How to renew vehicle licence discs via Pick n Pay’s online system

One of South Africa’s retail giants, Pick n Pay, has announced that vehicle owners in all areas in South Africa can now renew their licence discs via its online system.

“Skip the queues at traffic departments and post offices, pay in-store at a Pick n Pay till point. Payments can be done at Pick n Pay Supermarkets, Hypermarkets, Clothing stores, Liquor stores, Market stores and Express stores,” said the store in a statement.

Here’s how to get started:

Set up a profile

• Once on the Pick n Pay Vehicle Licence Disc Online Renewal Portal, provide your details and set up your password to complete your profile
• Once your profile has been set up, you can update the dashboard of the portal by adding the details of your vehicle(s) and uploading a clear image of ID document or card, a copy of your existing vehicle licence disc and proof of residence

This will allow the store to send you renewal notifications before your disc expires via your chosen communication preference that you’ve selected on the portal, said the store.

Payment of your vehicle licence disc renewals

“When you are ready to renew your vehicle licence disc, make sure you have uploaded the required documentation and captured the address you would like the disc to be delivered to on the portal. You can then set up a payment for your vehicle licence renewal and select to make payment in a Pick n Pay store,” said the store.

The amount you pay will include the amount for the licence renewal, a licence disc renewal admin fee of R345 and a delivery fee of R99.

“If there are any outstanding fines that are blocking your renewal, you will have the option to select these fines to include in your payment. If you do not settle these fines, your disc cannot be renewed. The payment amount provided on the portal will be linked to your mobile number, which you can provide as a reference when making payment in-store.”

Your vehicle licence disc will be couriered to your chosen address within 10 business days after your payment and required documentation have been received.

This comes as Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula is expected to announce temporary measures for motorists whose driver’s licences expired during lockdown.

Questions had been raised on whether there would be another extension beyond the March 2022 deadline following the breakdown of the card production machine.

‘Old machine’

The machine, which is used to print driver’s licence cards, has been out of service since November last year because of the damage caused to it as a result of flooding.

This means the Department of Transport has not issued any driver’s licenses across the country in more than a month.

However, the machine is currently being repaired in Germany, according to Mbalula.

“The machine that produces driver’s licences is a old machine… it comes from Germany. No other country in the world is still using that machine [and] that is why we are producing a new card.

“It’s gonna be a new card [and] a new machine, which is at par with the developed world. We should have changed this [machine], but nonetheless we are changing it,” he said a media briefing last week.

Additional reporting by Molefe Seeletsa