The renewal of the Italian driving license can be requested EXCLUSIVELY by Italian citizens residing in the consular district of the Consulate General of Italy in Johannesburg and regularly registered in the AIRE, or by citizens residing abroad for a period of at least 6 months, or by citizens registered in the consular register with the registration procedure started in the AIRE.
The license, in order to be renewed at the Consulate General, must not have expired for more than 3 years.
The interested party must present himself with a valid identity document; 2 passport photos; proof of actual residence in the consular district (e.g. employment contract or utilities); original driving license and one photocopy; medical certificate issued by the referring physician of this Consulate General.
The medical certificate is subject to a fee, charged to the applicant and the cost must be paid directly to the doctor.
The referring physician of the Consulate General is Prof. Franco (Frank) Plani.
To make an appointment, call Prof. Plani's secretary, Mrs. Edith Potgieter, at the following number: 011 9072981, between 8:00 and 16:00.
Click here to download the Medical Certificate form
It is emphasized that the renewal of the driving license at the Consulate General is a specific "Consular certificate confirming the validity of the driving license", valid only for the period of residence abroad. It must be kept together with the original expired license and, on request; it must be shown together with that.
It is therefore a temporary replacement certificate for the validation coupon, which is normally issued by the competent office of the Department of Land Transport.
Therefore, the holder of the license, having regained his residence in Italy, is required to request confirmation of the renewal obtained abroad from the competent authority - the Provincial Office of the Civil Motorization; in practice he must provide for the renewal of his license in the normal way pursuant to art. 126, paragraph 5 (paragraph inserted by Legislative Decree 151/2003, converted into Law 214 of 1.8.2003).
Those visiting South Africa are advised to have an international driving license, universally recognized and accepted by law enforcement agencies and car rental agencies.
The international driving license must be requested
Italian citizens with a South African driving license who return to Italy for vacation or for a short stay or who return permanently, must be in possession of the International driver’s license issued by the Automobile Association of South Africa (A.A.). The South African driving license is not convertible.
In case of theft or loss of the Italian driving license in South Africa, it is necessary to go to the competent South African Police Authorities to report the loss. The Police will issue, upon request, a copy of the report. The latter, to be recognized in Italy, must be translated into Italian by a sworn translator (create link) whose signature must be legalized by the Consulate General. The loss report must then be submitted to the competent Italian Authorities, which will issue a new driving license to replace the lost one.
The Consulate, on the other hand, cannot issue a new license or issue reports of loss.
License fees are payable in cash or by debit card.
For further information write to consolare.johannesburg@esteri.it
