Exam day guide

The learner's licence test is open to almost everyone, but the age you need depends on what you want to drive.

• 16 years — a motorcycle with an engine of 125 cc or less (code A1).
• 17 years — a light motor vehicle, which means an ordinary car or bakkie (code B).
• 18 years — everything else: heavier vehicles, bigger motorcycles and vehicles with trailers (codes A, C1, C, EB, EC1, EC).

You can book and write the test from your birthday — you do not have to wait a full year after it.

There is no upper age limit. If you are 65 or older, you will be asked for a medical certificate from a doctor confirming that you are fit to drive. Get this done before you go to book, so you do not have to make two trips.

There is no requirement to have driven before. The learner's test is a theory test only — you sit at a screen and answer questions. Nobody will ask you to drive a car.

You also do not need to be a South African citizen. If you are living here legally, you can apply with your passport and the documents listed in the next sections. If you are not sure whether your situation qualifies, phone your nearest Driving Licence Testing Centre (DLTC) and ask — they deal with this every day.

You book your learner's test at a Driving Licence Testing Centre (DLTC) — the local traffic department that handles licences. How you book depends on where you live.

In Gauteng you can book online through the NaTIS website (online.natis.gov.za). You register an account, choose a centre and a date, and pay the booking fee. You will still need to go to the centre in person afterwards to have your eyes tested, your fingerprints taken and your documents checked.

In most other provinces you book in person at the DLTC. Arrive early in the morning — many centres only take a set number of bookings a day and queues form before opening time.

At the centre you fill in form LL1 (Application for Learner's Licence). You can usually get it at the counter, and some provincial websites let you print it at home. Fill it in with black ink and make sure your name matches your ID exactly.

Your test date may be a few days or a few weeks away, depending on how busy the centre is. That waiting time is your study time — the 14-day plan on this site fits neatly into it.

If you do not know where your nearest DLTC is, search for your town plus "driving licence testing centre", or ask at your municipal offices.

Missing one document can mean being sent home, so pack this the night before.

• Your ID. Your green ID book, your smart ID card, or a valid passport if you are not a South African citizen. A temporary ID certificate is usually accepted — confirm with your centre.
• Two ID photos. Black-and-white or colour, standard passport size. Many centres now take your photo on the day, but some still ask for printed ones, so bring two to be safe.
• Proof of address not older than three months — a municipal account, a bank statement or a letter from the person you live with, together with their proof of address. If you live with your parents and nothing is in your name, bring their account and a signed letter from them.
• Your booking confirmation, printed or on your phone, if you booked online.
• The fee. There is a booking fee when you apply and a separate fee for issuing the licence once you pass. Fees are set by each province and change from time to time, so confirm the exact amount with your DLTC before you go. Some centres take cards, some only cash — ask.
• Your eye-test certificate, if you had your eyes tested at an optometrist instead of at the centre. Otherwise the centre will test your eyes on the day.
• Reading glasses or contact lenses if you use them.

A pen and a bottle of water never hurt either.

By now you have done the work. The night before is about arriving fresh, not about learning anything new.

Do a light revision only. Flick through your mistake notebook and the sign flashcards for twenty minutes. Then stop. Cramming until midnight makes you tired and anxious, and a tired brain misreads questions — which is exactly how people lose marks they knew.

Pack your documents using the checklist on this page, and put everything in one envelope or folder by the door. Lay out what you are going to wear.

Plan the trip. Work out how you are getting to the centre and how long it takes at that time of morning. If someone is driving you, confirm with them tonight.

Set two alarms and go to bed at a normal time. Aim for seven to eight hours of sleep. If you are too nervous to sleep, that is normal — lying down and resting still helps.

Eat breakfast in the morning, even if you are not hungry. You will be at the centre for a while, and a rumbling stomach is a distraction you do not need.

Finally, remind yourself: this is a multiple-choice test on things you have studied for two weeks. You have passed mock after mock. Tomorrow is just one more.

Here is the day from start to finish, so nothing surprises you.

Arrive at least 15 minutes early. Late arrivals can lose their slot. Report to the counter with your booking confirmation and ID.

Document check and fingerprints. An official checks your documents and verifies your identity by scanning your fingerprints on the NaTIS system. If you have not already had an eye test, it happens now — you look into a small machine and read letters or spot shapes.

The test room. You are shown to a touch-screen kiosk. The test is computerised. You can choose any of South Africa's 11 official languages, and there is an audio option that reads each question out to you through headphones — useful if reading on a screen is not your strong point.

One question at a time. Each question appears with its answer options. You tap your answer, then tap to confirm, and the next question appears. Once you confirm, you cannot go back. So read the whole question, decide, then confirm — there is no "review at the end" step.

64 questions, 60 minutes. That is almost a minute per question, which is plenty. Use any spare time to read slowly rather than to rush.

Instant result. When you finish, the screen shows whether you passed and your score per section. If you passed, you go back to the counter to pay the issuing fee and collect your learner's licence, usually the same day.

The test has 64 questions in three sections, and each section has its own pass mark. You must reach the pass mark in every section. A high score in one section cannot make up for a low score in another.

Look at the controls section closely. There are only 8 questions and you need 6 right — so you may get only two wrong. That is why this site's study plan starts with controls on Day 1 and why we keep nagging you to practise them. It is the shortest section and the one that catches the most people.

For rules you can afford 6 mistakes out of 28; for signs only 5 out of 28. That means roughly four out of five answers must be right in each section — a comfortable target if you have followed the plan, but not one you can wing.

Your result screen shows your score for each section separately. If you fail, note which section let you down, because that is where your next two weeks of study should go.

First, take a breath. Lots of people fail the learner's test the first time, and it says nothing about whether you will be a good driver. It only means you need another go at the part that tripped you up.

You can re-book straight away. There is no limit on how many times you may write the test. Some centres let you book a new date at the counter the same day; others have a short waiting period before you can write again. Ask at the counter before you leave. You will pay the booking fee again, so confirm the amount.

Look at your section scores. The result screen tells you exactly which section (or sections) you failed. Most people who fail do so on just one section — often controls, sometimes signs. That is good news: you do not have to start from scratch, you have to fix one thing.

Study the section you failed, properly. Go back to the study notes for that section, do the single-section mock on this site until you are passing it comfortably, and use the mistake notebook to see which questions keep catching you. If it was controls, redo Days 1 and 2 of the plan. If it was signs, redo Days 7 to 11.

Do not just memorise old papers. The computer draws questions randomly and words them in different ways. Understanding the rule is the only reliable way through.

Then book again, and go back knowing exactly what to expect.

Congratulations — you are now a learner driver. A few things to know about what your new licence lets you do.

It is valid for 24 months. If you have not passed your driving licence test within two years, the learner's licence expires and you will need to write the theory test again. Put the expiry date somewhere you will see it.

You must be accompanied. Whenever you drive, a person who holds a valid driving licence for that class of vehicle must sit next to you in the front passenger seat. You may not drive alone on a learner's licence, even for a short trip.

No passengers for reward. You may not carry passengers for payment — no lift-club fares, no delivery jobs, no driving for hire.

Motorcycle learners ride alone. If your licence is for a motorcycle, you may not carry a passenger at all.

Carry the licence with you. Keep your learner's licence in the vehicle whenever you drive. A traffic officer may ask to see it.

L-plates are not required in South Africa — unlike some other countries, there is no rule that says you must display an "L". Some learners put one up anyway so that other drivers give them space, and that is entirely your choice.

Freeways are allowed as long as your licensed supervisor is with you.

Now the real learning starts. Book lessons with a patient instructor and practise in quiet areas first.

We have watched the same mistakes sink learners again and again. Here they are, so you can avoid them.

1. Ignoring the controls section. Only 8 questions, so people skip it — then get three wrong and fail the whole test. Learn the numbered controls cold. It is the easiest section to score full marks in once you have done it properly.

2. Memorising old question papers. Photocopied "past papers" float around every town. The real test draws from a large bank and rewords questions, so someone who learnt that "the answer to question 12 is B" is lost the moment the wording changes. Learn the rule, not the paper.

3. Mixing up the numbers. Is it 45 m or 90 m? 1,5 m or 5 m? 22 or 23? Numbers are where marks leak. Use the numbers blitz on this site until they are automatic.

4. Look-alike signs. A hairpin-bend warning and a no-U-turn prohibition look similar at a glance. A minimum-speed command (blue) and a maximum-speed limit (red ring) use the same digits. Shape and colour tell you which family a sign belongs to — check them first.

5. Misreading "NOT". "Which of the following is NOT allowed?" catches hurried readers who answer the opposite question. Read every question to the full stop, and underline the NOT in your mind.

If you recognise yourself in any of these, you now know exactly where to spend your next study session.

A few habits make a real difference once you are sitting at the screen.

Read the whole question. Do not jump to the answers the moment you recognise the topic. Read every word, especially small ones like NOT, ONLY and EXCEPT.

Eliminate the wrong ones. With three options, if you can rule out one answer that is obviously wrong, you have a 50/50 chance even on a question you are unsure about. Usually you can rule out two.

Use the (i)(ii)(iii) technique. Many questions list statements (i), (ii) and (iii) and ask which are correct. Decide about each statement on its own — tick or cross — and only then look at the answer options. Do not let "All of the above" tempt you unless you have ticked all three.

Trust the number you studied. If you learnt that the urban limit is 60 km/h, pick 60. Second-guessing yourself under pressure is how right answers turn into wrong ones.

Do not rush. You have 60 minutes for 64 questions. Nobody gets extra marks for finishing first. Use the whole time if you need it, and read the last ten questions as carefully as the first ten — tiredness makes people careless near the end.

Confirm with care. Remember that once you confirm an answer, it is final. Make it a habit: read, decide, re-read the question once, then confirm.

Breathe. If a question throws you, take one slow breath before you answer. It clears your head.