Getting your driver’s licence? Waiting times at every testing centre in Cape Town

The City of Cape Town has published its latest waiting times for learner’s, standard light motor vehicle, heavy motor vehicle and motorcycle licence tests.

The figures, released on Monday, show considerable differences in how long applicants must wait to take their driver’s licence tests at Cape Town’s various testing centres.

Driver’s licence waiting times vary

For a light motor vehicle licence, the shortest waits are currently at Lingelethu West and Joe Gqabi.

Both centres list a waiting time of just one day.

At the other end of the scale, applicants at New Ottery face a 94-day wait. Parow has a 72-day wait, while Goodwood applicants face 63 days.

The City insists that the licence test backlogs are unavoidable.

“Sometimes we cannot prevent a backlog, often due to people not arriving to take their tests,” the City said in a statement.

The average waiting time for a light motor vehicle test across the listed centres is 31 days. See the full list below:

Traffic centre	Waiting time (Days)
Atlantis	58
Brackenfell	32
Durbanville	23
Eastridge	7
Elsies River	35
Fish Hoek	12
Goodwood	63
Gordon’s Bay	30
Hillstar	15
Kuils River	9
Lingelethu West	1
Joe Gqabi	1
New Ottery	94
Bellrail	26
Gallows Hill	42
Milnerton	8
Parow	72
Somerset West	21
Total Days	549
Average Days	31

Learner’s licence waiting times

Waiting times for learner’s licences also vary significantly between testing centres.

Kuils River has the longest wait at 110 days, followed by Milnerton at 72 days.

New Ottery has the shortest wait at four days.

The average waiting time for a learner’s licence test is 44 days. See the full list below:

Traffic centre	Waiting time (Days)
Atlantis	28
Brackenfell	49
Durbanville	44
Eastridge	77
Elsies River	25
Fish Hoek	29
Goodwood	39
Gordon’s Bay	30
Hillstar	28
Kuils River	110
Lingelethu West	60
Joe Gqabi	66
New Ottery	4
Bellrail	25
Gallows Hill	28
Milnerton	72
Parow	45
Somerset West	29
Total Days	788
Average Days	44