Before you start

A valid foreign driving licence in English with photo and signature, or an International Driving Permit obtained before you travel
A smartphone with Uber and Bolt, and a card or cash
Proof of legal residence and proof of a Johannesburg address before you can get a traffic register number or convert
A realistic budget for private car insurance and a tracking device — insurers in Gauteng will usually require one

Step-by-step

1
Land and move: Gautrain, then ride-hailing
From OR Tambo the Gautrain reaches Sandton in about fourteen minutes and Rosebank and Park Station shortly after; buy a Gold Card at the station. Peak-hour trains run every twelve minutes, off-peak every twenty to thirty, and the airport service is separately priced. For everything not on that line, Uber and Bolt are cheap and ubiquitous — R80 to R160 for a typical northern-suburbs hop. Compare both apps: pricing diverges by more than it does in most cities.
Mobile appWho: YouImmediateGautrain OR Tambo-Sandton roughly R200-R250; in-city Uber/Bolt R80-R160
2
Drive on your foreign licence, correctly
A valid foreign licence printed in English and bearing your photograph and signature is enough on its own. If it is in another language, carry an International Driving Permit with it — the IDP is a translation and is not valid alone. Remember the left-hand rule, that you overtake on the right, and that four-way stops are extremely common here and are worked strictly in order of arrival. This arrangement lasts only as long as your foreign licence and your visa do.
In personWho: YouValid while your foreign licence and visa remain validFree; an IDP costs whatever your home authority charges
3
Get a traffic register number, then convert at a DLTC
A traffic register number is the eNaTIS identifier issued to foreigners, and you need it before you can convert a licence or register a car. Apply at a registering authority in the metro; allow up to about six weeks. Then book at a Driving Licence Testing Centre with form DL1, your foreign licence, a validity or confirmation letter from the authority that issued it, a sworn translation if it is not in an official South African language, your passport with permit, proof of address and ID photographs. You do an eye test only — there is no practical test for a conversion. Permanent residents have five years from taking up residence.
In personWho: You, at a registering authority then a DLTCTRN up to ~6 weeks; conversion typically 6-10 weeks including card printingConversion around R250; sworn translation around R400; TRN fee varies
4
Buy, register and insure a car — and understand what the fuel levy does not cover
Register the vehicle within 21 days of a change of ownership; a roadworthy certificate is required at that point, and the annual licence disc runs roughly R600-R800 for an ordinary car, renewable online or through your banking app. There is no compulsory third-party motor insurance in South Africa: the only mandatory cover is the Road Accident Fund, financed through the fuel levy, and it compensates bodily injury and death only — never your car, never anyone's property. Gauteng insurers will usually require an approved tracking device before they will write comprehensive cover, and premiums vary sharply by the suburb you park in overnight.
In personWho: You, the seller or dealership, and an insurerRegister within 21 days; insurance can be bound the same dayLicence disc R600-R800/year; comprehensive insurance commonly R900-R2,500/month; tracker R100-R250/month
5
Adopt Johannesburg driving habits deliberately
Carjacking clusters on specific corridors and at specific times — the M1 and M2 freeway approaches, the R24 towards the airport, and busy intersections in Fourways and Sandton feature repeatedly in SAPS station data. Leave a car's length in front of you at every red light so you can pull out, keep bags and phones off the seats and out of sight, do not stop in the road while your gate opens, and check the mirror as you turn in. Where Eskom load reduction cuts a feeder in the evening peak the traffic lights on it go dark; a dark robot is legally a four-way stop, but compliance is patchy, so approach slowly.
In personWho: YouOngoing habitFree

Documents you’ll need

Foreign driving licence in English with photo and signature, or an International Driving Permit alongside it
Passport with your visa or permit
Proof of a Johannesburg address — a lease, a utility bill, or an affidavit from the account holder
For conversion: a validity letter from the issuing authority, a sworn translation if needed, and ID photographs
Traffic register number confirmation before registering a vehicle in your name

Things most newcomers don’t know

The Gauteng e-toll gantries stopped charging at midnight on 11 April 2024, and outstanding e-toll debt has since been written off — but road users who did pay are not being refunded.

Guides written before 2024 still tell newcomers to buy an e-tag before driving the N1 or N3 through Gauteng, and rental companies occasionally still quote a toll surcharge. There is nothing to register and nothing to pay on the Gauteng freeway network. Conventional toll plazas elsewhere in the country — on the N3 to Durban, for instance — are entirely separate and still charge cash or card.

Source: Department of Transport / SANRAL, 2024; National Treasury debt write-off, 2026

South Africa has no compulsory third-party motor insurance. The Road Accident Fund is funded by a levy inside the fuel price and compensates injury and death only — it will never pay for a vehicle.

Drivers from Europe or Australia assume a legal minimum exists and that a bare-bones policy is optional extra cover. It is not: if you are hit by an uninsured driver, which is the majority of drivers on Gauteng roads, your own comprehensive policy is the only thing between you and the repair bill. Insurers here price by overnight parking address and usually require an approved tracker.

Source: Road Accident Fund — fuel levy; Financial Sector Conduct Authority

Converting your licence is a two-agency process, and the first agency is the bottleneck. The traffic register number is issued by a registering authority and can take around six weeks; only then can a DLTC process form DL1.

Newcomers book a DLTC appointment first, arrive without a TRN, and lose the slot. The upside is that the conversion itself is administratively gentle — an eye test, no K53 practical — so the whole thing is a queueing problem rather than a competence one. Start the TRN the week you get your address proof, not the week your foreign licence expires.

Source: gov.za — traffic register number and foreign licence conversion

Where you park overnight changes both your insurance premium and your actual risk more than how you drive does. Gauteng insurers underwrite by suburb, and hijacking figures cluster on identifiable corridors rather than spreading evenly across the metro.

It reframes the decision: a slightly more expensive flat with secure basement parking and a boomed street can be cheaper all-in than a cheap one with street parking, once the premium difference is counted. SAPS publishes crime figures by police station every quarter, so the corridor question is checkable rather than a matter of anecdote.

Source: SAPS quarterly crime statistics; South African insurers' underwriting practice

Common mistakes to avoid

Buying an e-tag or budgeting for Gauteng e-tolls — the gantries have not charged since April 2024, and any source telling you otherwise is out of date.
Assuming the Road Accident Fund levy in the petrol price is car insurance; it covers injury and death only, and driving without private comprehensive cover in Gauteng is a large uninsured bet.
Booking a DLTC conversion appointment before applying for a traffic register number, which is the step that actually takes six weeks.
Trying to renew a foreign licence from South Africa, or letting the five-year conversion window lapse after taking up permanent residence.
Stopping nose-to-tail at red lights and pulling up flush against your own gate — the two positions where you cannot drive away, and where most opportunistic vehicle crime happens.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.

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