Motor vehicle licence fees

Fees [Road Traffic Act Regulation 24 (2) (b)]
Each province determines its own registration and licence fees which are increased, from time to time, by proclamation in the respective provincial gazettes. Annual licence fees are assessed on a vehicle’s tare weight with separate scales for different vehicle types.

R72,00 transaction fee added to the licence fee
The Road Traffic Management Corporation Act, 1999 [Section 48 (1) (b)] empowers the Minister of Transport to make regulations to fund the Road Traffic Management Corporation (a central body set up to administer traffic law enforcement). In terms of this regulation, local registering authorities must pay the Corporation a transaction fee which is passed on to the applicant and added to the licence fee. Originally set at R30,00, the regulation was amended to increase the figure to R36,00 as from 1 October 2009 and then to R42,00 on 1 February 2017.

Huge increase
It seems this is insufficient to fund the (arguably ineffective) Corporation, as the fee has rocketed to R72,00 on licence renewals from 1 February 2018. This whopping 71,4% increase, quietly promulgated in Gov Gaz 41170 of 6 October 2017, gives the RTMC a much greater bite of the cherry that is supposed to fund provincial road infrastructure. While this figure may seem somewhat insignificant in the case of heavy vehicles, it constitutes a significant proportion of the total amount payable in the case of caravans, motor cycles and other light vehicles.

Another big bite
Following on 2018's huge hike, another increase of transaction fees to be paid to the road traffic management corporation has been published for comments in Gov Gaz 42291 of 8 March 2019. The suggested increase of nearly 14% would see the fee at R82.00 if approved.

What is disturbing is the lack of noticeable objection from provinces to this blatant invasion of their right (legislative competence) under the Constitution and section 92 of the National Road Traffic Act to determine their own registration and licensing fees. Provinces need to wake up to the fact that doing nothing could result in the transaction fee eating further into the provincial revenue stream and perhaps becoming even larger than the licence fee itself.

Special classification vehicles qualifying for a concessionary nominal licence fee are exempt from this fee.

For now the fee remains at R72.00 as confirmed in Gazette 4673 of 14 January 2022.
The following additional convenience service fees have also been Gazetted.

A correction to the above mentioned Gazette was made in Government Gazette 48666 of 26 May 2023, reducing the fee to R330,00 from the initial R530,00 for Online application, issuing and delivery of a registration certificate for a motor vehicle by the title holder and Online notification of change of ownership of motor vehicle by the current title holder.

Late payment of licence fees [Road Traffic Act Regulation 57]
To avoid penalties for late payment (calculated at 1/10th of the appropriate fee for every month or part month that the licence remains unpaid) licence fees must be paid on time. Numerous incidents have been reported where motor vehicle licences have been allowed to lapse due to renewal notices not being received.

It should be noted that local authorities are under no legal obligation to send renewal reminders. It is the operator’s responsibility to ensure licences are renewed timeously.

The current rates are listed in the following tables.

Eastern Cape fees>
Free State fees>
Gauteng fees>
KwaZulu Natal fees>
Limpopo fees>
Mpumalanga fees>
Northern Cape fees>
North West Province fees>
Western Cape fees>