South Africa has hundreds of traffic departments, driving licence testing centres (DLTCs) and vehicle registering authorities, run by provinces and municipalities rather than by one national body. This directory groups them by province and city so you can find the office that handles your task, and then check how to contact it and whether you need to book.
Each office page is written independently and only publishes an address, phone number or opening time when it could be confirmed on an official source. Where it could not, the page tells you where to confirm it rather than guessing.
Last checked: 13 September 2026. TrafficDepartment.co.za is an independent guide, not a government website. We do not book appointments, take payments or issue documents. Confirm fees, hours and requirements with the official source before you act: NaTIS Online (online.natis.gov.za) and the municipality or provincial transport department for each office.
Find the right traffic department or DLTC
Offices differ in what they do. Before choosing one, decide which kind you need:
- Driving licence testing centre (DLTC): learner’s licences, driving tests, licence card renewals and PrDPs. See licence renewal.
- Registering authority: licence discs, vehicle registration and change of ownership. See licence disc renewal.
- Municipal traffic department or metro police: enforcement, fines and by-law matters. See traffic fines.
If you just want the closest option, start at traffic department near me.
Search by province, city or area
Provinces
- Gauteng traffic department offices
- Western Cape traffic department offices
- KwaZulu-Natal traffic department offices
- Eastern Cape traffic department offices
- Free State traffic department offices
- Limpopo traffic department offices
- Mpumalanga traffic department offices
- North West traffic department offices
- Northern Cape traffic department offices
Major cities and metros
- Johannesburg traffic departments
- Pretoria traffic departments
- Cape Town traffic departments
- Durban traffic departments
- Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) traffic departments
- Bloemfontein traffic departments
- East London traffic departments
- Polokwane traffic departments
- Pietermaritzburg traffic departments
- Rustenburg traffic department
Individual offices
Individual office pages are being added province by province. Currently available:
Services offered at traffic offices
A typical licensing office offers some or all of the following. Each office page says which services could be confirmed for that office.
- Learner’s licence tests and K53 driving tests.
- Driving licence card renewal, replacement and temporary licences.
- Professional driving permits.
- Vehicle licence disc renewal and vehicle registration.
- Payment of municipal traffic fines.
Booking and online-service options
Tests and, at many centres, licence card renewals are by appointment. Bookings are generally made on NaTIS Online (online.natis.gov.za) or a provincial system. The traffic department online booking guide explains which services can be booked, how to book and what to do when there are no slots.
Opening hours and contact details
Most licensing offices work weekday business hours, a few open on Saturday mornings, and nearly all stop accepting new applicants before closing time. Hours change around public holidays and during system upgrades.
- Traffic department operating hours
- Offices open on Saturday
- Public holiday closures
- How to find official contact details
What to bring
Take your original ID, proof of address, the completed form and any existing licence or vehicle document. The visit requirements checklist lists what each service needs.
Driver, learner and vehicle licence routes
- Learner’s licence
- Driving licence
- Driving licence renewal
- PrDP
- Vehicle licence disc renewal
- Vehicle registration
Frequently asked questions
Is there a traffic department head office?
There is no single head office that serves the public. National policy sits with the Department of Transport and NaTIS with the RTMC. Each province’s transport department and each municipality runs its own offices.
What is the difference between a metro traffic department and a municipal one?
Metros such as Johannesburg, Tshwane, Cape Town and eThekwini run their own licensing centres and metro police. Smaller municipalities run a traffic department that may combine licensing and enforcement, or act as an agent of the provincial transport department.
Why do different websites show different hours for the same office?
Directory listings are copied and rarely updated. The municipality’s own website or official social media is the only reliable source.
My office is not listed yet. What should I do?
Use the province page, or traffic department near me, and confirm details with the municipality. New office pages are being added.
How licensing offices are organised by province
Who runs the office affects its hours, booking rules and how it communicates changes:
- Gauteng: the provincial Department of Roads and Transport runs its own licensing centres, including shopping-centre Smart Licensing Centres, while the Johannesburg, Tshwane and Ekurhuleni metros run their own. Bookings for tests and card renewals are generally made on NaTIS Online.
- Western Cape: the City of Cape Town runs 18 driving licence testing centres as an agent of the RTMC and the provincial government, and books tests in person. Other municipalities run their own centres.
- KwaZulu-Natal: eThekwini and other municipalities run licensing centres alongside provincial offices.
- Other provinces: licensing is mostly done by municipalities acting as agents of the provincial transport department, with a mix of counter bookings and online bookings.
Because the operator differs, two offices a few kilometres apart can open at different times and follow different booking rules.
How to check an office before you go
- Find the office on the municipality’s or province’s own website, not only on a map listing.
- Check that it offers your service. Not every centre does vehicle registration, PrDPs or foreign licence conversions.
- Check whether the service is booked and book it before travelling.
- Ask for the cut-off time for new applicants on the day.
- Look for recent notices about closures, system downtime or relocations.
Why office details on this site may be limited
Government offices move counters, change hours and change phone numbers more often than directories are updated. Rather than repeat a figure that may be wrong, each office page only publishes a detail it could confirm on an official source, shows when it was checked, and links to that source. Where the authority publishes nothing, the page says so.
If you spot a change, the authority’s own website is the place to confirm it. For official source links by service, see traffic department contact details.
More questions
Is a licensing centre in a shopping mall an official office?
Yes, where it is operated by the province or municipality. Gauteng runs several such Smart Licensing Centres. They follow their own hours and usually require bookings.
Can a traffic department office tell me my fines?
Only for fines issued by that authority. For the full picture, see traffic fines.
Choosing between a metro, provincial and municipal office
In the larger cities you often have a choice of operator. When one is overloaded, another nearby may not be:
- Metro centres tend to have the most counters but also the heaviest queues and the most exposure to city budget and supply problems.
- Provincial centres, including shopping-centre sites in Gauteng, often have longer hours and stricter booking rules.
- Smaller municipal centres outside the metros can be quicker for walk-in services such as disc renewals, but may offer fewer services.
Whichever you choose, check the service and booking rule first. See traffic department online booking and opening hours.
What an office page on this site includes
- The facility name as the authority uses it, and who runs it.
- Address, phone number, email and hours, only where confirmed on an official source.
- The services the authority lists for that office, and how bookings work there.
- Recent official notices or credible news about disruptions, where relevant.
- The date the details were last checked and links to the official source.