Vehicle licensing, testing centres operational from 1 June
Customers will have to wear masks at all times and adhere to social distancing measures.
All driver licence testing centres, vehicle testing centres and provincial regulatory entities will resume operations on 1 June, in line with the easing of regulations as the country moves to level three.
All centres must have measures in place to adhere to social distancing, and the opening of these centres and services are subject to strict hygiene, disinfection control and sanitising measures required in terms of the Disaster Management Act.
Assessment and readiness tests will be conducted by the Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC).
The Minister of Transport, Fikile Mbalula, on 20 May announced that all driver licence testing centres, registering authorities, vehicle testing stations and driving schools, will resume operations tomorrow and centres thus had time to prepare for the re-opening.
According to the regulations, no person will be allowed to enter a driver licence testing centre, registering authority, vehicle testing station or driving school if they do not wear a cloth face mask, or a homemade mask that covers their nose or mouth. Social distancing measures must be put in place to curb the spread of COVID-19.
Renewal of licences
The lockdown, which started on 26 March, has made it difficult for motorists to renew expired licences, and government has published a number of regulations to extend the validity of these licences until the lockdown restrictions are relaxed.
The following regulations apply with regard to the validity period of licences:
All learner licences, driver licences, temporary driver licences, motor vehicle licence discs, temporary permits, roadworthy certificates, and professional driving permits that expired during the period from 26 March 2020 up to and including 31 May 2020, are deemed to be valid and their validity period is further extended with 90 days from 1 June 2020. Effectively, this means that these licenses and permits are valid until Friday, 28 August 2020.
The Automobile Association (AA) has in the meantime urged all road users with expired licenses, discs or permits to apply for the renewal of these documents within the 90 days to ensure the validity after the 90-day grace period.
In addition, motor trade number licences that expired during this period have had their validity extended by a further six months. A motor trade number is typically used to operate an unregistered and unlicensed motor vehicle on a public road in the course of their business.
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