The City has been notified that the National Department of Transport’s new requirements of providing, amongst others, proof of residence when applying for a motor vehicle licence
disc renewal, came in to effect on
1 November 2015. The City urges motor vehicle owners, especially those up for renewal in November, to take note as the issuing of a vehicle licence disc could, forthwith, be refused if these requirements have not been met.

The new requirements entail the provision of proof of a person’s particulars (full names and identity document) and the residential and postal address for verification when:
there is a change of the person’s particulars or change of address
when an application is made for a national traffic information system (NaTIS) service at the City’s Motor Vehicle Registration offices or at a driving licence testing centre. This would include, amongst others, applying for a driving licence, applying for the renewal of a driving licence, applying for a learner’s licence, applying for vehicle licence disc, renewing a vehicle licence disc, and registering a vehicle

This follows the promulgation of Regulation 32A of the National Road Traffic Regulations on
31 October 2014, which comes into effect a year later.

‘We apologise for any inconvenience that this new regulation may cause. The City will do everything in its power to accommodate motorists during this transitional time,’ says the City’s Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson.

Proof of address will include, among others, a utility bill issued by the municipality, a telephone account and retail store account (provided that it is not older than three months). For a full list of acceptable documents that constitute proof, residents can visit the Western Cape Government website.

Vehicle fleets owners will be required to provide such information only with the first transaction or service on NaTIS that they apply for.

In addition, the City wishes to inform motorists whose vehicle licence discs will expire on
30 November 2015 and are renewable by 22 December 2015 and whose discs expire on
31 December 2015 and are renewable by 22 January 2016, that they will not be receiving renewal notices.

The City asks motorists to act proactively to ensure that the necessary arrangements are made and to renew discs online where possible. In such cases, the newly required verification documents need to be scanned in and forwarded with the online applications. In light of the new regulations, motorists are required to scan their proof of residence and identity documentation and to send it as an attachment to the online application.

The problem of motorists not receiving renewal notices did not arise in the City Council processes, but the City has done everything in its power to mitigate the consequences resulting from the lack of renewal notices.

The transfer of the electronic national administration traffic information system (eNaTIS) between the National Department of Transport and the Road Traffic Management Centre (RTMC) has affected renewal notices across the country and continues to do so.

As a courtesy, the RTMC, which is a national agency, posts renewal notices approximately six weeks before vehicle licence renewals are due, but it remains the duty of the vehicle owner to renew the licence before it expires.

Published by the City of Cape Town.