How to get a public transport operating licence

Who needs one

The Act covers every road-based public transport service, which means carrying passengers for reward. That is minibus taxis, metered taxis, e-hailing vehicles, buses, charter services, tourist transport, scholar transport, staff transport and the lift club that has started charging. Each vehicle needs its own licence and the licence states the route or area, the type of service and the vehicle.

Goods vehicles are different. A bakkie courier or a truck does not need an operating licence to carry freight inside South Africa; the driver needs a professional driving permit and, for loads crossing a border, the operator needs a cross-border permit from the C-BRTA.

Who issues it

• The Provincial Regulatory Entity, one per province, for services inside that province. Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal each publish their own version of Form 1B and their own office list.
• The National Public Transport Regulator for interprovincial services and tourist transport, and for accreditation of tourist operators.
• Municipal regulatory entities where a metro has taken the function over, which is why Cape Town runs its own operating licences plan.

The regulator does not decide alone. It publishes the application, allows objections from existing operators, and asks the municipality whether the route or area is in its integrated transport plan. That consultation is where most of the waiting happens.

What goes with Form 1B

Gauteng’s Form 1B and the Western Cape’s requirements list agree on the core attachments:

• Certified copy of the applicant’s identity document, or the certificate of incorporation, founding agreement or partnership agreement if the operator is a business
• An original SARS tax clearance, which today means a tax compliance status that verifies
• Proof of address, a utility bill or municipal account
• The sworn affidavit, Form 10, confirming the particulars are true and that the applicant is not disqualified
• A detailed route description for route-based services, with street names or road numbers and every pick-up and set-down point; the form warns that vague descriptions are not accepted. Charter and metered taxi applications describe an area instead
• The labour law form confirming the operator complies with labour legislation, in provinces that require it
• A letter from a registered taxi association for minibus taxi applications
• For renewals, amendments and transfers, a certified copy of the existing licence or permit. An old permit must be converted to an operating licence before it can be renewed, amended or transferred

How it works, step by step

1. Sort the tax status first. The regulator wants a tax clearance and a non-compliant status stops the application before it starts. Our tax clearance service fixes it for R450.
2. Get the association letter if you are applying for a minibus taxi. No letter, no route.
3. Complete Form 1B for your province and attach the certified copies, the affidavit, the route or area description and the proof of address.
4. Lodge and pay. R600 per application under the national regulations; R627.66 in the Western Cape. Online or by email where the province allows it, in person for metered taxi and e-hailing in the Western Cape.
5. Wait for publication and the decision. Up to 60 working days in the Western Cape. Objections from existing operators on the route are common and are decided on the municipality’s transport plan.
6. Collect the licence and keep it in the vehicle. Diarise the expiry; a renewal is a fresh application with the same fee.

E-hailing after September 2025

The National Land Transport Amendment Act 23 of 2023 and its regulations were gazetted for implementation on 12 September 2025. Under them, e-hailing is a category of operating licence in its own right, applied for at the Provincial Regulatory Entity at the standard fee, instead of the metered taxi or charter licences drivers used before. Each vehicle must be branded or carry a sign showing it is an e-hailing vehicle, and must have a panic button, which the vehicle owner installs. The apps themselves must be registered with the regulator, and an app that allows an unlicensed driver to work faces a fine of up to R100 000 or up to two years in prison.

What actually goes wrong

• A vague route. “Soweto to Johannesburg” is rejected. Street names, road numbers and every stop.
• Tax status not compliant. An outstanding return anywhere on the profile stops the tax clearance, which stops the application.
• Buying a vehicle before the licence. The licence is granted to an operator for a route; a vehicle bought on finance while the application waits 60 working days is a vehicle earning nothing.
• Trying to renew an old permit. Permits issued before the Act must be converted to operating licences first. Two applications, not one.
• Operating on someone else’s licence. The licence is not transferable without the regulator’s approval, and a roadblock checks the vehicle against the licence.

Frequently asked questions