You can renew your car licence at the Post Office again – but avoid these dates

The South African Post Office says that motor vehicle licensing is once again available at all Post Office branches that offer the service.

This comes as both Post Office and vehicle licence renewal services open up under lockdown level 3, which came into effect from Monday, 1 June.

The group advised motorists to avoid the period from the 4th to the 7th of every month, as branches deal with Sassa payments.

“Another date to avoid is the 21st of every month. Car owners receive 21 days grace after the expiry of their car licences, and Post Offices find that customers flock to the branches on this day to renew at the last minute,” it said.

Most branches that do renewals also offer a bulk renewal service for fleet owners, it said.

Car licencing is available in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, the Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, Northwest and Limpopo.

Motorists who have not received a renewal notice can download the form and complete it in advance to save time.

An identity document is necessary for the licence renewal, while cash and card payments can be accepted.

A full list of Post Office branches that have renewal services can be found here. It is recommended that motorists check in advance whether they are open for service.

Licencing centres

For motorists who cannot make use of the Post Office’s renewal services, licencing centres have also begun to open at limited capacity.

The City of Johannesburg said it will start the gradual reopening of its licencing centres, with the first four resuming operations since 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.

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