The City’s Traffic Service reminds motorists that the driving license renewal extension granted by the National Minister of Transport expires at the end of March, which means anyone who has not yet applied for their renewal is running out of time.

The National Transport Department has indicated that there will be no further extensions of the deadline which was introduced to compensate for the closure of Driving License Testing Centres (DLTC’s) during the hard lockdown.

Originally, the validity of driving license cards that expired between 26 March 2020 up to and including 31 August 2020 was extended to December 2021.

An additional extension was then granted to the end of March 2022 for all license cards that expired between March 2020 and 31 August 2021.

All indications are that there will be no further extensions.

‘The City put a number of measures in place to accommodate the renewal of driving licenses and public driving permits in the last year. These included extending operating hours beyond the norm over weekends, including Sundays. I’m sure the public can appreciate that this concession added up in terms of overtime expenditure and is not sustainable. Also, considering how many extensions have been granted, one would assume that most motorists would have renewed their licenses by now. For those who haven’t, you are running out of time, and missing the deadline will incur the additional cost of a temporary license when you do apply, but also the risk of being fined for driving without a valid license,’ said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, Alderman JP Smith.

The City has 18 Driving License Testing Centres (DLTCs) around the metropole that operate Monday to Friday from 08:00 until 15:30. All of these facilities are open on Saturdays too between 08:00 and 12:30, except Milnerton and Fish Hoek where operating hours are 07:30 to 12:30.

Motorists are reminded to bring along the following documents to renew their driving license:

• Acceptable identification (official ID book/ card or valid RSA passport, Traffic Register Certificate or valid foreign ID and a valid visa/permit)
• Current driver’s licence
• One recent ID photograph (two recent identical photographs, if your licence has already expired)
• R140 for the issuing of the licence (R185 if your licence has already expired)
• Proof of address

Driving license cards are produced nationally, and the City has no control over the timelines involved. However, motorists will receive a notification when their license is ready for collection. Alternatively, they can SMS their identity number to 33214 via SMS to check the status of their card.

Source: City Of Cape Town