Uber’s South African registration application gets approved – 3 months after deadline

The Department of Transport (DoT) has confirmed that it received an application from Uber South Africa for an e-hailing certificate, three months after the registration deadline passed.

Uber is the largest e-hailing service provider in South Africa, yet it has lagged behind its competitors regarding compliance with the new National Land Transport Act (NLTA).

The NLTA was gazetted on 12 September 2025, after which e-hailing operators were given a 180-day grace period to comply with the new regulations.

Notably, companies were required to apply for a new registration certificate, which meant going through a seven-step process.

The official deadline was on 11 March 2026. In a gazette notice on 19 June 2026, the DoT revealed that Uber South Africa had applied for registration.

“The National Public Transport Regulator (NPTR) hereby gives notice that it has received an application for registration as an e-hailing provider platform from Uber South Africa Services,” said the department. 

The DoT invited the public to submit written comments or representations on the application within 14 days of the notice’s publication.

This is only the third step in the seven-step process for e-hailing companies to obtain full registration in South Africa under the new laws.

After the notification, the NPTR will begin an adjudication process that includes an in-person demonstration of the e-hailing app or platform before a board appointed by the regulator.

If the demonstration is approved, the NPTR will then fully register the provider and issue a certificate.

The final step involves informing provincial regulatory entities of the registration.

Only three e-hailing companies managed to complete the application process before the March deadline: Bolt, Maxim, and Wanatu. InDrive received its certificate in late May.

Uber previously stated that it had submitted its application “well before” the deadline. It is unknown why it has taken so long for the application to be gazetted.

The same gazette also revealed that a company called Hezy Holdings has applied for an e-hailing certificate in South Africa.

Uber is technically operating unlawfully

A month before the deadline, the DoT said it had received applications from 10 companies. That number increased to 12 over the next few weeks.

Uber is one of eight e-hailing operators that have not completed their registration. It has also continued to operate despite not being fully registered.

The NLTA requirements do not regard an application before the deadline as sufficient to operate lawfully in South Africa, as companies must be in possession of a registration certificate.

Uber confirmed that it submitted its application by 17 February 2026, roughly four months ago.

The DoT is supposed to process an application within 60 days. It completed the registration of Wanatu and Bolt in less than 90 days.

Our sister publication MyBroadband has asked Uber for more information on why its registration process has been delayed, but has not received feedback to its queries.

It is therefore unclear whether the NPTR or Uber is responsible for the delay. One possibility is that the original application was returned because it was incomplete or defective.

“If there are problems with the application that cannot be resolved by assisting the applicant, the official must reject the application and advise the applicant on what is missing or wrong,” the DoT said.

Another reason for the delay could be the verification step, where the regulator would need to verify Uber’s ICASA certificates.

It would also have to verify that the details on the operator’s tax compliance status PIN are the same ones found on the application form.

Once the public comment step is concluded, Uber will begin adjudication with the NPTR, where a representative must demonstrate the Uber app to officials in person.

The regulations require that e-hailing platforms provide core technical features, including driver and vehicle verification, geographic tracking, fare estimates, ICASA compliance, and safety functions like panic buttons.

Uber also needs to demonstrate that the platform actively blocks drivers without a valid e-hailing operating licence.