Government and Policy

NTSA Unveils New Directives For Motorists On Licenses, Logbooks And Number Plates

BY Getrude Mathayo · October 12, 2026 12:10 pm

Motorists waiting on a smart driving license, logbook, or number plates no longer need to pay anyone to find out if their documents are ready. The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) says its online portal does the job for free, and it is telling the public to steer clear of brokers who charge for the same thing.

In a notice issued on Monday, October 12, NTSA said the portal needs no registration. Motorists can confirm the status of their documents from their phones or computers before setting out for a collection point.

The search is simple: smart driving licenses are looked up using a national ID number, while logbooks and reflective number plates are traced with the vehicle or motorcycle registration number.

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“Checking the status of your smart driving license and number plates is free; do not deal with brokers,” NTSA said.

The portal also tells users exactly which centre to collect their documents from, which should cut down on wasted trips to NTSA offices.

It doubles as a complaints desk. Anyone facing delays or other problems with a licence, logbook or number plate can lodge a complaint there, and the authority will send feedback once the matter is resolved.

“Feedback to clients upon resolution of complaints/concerns is sent through the email address provided by the client at the point of submission via the portal,” the authority added.

The notice is part of a wider push to get motorists onto official channels and away from middlemen who charge fees to process or speed up documents.

Only days earlier, on Thursday, October 8, NTSA announced a service that lets motorists have their driving licences processed and collected in under two minutes, aimed at shortening queues and improving efficiency at its offices.

The authority has also rolled out SMS alerts for services such as vehicle ownership transfers, so applicants can follow their requests on their phones as they move through the system.

“All transfer service notifications are sent straight to your phone via SMS,” the authority said, urging those transferring vehicle ownership to track progress through messages sent to their registered numbers.