Last week we shared the happy news that the Department of Transport had extended the validity period of licences to the end of November. However, no formal directive on this message, which was initially communicated by the Director-General of the Department, was issued.
Late yesterday afternoon that directive came through and the news was even better: the validity period of licences has now been extended to the end of January 2021 – exactly what you had asked for in the petition you signed.
According to the notice by the department, “All leaner’s licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences and professional driving permits that expire during the period that commenced from 26 March 2020 up to an including 31 August 2020 are deemed to be valid and their validity period is extended for a further grace period ending 31 January 2021”.
Vehicle licence discs, temporary permits and roadworthy certificates that expired between 26 March and 31 May are valid until 31 August.
This is a great victory for all motorists in South Africa and could have been achieved through your support. Your valuable inputs have secured an important win for consumers and, we believe, is an indication of the power each and every one of you have to make a difference.
The AA will continue to raise issues such as this, and other important matters we believe are important to motorists and consumers in our country. But we can only continue doing this with your financial backing.
If you want the AA to continue advocating to protect your rights as a motorist and a consumer join now from less that R5 a day.
Contact Us on 011 037 9040 or Click here to Join the AA
We will continue to monitor the situation at the Driving Licence Testing Centres (DLTCs) and, if needed, call for a further extension if we believe it is required. In the meantime we want to urge all of you who have expired licences and discs to make every effort to renew these before the deadline.
Following the announcement yesterday we will be closing the current petition which ended at just under 25 000 signatures in less than two weeks, a truly remarkable achievement in its own right.
Thank you again for your support in this matter. The AA is and will always be a champion of all road users in our country and the support you have shown by signing this petition validates our belief that motorists across the country back our efforts.