driver’s license printer mbalula license Expired drivers licenses valid for further three months

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Breaking: License renewal grace period extended until 31 March 2022

Fikile Mbalula said the deadline to renew all licenses that have expired since March 2020 has been pushed to 31 March 2022.

driver’s license printer mbalula license Expired drivers licenses valid for further three months

Image via: @TrafficRTMC / Twitter

South African motorists that have not yet renewed their license can breathe a sigh of relief as Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula announced an extension of the license renewal deadline on Friday, 27 August.

The grace period for license renewal was fast approaching its end – 31 August. Given the significant backlog of hundreds of thousands of licenses, the announcement does not come as a surprise.

GRACE PERIOD EXTENDED

Mbalula said that in order to give motorists a fair opportunity to renew their licenses, the government decided to extend the grace period for renewal of licenses that expired between 26 March 2020 and 31 August 2021 until 31 March 2022.

This includes all learner’s licenses, driving license cards, temporary driving licenses and professional driving permits. The extension will come into effect from the date of publication in the Government Gazette.

“As we approach the end of the grace period for the renewal of driving licences on 31 August 2021, we have paid particular attention to the challenges experienced by drivers in this regard,” said Mbalula.

“The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in restrictions that led to the closure of Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) resulting in backlogs.  The previous extensions of the validity period were meant to enable an orderly clearing of the backlog.”

MORE THAN 1.2M LICENSES NOT YET RENEWED

Mbalula said 1 210 965 licenses have not been renewed yet in South Africa out of a total of 2 852 388 expired licenses. “This represents 42,4% non-renewal, with 57,6% of all expired licenses having been renewed.”

Gauteng was singled out as the province with the highest number of licenses not yet renewed – 437 819 out of 980 038 – with a non-renewal rate of 44,6%.