Online services website launches for licences– but it’s off to a rough start

The Department of Transport and Road Traffic Management Corporation has announced the launch of an online traffic services website for licences, but the site’s launch is facing technical difficulties.

The site’s launch was announced on 17 Feburary, with services meant to go live with immediate effect. It introduces online payments into the NATIS online booking system, as well as other services.

The announcement comes a few months after Transport Minister Fikile Mbalula said that the department planned to roll out Gauteng’s online booking system nationally.

The site will allow users to pay for the renewal of their driver and vehicle licences online. You can also organize delivery of your driver’s licence to your door or to the nearest post office.

PAY FOR YOUR LICENCE AND RECEIVE IT ON YOUR DOOR. pic.twitter.com/Sed5wgIrMx

— Department of Transport (@Dotransport) February 17, 2022

Other services included on the site will be the booking of learner’s and driving licence tests., vehicle registration, and online crash reports.

The Road Traffic Management Corporation also plans to introduce the ability for private HPC-registered optometrists to upload eye test results.

The site is available at online.natis.gov.za.

Technical difficulties on online licence and traffic services site

While some users were able to access the website, others have reported difficulties.

Currently, some users are receiving a “Forbidden” error, with the site telling them they don’t have permission to access it.

We tried the website on multiple browsers (Chrome, Edge, and Firefox), however the same error appears.

All the browsers also flag the website’s security certificate.

Attempting to access the online services portal through the main NATIS website also results in this error.

The new services are hosted on the same URL as the previous NATIS booking system, but with expanded functionality.

However, the launch seems to have come with unforeseen technical difficulties that need to be resolved.

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Feature image: Vladyslav Tobolenko/Unsplash