The checklist
- Form LL1
- CompletedThe application form itself
- Photographs
- Two identical, 40 mm long by 30 mm wideRecently taken, clear-cut, no shadows, head and shoulders, full face
- Identification
- Acceptable identification — see belowA defined term, not 'any ID'
- If you are 65 or older
- A medical certificate on form MCSigned by a medical practitioner or occupational health practitioner
- Eye test
- Done at the centre — bring your glasses
- You must apply
- In person
The photographs are specified, and centres do reject them
This is where people lose a day. Regulation 103(1)(a) does not just say "two photos" — it sets out what they must be.
Two identical photographs, black and white or colour. Recently taken. Clear-cut and without shadows. Forty millimetres in length and thirty millimetres in width. Depicting only your head and shoulders. Showing your full face. And without headgear.
There is one exception to the headgear rule, and it is written into the regulation: if you wear headgear required by a religion of which you are a bona fide member, the photographs may show you wearing it. If the examiner thinks those photographs are inadequate for identification, they can refer them to a designated provincial official, and if that official does not approve them you bring two taken in a way the official agrees to in writing.
A photo booth that produces passport-sized pictures is usually right, but measure them. Forty by thirty is the specification.
What counts as acceptable identification
"Acceptable identification" is a defined term in regulation 1, not a loose description. For a person applying for a learner's licence these are the paragraphs that apply:
| Your situation | What counts |
|---|---|
| South African, ordinary case | An identity document, an identity card, or a temporary identity certificate issued under the Identification Act 68 of 1997 |
| South African, using a passport | A valid South African passport issued to a South African citizen |
| Not permanently resident in South Africa | An identity document issued by a foreign country, or a traffic register number certificate issued under regulation 335 |
So a green ID book, a smart ID card and a temporary identity certificate are all equally acceptable, and a valid South African passport is too. A foreign national who is not permanently resident uses a foreign identity document or a traffic register number certificate.
The medical certificate, and who actually needs one
Only applicants aged 65 or older. Regulation 103(1)(c) requires a medical certificate on form MC, signed by a medical practitioner or an occupational health practitioner.
If you are under 65 you do not need one for a learner's licence. Sites that list a medical certificate as a general requirement are wrong about that.
Proof of address: required, but not by regulation 103
This one is worth getting right, because it is in a different regulation from the one everybody reads.
Regulation 103 — the application regulation — does not mention proof of address. It lists the form, the photographs, acceptable identification and, for applicants aged 65 or older, the medical certificate, and nothing else. Stopping there is how most guides get this wrong, and we did too until we read further.
Regulation 32A requires it. It was inserted in 2014, and it applies to anyone registered on the National Traffic Information System or wanting to use its services — which a learner's licence application is. It requires proof of your full names, date of birth, identity number and residential and postal address.
So proof of address is a real requirement, and the South African Government's own service page lists it for exactly that reason: proof of postal and residential address, such as a utility account. A person living in an informal settlement should bring a letter with an official date stamp from the ward councillor — regulation 32A itself provides for the affidavit and ward-councillor routes.
Take one, dated recently. Several provinces ask for a document no older than three months.
Two more places the official guidance is narrower than the law
The government's service page asks for two identical black-and-white photographs. Regulation 103 allows "black and white or colour". Colour photographs meet the regulation; if your centre insists on black and white, that is the guidance rather than the rule.
On timing, the regulation says the licence is issued within two working days of the examiner notifying you. The government's page says it is issued on the same day if you passed and paid the fee. Those are consistent — same day is within two working days — and the same day is what usually happens.
A booking receipt is not in the regulation either, but the official guidance says to bring it on the day of the test along with your ID. If the centre gave you one, take it.
The mistake
Photographs that are the wrong size or show more than head and shoulders. It is the most specified item on the list and the one people improvise.
The other is sending somebody else. The Act requires you to apply in person, so a parent cannot lodge the application for a seventeen-year-old.
Paperwork is the easy part
Getting in the door is admin; passing is the work. The free readiness test scores the three sections separately so you know which one to study before you book.
Take the free readiness testCommon questions
What do I need to take with me to apply for a learner's licence?
A completed form LL1, two identical 40 mm by 30 mm head-and-shoulders photographs, and acceptable identification. If you are 65 or older, also a medical certificate on form MC.
Can I use my passport instead of my ID?
Yes, if it is a valid South African passport issued to a South African citizen. That is listed in the definition of acceptable identification alongside the ID document, ID card and temporary identity certificate.
What if I am not a South African citizen?
If you are not permanently resident in South Africa, acceptable identification means an identity document issued by a foreign country, or a traffic register number certificate issued under regulation 335.
Do I need a medical certificate?
Only if you are 65 or older. Under that age the regulation does not require one for a learner's licence.
Do I need proof of address?
Yes. It is not in regulation 103, which is why so many guides say it is not required — it is in regulation 32A, which covers anyone using the National Traffic Information System and asks for proof of your names, date of birth, identity number and residential and postal address. Take a utility account or similar, recently dated. If you live in an informal settlement, a letter with an official date stamp from the ward councillor is provided for.
What size must the photographs be?
Forty millimetres in length by thirty millimetres in width, showing only your head and shoulders and your full face, recently taken, clear-cut and without shadows.
Can I wear a headscarf or other religious headgear in the photograph?
Yes. The regulation allows photographs showing headgear required by a religion of which you are a bona fide member. If the examiner considers them inadequate for identification they may be referred to a designated provincial official.
Sources
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 32A, inserted by GNR.846 of 31 October 2014Verification of address particulars. Anyone registered on the NaTIS, or wishing to use its services, must submit proof of full names, date of birth, identity number and residential and postal address. This is the provision that requires proof of address — not regulation 103.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 103(1)The application is made "at a driving licence testing centre on form LL1 as shown in Schedule 2", accompanied by two identical photographs which "shall have been recently taken", "shall be clear cut and without shadows", "shall be 40 millimetres in length and 30 millimetres in width", "shall depict only the head and shoulders of the applicant", "shall show the applicant's full face" and "shall, subject to item (vii), show the applicant without headgear", with item (vii) permitting headgear required by a religion of which the applicant is a bona fide member; by "acceptable identification of the applicant"; and, for an applicant who is 65 years of age or older, by "the medical certificate on form MC".
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 1, definition of "acceptable identification""(a) in the case of a person, a temporary identity certificate, an identity document or identity card issued in terms of the Identification Act, 1997 (Act No. 68 of 1997); (b) in the case of a person, a valid South African passport issued to a South African citizen; (c) in the case of a person not permanently resident in the Republic, an identity document issued by a foreign country or a traffic register number certificate issued in terms of regulation 335." Definition substituted by GNR.1341 of 25 September 2003.
- National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 — section 17(1)The applicant "shall in person apply" at an appropriately graded driving licence testing centre.
- South African Government — "Apply for a learner's licence" (gov.za), checked 21 September 2026The official service description. It lists an identity document, two identical black-and-white ID photographs, a booking fee, and "Proof of postal and residential address e.g. utility account", with "a letter with an official date stamp from the ward councillor" for informal settlements. It also states that form LL1 is available at the DLTC, that the eye test may be done at the centre or submitted from a qualified optometrist, and that "the learner’s licence is issued on the same day if you passed and paid the relevant fee".
Last updated 2026-09-21.