Expired licences must be renewed by March 31
Motorists have until March 2022 to renew their driving licence cards.
The Road Traffic Management Corporation’s (RTMC) is calling on motorists whose driver’s licence cards expired at the start of the lockdown to make arrangements now, while time still permits, to renew their documents.
The Corporation has noticed that motorists whose driving licences expired between March 26, 2020, and August 31, 2021, are not taking full advantage of the extended validity period to renew their documents.
According to chief communication officer Simon Zwane, the Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, extended the validity of driving licence cards that expired between 26 March 2020 and August 31, 2021, to March 31, 2022, in an effort to assist driving licence cardholders to comply with legislation.
“In addition, the Minister launched two driving licence centres in Gauteng increasing available capacity in the province by 26 000 more slots per month. All other provinces, except the Northern Cape, have introduced extended operating hours in 106 major centres and are opening on weekends in an effort to clear the backlog.”
Zwane said experience from Waterfall Office Park in Midrand and Eco-Origins Park in Centurion shows that 25% of renewal applications are from people affected by the lockdown and covered by the extension of the validity period while 75% are from applicants who are exempted from the extension.
“As a result, the backlog of driving licence cards that expired between these given periods is moving slowly. The backlog now stands at 1 476 853,” he said.
He added that Gauteng accounts for 509 888 driving licence cards that have not yet been renewed, followed by KwaZulu Natal with 242 170, Western Province 192 519, Limpopo 134 886, Mpumalanga 122 566, Eastern Cape 107 601, Free State 71 165, North West 69 350 and Northern Cape 26 708.
“Motorists are warned not to be complacent as the March 2022 deadline is fast approaching and chances are that another extension will not be granted. It remains a great concern that 30% of applicants who book for renewals on the online platform do not show up to finalise the application,” said Zwane.
Meanwhile, motorists who applied for the renewal of their licence cards when the two RTMC centres opened in October are now able to collect their cards. Messages are being sent to those whose cards are ready for collection.
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