Temporary Licences & Permits in South Africa

A temporary driver's licence lets you drive legally for up to 6 months while your new card is being printed or if your card is lost, stolen or damaged. You apply in person at any Driving Licence Testing Centre (DLTC).

A temporary liquor licence (often called a 'special event' or 'occasional' liquor licence) lets you sell or serve alcohol at a specific once-off event such as a wedding, festival, fundraiser or private function. It's issued by the Provincial Liquor Authority in the province where the event is held.

A visitor's visa can be extended once inside South Africa for up to a further 90 days, provided you apply at least 60 days before it expires. Applications are lodged online via VFS Global on behalf of the Department of Home Affairs.

A hawker's permit is issued by your local municipality and lets you trade legally as an informal or street trader in a designated public space. Every metro (Joburg, Cape Town, eThekwini, Tshwane, Ekurhuleni, Buffalo City, Mangaung, Nelson Mandela Bay) runs its own application.

A temporary event permit (sometimes called a 'gathering permit' under the Regulation of Gatherings Act) is required for any public event held on public property or drawing a public crowd. Apply at your local municipality's Events Office at least 30 days before the event.

Filming on public property in South Africa needs a filming permit from the municipal Film Office. Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban have busy film offices that handle everything from student projects to full commercial shoots.

A recreational fishing permit is required to fish along the SA coast, in estuaries and in many freshwater dams and rivers. Sea and estuary permits are issued by the Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) and are sold at Post Office branches nationwide. Freshwater permits are issued by the provincial nature conservation authority.