supporting documents. For an injury claim these typically include:

Document	Why it is required
Completed Statutory Medical Report	Establishes the injury and its causation from the treating doctor.
Copies of all hospital and medical records (s19(e)(i) and (ii))	Underpins both general and special damages; the RAF must be able to verify every expense and treatment.
Certified copy of the claimant’s ID (and the injured person’s ID, where different)	Confirms identity for the claim and the victim for the Fund’s records.
Official Accident Report Docket and sketch plan	Confirms an MVA occurred, where, when and with what vehicles — the merits foundation.
Statutory Accident Report Form (RAF 3) with witness information	The Fund’s own accident-narrative form; supports the merits narrative and witness corroboration.
Serious Injury Assessment Report (RAF 4) — for general damages on post-31 July 2008 incidents	Quantifies the injury under the RAF’s general-damages tariff.
Power of Attorney (if represented)	Authorises the attorney to act on the claimant’s behalf; the Fund corresponds with the attorney thereafter.
Contingency fee agreement (if represented)	Required by the Fund for any represented claim.
Affidavit in terms of s19(f)(i) and any further statements per s19(f)(ii)	Sworn factual foundation for the claim.
Payslips and IRP5s (for loss-of-income claims), proof of past medical expenses	Documentation for past loss-of-earnings and special damages.

A prescribed claim fee, set by RAF tariff, is payable on lodgement and must accompany the form — current tariffs should be confirmed against the Fund’s website before lodgement. Once lodged, the claimant receives a claim number, and every subsequent correspondence with the Fund must reference it. The attorney of record is formally noted on the RAF file, and the Fund will thereafter correspond only with the attorney on the merit, quantum and settlement stages.

Merit Assessment: Does the Claim Qualify?

The Fund’s first substantive step is a merit assessment. The RAF considers four questions:

• Was there a motor-vehicle accident?
• Was the driver of the insured vehicle negligent?
• Did that negligence cause the injuries claimed?
• Is the claimant a “victim” as defined in the Act?

The Fund may request further documentation, commission an investigator to take a recorded statement from the claimant, and (where the Fund suspects the injuries were not motor-vehicle-related) take a formal position on a section 54 undertaking. If the Fund rejects on merit, the claimant must lodge a court action in the relevant Regional or High Court (depending on the value of the claim) within the remaining prescription window to avoid losing the claim. Most contested merit disputes resolve through settlement once pleadings and expert reports are exchanged, rather than going to a full trial.

Quantum: Calculating What the Claim Is Worth

Once merit is established, the claim moves to quantum — the calculation of the monetary value of the claim across three categories of loss:

Damage category	Basis of calculation	Expert evidence required
General damages	RAF tariff for serious injuries, adjusted for severity, pain, suffering and any permanent loss of amenities of life.	RAF 4 Serious Injury Assessment Report; treating specialists’ reports.
Past special damages (medical, travel, loss of earnings)	Out-of-pocket, supported by receipts, payslips, IRP5s and medical records.	Receipts and financial records.
Future loss of earnings	Multiplier × multiplicand, with the multiplier representing working years lost to retirement and the multiplicand the current and projected earnings.	Labour-relations expert and actuary.
Future medical expenses	Type, frequency and cost of ongoing treatment, often priced against the RAF tariff for medical services.	Medical expert report; actuary for capitalisation or Section 17(4)(c) undertaking modelling.

Independent medical examinations (IMEs) are conducted by the Fund’s own experts on the claimant, usually once serious injuries have been confirmed. The claimant’s treating specialists’ reports are exchanged alongside, and the parties work toward a common set of facts on injury, prognosis and treatment needs.

Settlement: The Section 17 Offer and the Settlement Agreement

Once both sides have expert reports in hand, settlement negotiations typically begin. Most RAF claims settle rather than proceed to trial — the procedural cost of a full RAF trial is high, and the Fund’s published tariff for general damages removes much of the room for argument about the value of the injury.

The formal mechanism by which the RAF offers to settle is the Section 17 settlement offer. Acceptance gives rise to a settlement agreement that must be made an order of court to be binding on the Fund. Once a settlement is reached:

1. The parties draft a settlement agreement recording the capital amount, the breakdown between past and future loss, and the treatment of any Section 17(4)(c) undertaking.
2. The settlement agreement is lodged with the relevant court for registration as a court order.
3. The order is served on the RAF.
4. The Fund becomes liable to pay the agreed capital amount.

A settlement order may include a Section 17(4)(c) undertaking by the RAF to pay future medical expenses directly to the healthcare provider in lieu of capitalising those costs into the lump sum — this is the preferred structure for catastrophically injured claimants whose ongoing care costs would otherwise outlast a capitalised lump sum.

Post-Settlement: Payment and What Happens Next

Once the settlement order is registered, the Fund is liable to pay the agreed capital amount, less the statutory claim fee and any amounts already paid out on an interim undertaking during the running of the claim. The Fund’s payment turnaround has historically been slow — months rather than weeks — which is why a separate practice-area note on RAF payment timelines is worth reading alongside this article.

For future medical expenses subject to a Section 17(4)(c) undertaking, the claimant (or attorney) submits accounts to the RAF on a continuing basis, and the Fund pays the healthcare provider directly as the expenses arise. If the RAF fails to honour a registered settlement order, the claimant may apply to court to compel payment under the order, with interest and costs typically running in the claimant’s favour.

What Can Slow the Process Down (and What Speeds It Up)

Common causes of delay	What moves a file faster
Incomplete Form 1 (RAF 1) lodgement — missing certified IDs, RAF 3, medical records.	A clean file with full medical records and supporting documents at first lodgement.
Late expert reports — treating specialists and actuarial delays push quantum negotiations.	Prompt IME attendance and prompt supply of treating-doctor reports.
Disputes over the merits of negligence.	An early, well-drafted statement and witness corroboration.
Contested future-loss actuarials.	Robust actuarial modelling and stress-tested assumptions on both sides.
RAF staffing and operational backlogs.	An early Section 17 undertaking request for interim medical expenses keeps treatment funded while the file runs.
Fund payment cycle post-settlement.	Instructing an attorney at the Form 1 stage, rather than lodging personally and bringing in counsel later, gives continuous sightline of every RAF correspondence and avoids procedural defects that restart the clock.

The RAF Settlement Process in Gauteng

The Fund’s published claims process is national and applies identically across all regional offices, but the practical operation of the process is local. In Gauteng, RAF claims arising from accidents in the province are lodged with the RAF’s Johannesburg or Pretoria regional offices, depending on where the accident occurred and where the claimant resides. Contested matters are litigated in the South Gauteng High Court (Johannesburg), the North Gauteng High Court (Pretoria) or the relevant Regional Magistrates’ Court, depending on the value of the claim and the parties’ election.

Operational turnaround times and the ease of in-person engagement with the Fund’s regional claims managers vary by office, and a Gauteng-based attorney with standing instructions on the local RAF office can move correspondence and supplementary documentation faster than a remote practice. From the firm’s perspective, RAF matters are run through the general litigation practice and can be instructed from any Gauteng branch — the Roodepoort office in particular fields RAF work under Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo, who specialises in MVA claims and insurance repudiations.

Need help with an RAF settlement? Burger Huyser Attorneys’ litigation practice handles RAF claims at every stage, from Form 1 lodgement through merit and quantum to the registration and enforcement of a Section 17 settlement order. The Roodepoort branch fields MVA work at director level (Director Nadine Roesch-Prinsloo, who specialises in MVA claims and insurance repudiations) on 011 668 0030. For RAF matters arising elsewhere in Gauteng, instructions can also be taken through Pretoria (012 471 5700), Centurion (012 644 4990) or Sandton (011 253 3080). Initial consultations cover eligibility, prescription risk and the next concrete step on the file. The firm carries a 4.8/5 average across 250+ Google reviews (Trustindex verified — “Top Rated Law Firm in South Africa”).

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does an RAF settlement take from start to finish?

An uncontested RAF claim typically takes 18 to 36 months from Form 1 (RAF 1) lodgement to settlement, with the quantum stage — independent medical examinations and the exchange of expert reports — usually the longest leg. Files that require a court action on disputed merit take longer, and after a settlement is registered as a court order the Fund’s actual payment can add further months on top.

How much will my RAF claim settle for?

There is no single answer — settlement depends on the severity of the injury (general damages under the RAF’s published tariff), the documentary evidence of past medical and income losses (special damages), and the actuarial reports on future loss of earnings and future medical care. Catastrophic injury claims (spinal cord injury, brain injury, amputation) regularly settle into seven-figure amounts; minor soft-tissue claims typically settle for modest amounts. A proper quantum estimate requires the full set of expert reports in hand, not an early-stage guess.

Do I have to go to court to settle an RAF claim?

Most RAF claims settle without going to trial, but the settlement agreement itself must be made an order of court to be enforceable against the Fund. If merit is disputed and the Fund repudiates, a court action must be issued before prescription runs out — even if it eventually settles before trial.

Can I claim from the RAF if the other driver was uninsured or hit-and-run?

Yes — the Act makes provision for claims arising from uninsured, unidentified, and hit-and-run drivers, although the procedural requirements are stricter (an affidavit setting out how the driver could not be identified, police confirmation of the hit-and-run, and similar). The three-year prescription period still applies.

What happens if I was partly at fault for the accident?

Under the RAF Act, contributory negligence does not bar a claim — it reduces the recoverable damages proportionally. The RAF remains liable for the portion of loss attributable to the wrongdoer, and the claim proceeds on the reduced basis.

Do I need an attorney for an RAF claim?

Legally, no — claimants may lodge and run their own RAF claims. In practice, however, the merits disputes, independent medical examinations, expert exchanges, and Section 17 negotiations are procedurally dense, and a single missed prescription deadline or defective Form 1 lodgement ends the claim. Most claimants instruct an attorney from lodgement onwards.

What is a Section 17 undertaking in an RAF settlement?

A Section 17(4)(c) undertaking is the RAF’s formal promise, built into a registered settlement order, to pay a catastrophically injured claimant’s future medical expenses directly to the healthcare provider as those expenses arise — rather than capitalising the full future cost into the lump sum. It is the standard mechanism for claimants whose future care needs will outlast their capitalised lump sum.

What if the RAF offers me too little — am I at risk of an under-settlement?

Yes — settling before all experts have reported, or accepting the RAF’s first quantum offer without challenge, is a recognised risk. Before accepting any settlement, confirm with your attorney that all expert reports (medical, actuarial, occupational) are in, that future-loss assumptions have been stress-tested, and that any future-medical need has been priced both ways (capitalised lump sum versus a Section 17 undertaking).