The short version
- When you go
- The day and time the centre determinedSet when you applied, under section 17(2)
- First
- Your eyesight is checkedAgainst the regulation 102 standard
- Then
- The theory testForm TLL on paper, or the approved Learner's Licence Electronic Test
- What is tested
- Rules of the road · road traffic signs · controls of your vehicle classRegulation 104(2)(a)
- An oral test
- Only if you are illiterate, and only with the MEC's permission
- If you pass
- The licence is issued on form LL2 within 2 working days
- Valid for
- 24 months from the date of the test
The day, in order
Only the sequence below is fixed by the Act and the regulations. Everything about how a particular centre runs its queue is local practice, and we are not going to invent it for you.
| Step | What happens | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| 1. You arrive | At the day and time the centre determined when it accepted your application. Bring your identification and your booking paperwork | Section 17(2) of the Act |
| 2. Eyesight | Your vision is checked against the prescribed standard. You are measured wearing your glasses or contact lenses if you wear them | Regulation 102(1), regulation 104(2)(b) |
| 3. Disqualification check | The examiner satisfies themselves that you are not disqualified under section 15 of the Act or regulation 102 | Regulation 104(2)(b) |
| 4. The test | You complete the approved "Theory Test for Learner's Licence" on form TLL, or the approved Learner's Licence Electronic Test at a terminal | Regulation 104(3) |
| 5. The outcome | The examiner notifies you whether a learner's licence will be issued to you | Regulation 105(1) |
| 6. Issue | The licence is issued on form LL2 within two working days of that notification: you sign it, a photograph is affixed and laminated, and the applicable provincial fee is paid | Regulation 105(1) |
The date is not yours to choose, and missing it has a procedure
This catches people out because it is not how a doctor's appointment works. Under section 17(2) of the Act the centre determines the day and the time, once it is satisfied from your application that you are not disqualified. You are told when to present yourself; you do not pick a slot on the morning.
If you do not get examined and tested on that day, regulation 103(2) is the provision that matters. You have to satisfy the centre that the reason was beyond your control, and the proviso added in 2001 says the centre will not even consider your reason unless you give it to them in writing, as a declaration on form DCT.
So a missed date is not a phone call. It is a form. Ask for the DCT and fill it in rather than assuming an explanation at the counter will be enough.
The eye test is a standard, not a courtesy
Regulation 104(2)(b) makes the examiner check that you are not disqualified under regulation 102, and regulation 102 is where the numbers are. For a learner's licence relating to a motorcycle or a light motor vehicle, that is a visual acuity of at least 6/12 in each eye on the Snellen rating, or at least 6/9 in the other eye where one eye is below 6/12 or blind, together with a visual field of at least 70 degrees temporal in each eye.
The phrase to hold on to is "with or without refractive correction". You are measured in your glasses if you wear glasses. Needing them does not stop you being licensed — it means your licence is endorsed to say you drive with them, under regulation 105(1)(b)(i).
If the screening says you do not meet the standard, that is not the end of the attempt. Regulation 102(2)(a) lets you have your eyes tested by a registered optometrist or ophthalmologist at your own expense, and the testing centre must accept that result provided it properly reflects your acuity on the Snellen rating and your field of vision in degrees.
What the test itself asks
Three areas, and no more than three. Regulation 104(2)(a) requires the examiner to satisfy themselves that you know and understand the rules of the road, the road traffic signs, and the controls of a motor vehicle of the class to which your application relates.
That last phrase is the one that gets skipped. The controls section follows your licence class. A Code 1 applicant is asked about the controls of a motorcycle, not about a rear window; a Code 3 applicant is asked about a heavy vehicle. The rules and the signs sections are the same for everybody.
Road markings are examined inside the road signs area rather than as a fourth area, which is why learners who drill signs and skip the painted lines lose marks in a section they thought they had covered.
The test is delivered one of two ways. Regulation 104(3) names the approved "Theory Test for Learner's Licence" on form TLL — the paper version — or the successful completion of an approved Learner's Licence Electronic Test. Most centres now use the electronic one, which presents the questions on a touchscreen terminal.
There is one alternative and it is narrow: regulation 104(4) allows an oral test only where the applicant is illiterate, and only after that person has obtained the permission of the MEC. It is not something you can ask for on the day because you would rather answer out loud.
Nobody publishes how many questions there are
We checked the Act, the regulations and all three Department of Transport learner-driver manuals. None of them states a question count and none of them states a pass mark. Regulation 104 names the three areas and the form, and stops.
The current computerised test presents 64 questions, numbered in one run. That is an observation of the terminal, not an official figure, which is why the numbers on different websites disagree so wildly. What is not in doubt is that the three areas are scored separately and that failing one fails the attempt.
If you pass
The examiner notifies you, and regulation 105(1) then gives the centre two working days to issue the licence on form LL2.
The steps in that regulation are worth knowing because they explain the queue you are about to stand in: the licence is completed with your date of birth on it, endorsed if you need glasses, contact lenses, an artificial limb or another physical aid, or if you drive an adapted vehicle; you sign it; one photograph goes on the licence and one on the copy; both are covered with a lamination strip; and the applicable provincial fee is paid.
The 24 months of validity runs from the date of the examination and test — not from the date printed on the card and not from the day you collect it. That distinction costs people weeks at the far end.
The mistake
Treating the morning as the exam. The part that sends people home early is not the theory test — it is arriving without acceptable identification, or on the wrong day, or without the glasses they need to meet the eyesight standard.
The second one is studying to a total. The three areas are passed separately, so a comfortable overall score with one weak area is a fail. Work out which of the three would sink you today and spend your last week there.
Sit a paper before you sit the real one
Our free readiness test scores you the way the real test does — by section rather than on aggregate — so you can see which of the three areas is the one that would end your attempt.
Take the free readiness testCommon questions
What happens on the day of the learner's test?
You report at the day and time the centre set, your eyesight is checked against the regulation 102 standard, the examiner confirms you are not disqualified, and you write the theory test on form TLL or on the approved electronic system. If you pass, the licence is issued on form LL2 within two working days.
Is the learner's test written or on a computer?
Either. Regulation 104(3) names the approved paper "Theory Test for Learner's Licence" on form TLL and the approved Learner's Licence Electronic Test. Most centres now use the electronic version on a touchscreen terminal.
How long does the learner's test take?
No official source states a duration, and it is not something we will guess at. Plan for a morning rather than an hour: the sequence includes arrival, the eye test, the test itself, and then the issuing steps in regulation 105(1).
Do I get my results on the same day?
The examiner notifies you of the outcome, and regulation 105(1) gives the centre two working days from that notification to issue the licence on form LL2.
What if I cannot make the date the centre gave me?
Regulation 103(2) requires you to satisfy the centre that the reason was beyond your control, and the centre may not even consider your reason unless you give it in writing as a declaration on form DCT.
Can I take the test orally?
Only in one situation. Regulation 104(4) allows an oral test where the applicant is illiterate, and only after that person has obtained the permission of the MEC.
Are road markings on the learner's test?
Yes, inside the road signs area rather than as a section of their own. Regulation 104(2)(a)(ii) puts "the road traffic signs" as one of the three things the examiner must test, and markings are part of that body of knowledge.
Sources
- National Road Traffic Act 93 of 1996 — section 17(2)The testing centre determines the day on and time at which the applicant shall present himself or herself to be examined and tested.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 103(2)The applicant who is not examined and tested on the determined day, and the proviso — added by R.25 of GNR.2116 of 5 October 2001 — requiring a declaration on form DCT before the centre may consider the reason.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 102(1) and (2)The eyesight standard, measured with or without refractive correction, and the optometrist or ophthalmologist re-test that the centre must accept.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 104"Manner and contents on which applicant for learner's licence to be tested and examined". Sub-regulation (2)(a) the three areas, (2)(b) the disqualification check, (3) form TLL or the approved Learner's Licence Electronic Test, (4) the oral test for an illiterate applicant with the MEC's permission. Sub-r. (3) substituted by GNR.1066 of 2005 and GNR.589 of 2009; sub-r. (4) added by GNR.1341 of 2003.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 105(1)Issue on form LL2 within 2 working days of the examiner's notification, the endorsements for glasses, contact lenses, an artificial limb or an adapted vehicle, the signature, the photographs, the lamination, and the applicable fee determined by the MEC of the province concerned.
- National Road Traffic Regulations, 2000 — regulation 101(1), with Government Notice 134 in Government Gazette 32959 of 17 February 2010Validity of 24 months from the date of the examination and test.
- South African Learner Driver Manual, Department of Transport (v1.00, June 2012)All three volumes. Checked for a question count, a pass mark and a test duration; none of the three states any of them.
Last updated 2026-09-21.