The cheapest province to renew your car licence in South Africa

All South African motorists have to renew their car licences annually, and over one million South Africans’ licences are about to expire in the coming weeks, so BusinessTech looked at which of the country’s nine provinces offer the cheapest licence renewal fees.

At the start of September, The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) said that its systems show 1,049,412 licences are set to expire in September and warned that penalties will be incurred if they are not renewed on time.

The RTMC said that several extensions granted during the Covid-19 pandemic have resulted in a significant build-up of pending licence renewals, which now fall between August and December.

“As a result, (over a million) motor vehicle licences are expiring (in September) and must be renewed by the end of the month,” it said.

The RTMC said it is taking proactive steps to get motorists to renew on time and is sending out email and SMS reminders to owners whose motor vehicle licences are expiring every month.

Province with the cheapest renewal fees

Considering the notable number of vehicle licences expected to expire by the end of the month, BusinessTech looked at how much the traffic departments in South Africa’s nine provinces charge for a vehicle licence disc in 2023.

Regarding how much it’ll cost to renew your vehicle license, every province charges slightly different prices, depending on the unladen weight of your car (tare) and type.

In South Africa, motorists are given a 21-day grace period to renew an expired motor vehicle licence.

The grace period is calculated from the expiry date of the current licence disc, and a late renewal penalty applies after this time. The penalty fee is calculated at 10% of the annual licencing fee every month the licence remains lapsed.

So, for example, if your annual licencing fee is R384 (as it is in Gauteng for a vehicle exceeding 750kg but not exceeding 1,000kg), the penalty for not renewing your licence would be R38.40 per month.

Comparing the provinces, Limpopo has the cheapest renewal fees for almost every weight class, costing R323 for the average hatchback and R945 for heavy SUVs such as a Toyota Land Cruiser.

This is R133 and R351 cheaper than KZN – the most expensive province for all types of vehicles.

Interestingly, for vehicles such as bakkies – at around 2,055 kg – the Free State is the cheapest, with a renewal fee of R762. This is R179 cheaper than Limpopo and R330 less than KZN.

The second most expensive is Gauteng, followed by the Eastern Cape, while the second cheapest is the Westen Cape which is then tailed by the North West in third.

When you look for the reasons for these price differences, a telling sign is the province’s financial state. KZN is known for struggling with revenue collections, and it’s also the province with the steepest rates and tax hikes this year, effective 1 July 2023.

In contrast, the Western Cape had some of the lowest rates and tax hikes across the nine provinces and even reduced property taxes for 2023 by 1.1% – the only province not to increase property taxes.

This could mean that the cost of a car licence renewal in any given province is partly dependent on that province’s revenue requirements and fiscal position.

The table below shows the car licence renewal fees of the three provinces for passenger vehicles, depending on the relevant weight of the car.

Read: Alert over licence renewals in South Africa