How to replace a lost or stolen driving licence

If your driving licence card is lost, stolen or damaged, you still have a driving licence: you need a new card to prove it. The Road Traffic Management Corporation (RTMC) says the process is the same as renewing a card.

Step 1: get an affidavit

• Stolen: report the theft at a police station and ask for an affidavit that describes what happened.
• Lost or damaged: make an affidavit in front of a commissioner of oaths.

The Western Cape asks for these affidavits. The national government page doesn’t mention them, so ask your testing centre, and bring one anyway.

If your ID was stolen too, replace it first: see how to apply for a Smart ID.

Step 2: apply at a testing centre

Go to a driving licence testing centre (DLTC). In Gauteng, the government says you should apply online on NaTIS to book. Take:

• your ID and a copy, or a valid South African passport and a copy,
• ID photos (the government page says four identical black-and-white photos, but ask your DLTC how many it needs),
• proof of your home and postal address, such as a utility account (if it is in someone else’s name, they make an affidavit that you live there, with the bill attached; in an informal settlement, a dated letter from your ward councillor),
• the affidavit from step 1.

At the DLTC you fill in the driving licence application form (DL1) and a change of address or particulars form (NCP). There is no driving test: only an eye test and your fingerprints. You can also bring an eye test report from an optometrist.

Step 3: drive on a temporary licence

Apply for a temporary driving licence at the same time, at an extra cost. It is issued immediately and is valid for 6 months, or until your new card is issued.

What it costs

Each province sets its own fees and changes them from time to time, so ask your DLTC for the amounts or check your provincial transport department’s website. You pay for the licence application, the new card and the temporary driving licence.

How long it takes

Your new card should be ready in about 4 to 6 weeks. Collect it at the DLTC where you applied, with your ID.

If your card is close to expiring anyway

The same application gives you a new card with a new expiry date. See how to renew a driving licence card for the timing rules.

Stay safe

Report a stolen licence to the police quickly. Apply only at a DLTC or on the official NaTIS website, online.natis.gov.za, and don’t pay anyone who offers a replacement card without the eye test and fingerprints.