Getting your driver's license can be a very liberating experience for a young person. However, many choose to do their license in an automatic car and will be limited to driving auto forever! Can they convert their licenses?
Published: 8 February 2024, 12:00 Estimated Reading Time: 1 minute Photo GridIn a short answer, No. If you did your driver's test in an automatic car it means that you are restricted from driving a manual car.
As most folks know if you did the test in a manual you are allowed to drive an auto under your code B/EB license.
Unfortunately, if you want to hold a license to drive a manual you will need to go through the entire licensing process from start to finish, specifying a manual vehicle, as the traffic department does not allow any upward license conversions.
This means redoing your learner's license for that final page on controls, re-doing your yard and road test for driving, and getting a whole new license issued.
This stipulation is also valid for code A1 and A licenses for motorcycles and code C and EC licenses for trucks and trucks with interlink trailers.
We also discovered that foreign nationals living full-time here in South Africa will also face a great deal of difficulty getting their foreign licenses changed as they will have to go through the same process.
As an addendum, we also uncovered that servicemen and women who learned to drive motorcycles and trucks in the military would also have to redo their tests to gain a civilian license.
Once you have got your license sorted you can search here for your dream car or check out AutoTraders Car Subscription Service here
Lawrence Minnie Lawrence has been involved with motorsports for almost 30 years. Whether it's two wheels or four, if it has an engine, he will try to race it. This love of motor vehicles has led him to ride, drive, film, photograph, and write about his passion. Freelance for a while but now a permanent fixture on the AutoTrader team for over 7 years, Lawrence contributes written, photographic, and video content for AutoTrader and AutoTrader Bikes. View News & Reviews