The City of Johannesburg will start the gradual reopening of its licensing centres, with the first four set to resume operations on Tuesday, 02 June 2020.
The Motor Vehicle Registering Authority (MVRA) and Driver’s Licence Testing Centres (DLTC) that have met the necessary health measures and have been approved for resumption of services are:
1. Sandton MVRA, DLTC and Mini Bulk;
2. Roodepoort MVRA and Mini Bulk;
3. Dube MVRA and Mini Bulk; and
4. Wemmer Super Bulk
These measures will ensure that clients and departmental officials are not exposed to any health risks.
“Our resumption plan seeks to address the backlog in respect of licensing services, which has arisen due to the Country being in a state of lockdown. Services rendered by the MVRAs and DLTCs will be limited since we will be working with a third of our staff members.
“The work to be prioritised will be limited to the registration of vehicles and the renewal of motor vehicle licences discs for vehicles which expired a month prior the implementation of the lockdown up to the month of the termination of the lockdown, on a first-come-first-served basis,” said the City of Johannesburg’s Member of the Mayoral Committee for Public Safety, Councillor Mally Mokoena.
On 20 May 2020, Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula published new directives that focus on extending the validity of licences, discs, permits and certificates for a further 90 days. Therefore all driver's licences, learner's licences, motor vehicle licence discs, temporary driver's licences, temporary permits, roadworthy certificates and professional driver's permits that expired during the lockdown period (between March 26 and May 31) would be extended for 90 days from 01 June 2020. New duplicate registration applications will be put on hold until all other pending applications have been cleared.
The renewal of drivers’ licences and the renewal of professional driving permits (PrDP) will be prioritised. All new applications for learner’s or driving tests, including applications for duplicate learner's licence will be put on hold until full recovery. All other DLTC services, including conversion of driving licenses in terms of section 23 of the NRTA, will be put on hold until full recovery. The Helpdesk functions will be resumed. Licensing centres will operate between 08:30 and 15:00 during the week and between 08:30 and 14:00 on weekends.
Vehicle Testing Stations will conduct only 24 or less roadworthy tests a day, while clients using the mini bulk services will be required to drop documents between 08:30 and 09:30 every morning. Bulk services clients must drop documents between 08:30 and 11:00. DLTCs will serve only clients who have made an online booking for driver’s licence renewal and renewal of PrDPs. The intake of applicants to licensing centres will be managed to ensure that social distancing is maintained and all customers would be required to wear masks.
