New drive-thru car licence renewals launched in one of South Africa’s biggest cities

The City of Cape Town has introduced a new vehicle licence renewal service that lets motorists replace their discs without getting out of their cars.

The metro stated that the new vehicle licence drive-thru is a new innovation meant to save customers time and effort, following the launch of its online booking system.

Right now, the service is limited to a single location in Brackenfell on the corner of Reservoir and Kruispad Road.

It operates six days a week and is open from 11h30 to 19h30 on weekdays, and from 11h00 to 14h30 on Saturdays.

The city is working with the Road Traffic Management Corporation to extend the operating hours, and plans to explore other suitable locations for new facilities over the coming months.

Mayoral committee member for finance, Siseko Mbandezi, explained that the facility is cashless and is exclusively set up to process motor vehicle licence disc renewals.

“The City is excited to bring this innovation to Brackenfell. The drive-thru aims to make life easier for motorists — now you can drive up, pay by card, receive your new disc, and be on your way,” he said.

“Our initial tests indicate that a renewal process in the drive-thru could take a motorist less than five minutes to renew their disc if all paperwork is correct.”

Mbandezi explained that individuals who received their renewal notice via SMS only need to show the text to officials at the drive-thru.

“The facility is another innovation that we are adding to ensure that the City remains the number one most trusted and convenient motor vehicle licence renewal agent,” he said.

“We encourage motorists to make use of the Brackenfell drive-thru and experience of renewing your disc from the comfort of your vehicle.”

Online licence disc renewal service options

South Africa has several vehicle licence renewal services that allow users to order a new disc without the need to visit a physical outlet.

Unfortunately, two of these services were shut down in the last year, starting with the Post Office.

The Post Office was one of the most affordable options in the country – charging just R75 for delivery – but this service was shut down in 2024 after two years of operations.

Another prominent option was the third-party platform PayCity, which stopped offering online licence disc renewals at the end of June 2024.

As for the remaining options, FNB currently offers the cheapest rate for customers using its mobile app, which charges R69 for delivery.

The bank initially advertised the R69 fee as a promotional price, but it has been repeatedly extended to the point where it is essentially the normal fee.

One well-known online renewal service, Disky, was not included as the provider doesn’t list its pricing online.

MyBroadband compiled a list of the cheapest online vehicle licence disc renewal services, which can be seen below: