March driving licence deadline for South Africa is fast approaching

The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) has warned of the fast-approaching grace period deadline for motoring licences in South Africa at the end of March.

The national Covid-19 lockdown imposed on the country in 2020 and 2021 forced licencing centres to close, resulting in a massive backlog of expired vehicle and driving licences.

This was compounded after the country’s only licence printing machine broke down at the end of 2021, leaving approximately half a million South African motorists stuck with expired driving licence cards.

Transport Fikile Mbalula had previously extended expired licences to 31 March 2022 due to delays caused by the Covid-19 pandemic which meant motorists could not visit licensing centres. This grace period covered all documents which expired in the period between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021.

This will be the last and final extension and no further grace period will be granted for expired licences from this date, the RTMC said.

It added that motorists should take advantage of its recently launched online licensing services to avoid the expected rush.

Those who do not receive a new licence until after expiry will need to apply for a temporary driving licence at an additional cost.

When applying for your driving licence, drivers will need to present the following information and documents:

• Original ID and a copy, old driving licence card or valid South African passport;
• Four black and white ID photographs;
• Proof of residence;
• Licence renewal fee.

Online services 

The absence of online payments made it impossible for South Africans to renew their licences without physically going to DLTCs. The introduction of online payments means that one can avoid long queues and simply renew online, make a payment and opt for home delivery.

The RTMC said that it has already successfully completed more than 1,300 transactions since the system went online in February 2022.

South Africans are currently able to access the following services online:

• Online vehicle licence renewals;
• Online driver licence card renewals;
• Online driver licence testing booking;
• Learner licence test booking;
• PrDP applications;
• Online crash reports,

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