Okay, so I gotta tell y’all about this wild ride I just went on, trying to get my hands on a South African driving license. Let me tell you, it was a process. But I got through it, and now I’m here to spill the beans, so you don’t have to go through the same headaches I did.
First, I did some digging. Turns out, you gotta have a driving license to drive legally on South African roads. It makes sense. But here’s the catch: before you even think about applying, you need to know what you are going to do.
So, I went online and started clicking around. Found some official-looking stuff and started reading. I mean, it was all pretty boring, but I needed to know the deal. Turns out, there are different ways to go about it. You can book an appointment, apply for a professional driving permit, get a temporary license, or even convert a foreign license if you’ve got one. I just wanted a regular license, so I focused on that.

Then I learned that I needed to take a little trip to the nearest Driving License Testing Centre, or DLTC as they call it. I called them up to schedule a test date. There’s also something called a learner’s license, but I skipped that part cause I already knew how to drive.
Next up was gathering all the documents. Honestly, this part was a bit of a pain. I needed to fill out some forms, I remember that it was called the DL1 form, and there’s another one called the NCP form for a change of address or something. I don’t really know what those names stood for, but whatever. They also wanted a bunch of documents to check my identity and all that. I got all of that stuff together and made sure I had everything they asked for.
Then came the day of the test. I went down to the DLTC, showed them my documents, and took the test. I was a bit nervous, but I passed! They told me my license would be ready in four to six weeks, but they gave me a temporary one right away, which was cool.
Finally, after waiting for what felt like forever, my actual license arrived! I was so relieved to have that thing in my hand. Now I can legally drive all over South Africa, which is pretty awesome.
- Here’s the gist of what I did:
- Figured out I needed a license to drive legally.
- Called the DLTC to book a test date.
- Gathered all the necessary documents and filled out the forms, DL1 and NCP.
- Went to the DLTC, took the test, and passed.
- Got a temporary license immediately.
- Waited about a month and received my real license.
It was a journey, for sure. But hey, I made it. And if I can do it, you can too. Just be prepared for some paperwork and a bit of waiting around. But in the end, it’s worth it to be able to cruise around this beautiful country legally.