Joburg and Cape Town car licence renewals under level 3 lockdown – how it will work

The Department of Transport has published a directive which allows driving licence centres, registering authorities, testing stations and driving schools to resume services from 1 June.

Motorists with expired licences also have a 90-day grace period from this date to apply for new documentation.

However, both Johannesburg and the City of Cape Town have indicated that their licensing centres will not be fully operational from this date, and that not all services will be available.

Johannesburg

The City of Johannesburg said it will start the gradual reopening of its licencing centres, with the first four set to resume operations on Tuesday (2 June).

The city said that the Motor Vehicle Registering Authority (MVRA) and Driver’s Licence Testing Centres (DLTC) that have met the necessary health measures and have been approved for the resumption of services are:

• Sandton MVRA, DLTC and Mini Bulk;
• Roodepoort MVRA and Mini Bulk;
• Dube MVRA and Mini Bulk; and
• Wemmer Super Bulk.

“Our resumption plan seeks to address the backlog in respect of licensing services, which has arisen due to the Country being in a state of lockdown. Services rendered by the MVRAs and DLTCs will be limited since we will be working with a third of our staff members,” said the city’s Mally Mokoena.

“The work to be prioritised will be limited to the registration of vehicles and the renewal of motor vehicle licences discs for vehicles which expired a month prior the implementation of the lockdown up to the month of the termination of the lockdown, on a first-come-first-served basis.”

The city said that the renewal of drivers’ licences and the renewal of professional driving permits (PrDP) will be prioritised.

“All new applications for learner’s or driving tests, including applications for duplicate learner’s licence will be put on hold until full recovery, it said.

“All other DLTC services, including conversion of driving licenses in terms of section 23 of the NRTA, will be also put on hold until full recovery.”

Licensing centres will operate between 08h30 and 15h00 during the week and between 08h30 and 14h00 on weekends.

Vehicle Testing Stations will conduct only 24 or less roadworthy tests a day, while clients using the mini-bulk services will be required to drop documents between 08h30 and 09h30 every morning. Bulk services clients must drop documents between 08h30 and 11h00.

The city said that DLTCs will serve only clients who have made an online booking for driver’s licence renewal and renewal of PrDPs.

Cape Town 

The City of Cape Town said it will start reopening some of its Driving License Testing Centres and Motor Vehicle Licensing offices from 9 June, subject to national and provincial processes and health and safety regulations.

Some of these offices might open in phases to ensure all health and safety requirements are in place before opening, it said.

It also reminded motorists of the 90-day grace period applies for expired licenses. This extends to:

• Driving licences applications and renewal;
• Learner’s licences;
• Temporary permits;
• Professional driving permits (PrDPs);
• Roadworthy certificates;
• The registering and licensing of a motor vehicle, as well as annual licence renewals.

Read: Home Affairs offers new services under level 3 lockdown – but you need to book ahead