Cross-border road transport permits, with the real fees

Carry a load to Maputo, run a taxi to Maseru or take a tour group into Namibia and a domestic licence is not enough. Commercial transport across a border needs a permit from the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency, and the fees are charged per vehicle, per country, per period. Here is who needs one, what each kind costs from the agency’s own gazetted schedule, and how to apply without waiting weeks at the border.

3 500 kgabove this, any commercial vehicle crossing the border needs a permit

Per countryapplication and issue fees are charged for each country you pick up or set down in

1 April 2026date the current fee schedule took effect, Government Notice 3807, Gazette 54229 of 27 February 2026

Who needs one

Any operator transporting goods or passengers across a South African border for commercial purposes, where the vehicle or combination exceeds 3 500 kg, needs a cross-border permit. That covers South African trucks, taxis, buses and tour vehicles going into SADC countries and foreign vehicles doing business inside South Africa. The permit sits alongside, not instead of, a domestic operating licence for passenger services and the driver’s professional driving permit.

The agency issues four families of permit: goods, taxi passengers, bus passengers and tourist passengers. Each comes as a 14-day temporary permit, a 3-month permit, a 12-month permit or a 5-year permit, and freight is split into Class 1 up to 20 000 kg and Class 2 above it. Cabotage, which is carrying loads between two points inside another country, is its own expensive category.

The fees, per vehicle per country, from 1 April 2026

Total of application fee plus issue fee, as published by the C-BRTA in Government Notice 3807 in Government Gazette 54229 of 27 February 2026.

Permit	14-day temporary	3 months	12 months	5 years	Annual compliance fee on 5-year
Taxi passengers, minibus up to 35 seats	R466	R699	R2 785	R5 981	R864
Bus passengers, over 35 seats	R493	R754	R3 100	R6 846	R988
Tourists, minibus up to 35 seats	R480	R988	R3 004	R6 269	R905
Tourists, bus over 35 seats	R507	R1 427	R3 210	R7 175	R1 043
Freight Class 1, up to 20 000 kg	R1 907	R2 867	R6 983	R9 439	R1 482
Freight Class 2, over 20 000 kg	R2 264	R3 553	R9 041	R12 320	R1 962
Cabotage	R5 734	R11 483	R28 728	Not offered	None

Renewals of 12-month and 5-year permits cost the same as the new permit and are issued immediately. Replacing a vehicle, a duplicate permit or a correction costs R233; amending a permit costs R947. The application fee inside those totals is R233 for passenger permits and R823 for freight, charged per country, and the agency notes it is payable for each country in which you pick up or set down.

How to apply, step by step

Decide the permit type, duration and countries. A truck running Johannesburg to Lusaka through Zimbabwe picks up or sets down in two countries and pays for both.
Register on Cross-Easy, the agency’s online application system, or go to the C-BRTA offices at Eco Park, Centurion.
Upload the operator and vehicle documents: company or identity documents, vehicle registration and roadworthy, the domestic operating licence for passenger services, and the driver’s professional driving permit where asked.
Pay. Cash, debit or credit card or bank-guaranteed cheque. Fees are not refunded on refusal.
Temporary and renewal permits are issued immediately; new permanent permits are advertised first. If the load cannot wait, take the 14-day temporary permit and apply for the long one in parallel.
Diarise the annual compliance fee on five-year permits and the expiry date. Border officials check the permit against the vehicle and the route.

What actually goes wrong

One country paid, two countries crossed. Transit through a country where you never load is one thing; setting down in it is another, and the fee is per country.
Applying for a permanent permit the week the load leaves. Permanent permits are advertised. Temporary permits exist for exactly this.
Letting the compliance fee lapse. A five-year permit with an unpaid annual fee is not a valid permit at the border.
No domestic licence behind the cross-border one. A passenger operator still needs the provincial operating licence for the South African leg.
The wrong class. A rigid truck with a trailer is a combination; the combined mass decides Class 1 or Class 2.

Frequently asked questions

Who needs a cross-border permit?

Any operator carrying goods or passengers for reward across a South African border where the vehicle or combination exceeds 3 500 kg, whether the vehicle is South African going into a SADC country or foreign operating commercially in South Africa. The permit comes from the Cross-Border Road Transport Agency, C-BRTA, and is separate from a domestic operating licence.

How much does a cross-border permit cost?

It depends on the permit type, the duration and the number of countries, because the application fee and the issue fee are charged per vehicle per country. From 1 April 2026 a 12-month freight permit for a vehicle up to 20 000 kg costs R6 983 per country and a five-year one R9 439; a 12-month minibus taxi passenger permit costs R2 785 and a five-year one R5 981. A 14-day temporary freight permit is R1 907. There is also an annual compliance fee on five-year permits.

How long does it take?

Temporary permits and renewals are issued immediately on the C-BRTA’s fee schedule. A new permanent permit has to be advertised first, so it takes weeks. Apply for a temporary permit if the load cannot wait.

Where do I apply?

Online on the C-BRTA’s Cross-Easy self-service system, or in person at the agency’s offices at Eco Park in Centurion. The agency accepts cash, debit and credit cards and bank-guaranteed cheques.

What is the annual compliance fee?

A yearly fee attached to five-year permits, R864 for a minibus, R988 for a bus, R1 482 for Class 1 freight and R1 962 for Class 2 freight, payable each year the permit runs. Miss it and the permit lapses.

Keep exploring

Transport operators hub Operating licence guide Professional driving permit Landed cost calculator

Sources: Cross-Border Road Transport Agency permit fee schedule, Government Notice 3807 in Government Gazette 54229 of 27 February 2026, in force from 1 April 2026 (checked 4 October 2026); the C-BRTA permits pages on cbrta.co.za. Fees are revised each April; confirm the current schedule before paying. ProperSA does not lodge C-BRTA permits; this is information, not legal advice.