Motorists have until May 5 to renew their expired driving licence cards.

This deadline replaces the previous extension of April 15.

The Mpumalanga Department of Community Safety, Security and Liaison’s spokesperson, Moeti Mmusi, said the new deadline applies to all learner licences, driving licence cards, temporary driving licences and professional driving permits that expired from March 31, 2020, to August 31, 2021.

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“We are open from 07:00 until 18:00 to make sure that we accommodate everyone. Most of our driver licensing testing centres’ (DLTCs) systems are functioning well and we expect that all motorists will use this extended grace period accordingly. We are just worried that people are not coming in large numbers during the extended hours.”

Mmusi said those who had applied for the renewal of their driving licences before the expiry date, are permitted to use the expired card for a period of three months, provided they have the expired card and the receipt of the renewal in their possession at all times.

“We do acknowledge that the biggest challenge we are facing is the capacity of our DLTCs to cope with the last-minute influx of motorists who want to renew their driving licences. Trends demonstrate that the majority of motorists wait until the last minute to renew them. This places the DLTCs under severe pressure,” said Mmusi.