South African car registration procedure
How do I get a car registered in my name?
A vehicle is registered when a registration form is submitted to the motor vehicle registering authority.
Where do you register your vehicle?
The MVR, or motor vehicle registration authority, is in charge of vehicle registration. It is also known as the traffic department or the vehicle licence office.
You can only register a car in the district where you live. If you live in Cape Town, you will be unable to register a vehicle in Johannesburg unless your address is changed and fica’d. This will change the address of all vehicles registered in your name, and you will need to re-license the vehicles to obtain the correct provincial number plates.
Why do you need to register a vehicle?
You are registering a vehicle so that you can legally own it. You require proof of vehicle ownership. Once you have a certificate of registration with your name and ID number listed under owner and title holder, your ownership is confirmed. You also want the authority to renew the vehicle’s licence and insure it, which requires you to be registered as the owner at the very least.
The registered title holder wields more power than the registered owner. When it comes to vehicle registration, being the owner simply means you are in charge of the vehicle.
Registering a vehicle in your name is usually a simple process; however, in some cases, such as when the proper documentation is not available, it can be frustrating. To begin, we will go over the documents that are required when registering a vehicle.
What documents do I need to register a vehicle?
The certificate of registration is the vehicle’s title deed. The entire registration procedure consists of changing the specifics of the vehicle certificate of registration to reflect your own. You want your name and ID number to appear under owner and title holder on the vehicle’s paperwork. When this is completed, you have successfully registered the car, bakkie, motorcycle, truck, trailer, and so on.
The NCO form (notification of change of ownership) is a double-sided yellow document that is officially distributed. Because there appear to be a limited number of these forms available, a blank black and white copy can be used to write on. If you photocopy this document, make sure to complete both sides. The document is divided into three sections.
A – The seller’s contact information. There is a section for the seller’s details, the seller’s proxy (if applicable), and the acknowledgement.
B – The buyer’s information. There is a section for the buyer’s details, the buyer’s proxy (if applicable), and the acknowledgement.
C – The vehicle’s specifications. All of the information required for this section is available on the vehicle’s licence disc and must be completed by the seller.
It is important to note that the Notification of Change of Ownership document cannot contain errors, particularly in the date fields.
When correctly completed, The official document that serves as a receipt is the NCO form.
In some rare cases, an NCO may not be required if the vehicle has a properly worded receipt, invoice, or letter from the bank. It is always preferable to be prepared and have an NCO form completed before attempting to register a vehicle.
A photocopy of the raw blank document is acceptable, but a photocopy of a signed form is not.
Form of registration
The buyer, or in the case of a corporation, the proxy or proxies representative, must complete and sign a blue form known as the RLV.
This form is divided into three sections.
A, the title holder’s information; B, the owner’s information. Section B can be left blank if the owner and title holder are the same.
C, vehicle specifications
Proof of identity, such as a South African ID, a South African driver’s licence, a traffic register certificate, or a business register certificate.
A drivers licence will not suffice if you are registering a vehicle for the first time.
The seller’s identification may also be required (explained further on)
Proof of address, the MVR must verify your address once a year by submitting proof of address and your ID. Documents that can be used to verify your address include correspondence in the following forms:
A municipal bank account
A lease contract
The telephone bill
An account from any well-known company, such as a large chain store.
A financial statement
Proof of address is not required if you register a vehicle within 12 months of the date you fica’d your details.
To register a vehicle, you must first own one, so let’s begin at the beginning.
You financed a car.
When you finance a vehicle, the vehicle is registered to the bank/financier in order to secure the loan.
When the bank signs the vehicle over to you, you can only take ownership and register it. It is important to note that this does not happen by accident. The bank does not automatically sign over the vehicle to you once it has been paid off and the loan has been settled. You must start the procedure.
How does a bank car get registered?
You call the bank and provide them with your account number. They will ask you a few questions to verify that you are indeed the owner, and you will then request that they send you the necessary documentation so that you can register the vehicle.
It is critical that you receive the four documents listed below from the bank in order for the transaction to go smoothly.
A paid up letter/ settlement letter
The registration certificate
A signed and stamped notification of ownership change (Yellow form or copy)
ID of the bank’s proxies
All four of these documents are important and serve a specific purpose.
This document informs the traffic official that you have finished paying for the vehicle and that the bank has authorised you to proceed with the registration. It also explains the procedure and informs you that you have 21 days to submit the necessary documents to the traffic department. Take note that the settlement letter is dated; your 21-day period begins on this date. It’s not common, but if you submit these forms after the 21-day period, you may be penalised for late registration; it all depends on the teller’s mood, so be safe and stay within your 21-day window.
The certificate of registration is the document that connects the other three forms. It’s a clever and subtle way for the bank to notify the teller that the car has been settled and that they are aware of the transaction. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have the original document!
The proxy must sign the Natis NCO form, which is sent as part of the procedure. The settlement letter may or may not be required if it is signed and dated. Fill out sections B and C of the yellow form and bring it with you just in case.
The proxy’s identifier, Every business that has a business register certificate will be assigned a proxy, and their ID must be attached to all transactions.
Except for the registration RLV blue form, the bank will send you all of the necessary forms. The traffic department can obtain this.
If your vehicle’s licence is current, the cost of this transaction is currently R132.00.
You paid cash for your car.
If you purchased a vehicle from a private seller, you should register it at the traffic department with the seller present. This is explained in the section on buying a car safely.
Assuming you’ve gotten this far, you’ll need the following:
The original, most recent registration certificate
a copy of the seller’s identification
A completed NCO (yellow) form
A RLV form in blue
Address verification
Certificate of roadworthiness
If the vehicle’s licence has expired, you will not be able to transfer ownership unless you purchased the vehicle before the licence expired and this is documented on the receipt and/or the yellow form.
The licence disc will be retained if a vehicle is registered without a roadworthy certificate.
Furthermore, the roadworthy certificate is no longer a physical document; it is now submitted directly to the Natis system from the roadworthy centre. Some larger roadworthy centres still issue certificates, but not for the traffic department.
