The cheapest province to licence your vehicle in South Africa

In 2024, motorists across South Africa face varying costs when it comes to renewing their vehicle licences, depending on the province they live in and the weight of their vehicle.

BusinessTech’s recent analysis of car licensing fees across the country’s nine provinces revealed that these costs are not uniform, with some provinces being significantly more affordable than others.

Among the provinces, the North West stands out as the cheapest for vehicle licence renewals, offering substantial savings compared to more expensive regions like KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng.

The cost of renewing a vehicle licence in South Africa is determined by the car’s unladen weight, also known as the tare weight, and this fee can vary slightly from province to province.

Motorists who fail to renew their licences on time are given a 21-day grace period, after which penalties are applied.

These penalties are calculated at 10% of the annual licensing fee for each month that the licence remains unpaid.

For instance, if you own a vehicle weighing between 750kg and 1,000kg in Gauteng, your licensing fee would be R384 per year.

Should you miss the deadline, you will incur a penalty of R38.40 for every month of delay.

Although Gauteng has fairly average licensing costs, KwaZulu-Natal is the most expensive province in many weight categories.

In the heaviest vehicle categories, the costs in KwaZulu-Natal surpass those in the North West by as much as R582, with significant disparities evident even in smaller vehicles.

For vehicles with a tare weight of 250–500kg, typically motorcycles, the difference between the licence fees in Gauteng and North West is R90.

This highlights the significant variation in vehicle licencing costs across the country.

The argument for digital driver and vehicle licences has gained momentum, with experts suggesting that this shift could streamline the process and make renewals more affordable for motorists.

Rob Handfield-Jones, a road safety expert, believes there is no technological reason South Africa shouldn’t have digital licences by now.

He argues that if the South African Revenue Service (SARS) can collect taxes through an app, traffic enforcement can adopt similar technology to police licences.

The transition to digital could potentially save money by reducing the need for physical licence discs and paperwork.

Other experts share this view and advocate for reforms to the licencing system.

Wayne Duvenage, CEO of the Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), and Layton Beard from the Automobile Association (AA) have both called for extending the validity period of driving licences to ease the financial burden on motorists and alleviate the inefficiencies in the renewal process.

While North West currently offers the lowest fees, it is important to note that they were last revised in mid-2019.

In contrast, other provinces have made more recent adjustments, except the Eastern Cape, which hasn’t updated its fees since June 2018.

Therefore, it’s possible that fee adjustments could be on the horizon for North West, although for now, it remains the most affordable province for motorists to renew their vehicle licences.

The tables below show the latest vehicle licence disc renewal fees for all nine provinces in South Africa, as outlined by Foresight Publications.

Read: South Africa is getting more roadblocks – and police will impound your car if it has these defects