What the disc is
The licence disc is the small round certificate in the windscreen that shows a vehicle is licensed. It's renewed every year, and each new disc carries the vehicle's details from the national register, eNaTIS. For a panel shop that makes it the quickest source of the details a quote, an insurer and a parts supplier all want: the plate, the VIN, the engine number, the make and the model.
It isn't the registration certificate, which is the owner's paper document and stays at home. The disc is the part that lives on the car, so it's the one in front of you when the car comes in.
What's on it
These are the vehicle details a disc carries, and what each one is for:
| Detail | What it is |
|---|---|
| Licence number | The number on the number plates, e.g. CA 123-456. This is what most people call the registration number. |
| Vehicle register number | The national register's own number for the vehicle. It stays with the car when its plates change. |
| VIN | The 17-character vehicle identification number, also stamped on the chassis. Insurers and parts suppliers work from it. |
| Engine number | The number stamped on the engine block. |
| Make and model | As the register records them. The model can be a short name or a code. |
| Description | The body type, in English and Afrikaans, e.g. Sedan (closed top) / Sedan (toe-kap). |
| Colour | Also in English and Afrikaans, e.g. Silver / Silwer. |
| Expiry date | The last day the licence is valid. |
| Disc number | The disc's own control number. It changes with every new disc. |
Licence number vs register number
This is the mix-up that ends up on quotes and invoices. Both numbers sit near each other on the disc, both look like a mix of letters and digits, and only one of them is on the plates.
- Licence number: what's on the plates. Use it wherever a quote, invoice or insurer asks for the registration number.
- Vehicle register number: the register's number for the vehicle itself. Personalised plates or a move to another province change the licence number, but not this one.
The barcode
The wide rectangular barcode on the disc is a PDF417 code. It holds the same vehicle details as the printed side, in plain text: the disc number, licence number, register number, description, make, model, colour, VIN, engine number and expiry date. The description and colour come in both languages, as they're printed.
Two things it doesn't do: it doesn't hold the model year, and it isn't encrypted. That second one sets it apart from the driving licence card, whose barcode is encrypted. Because the disc's barcode is plain text, software can read it straight off the windscreen and fill the details in for you.
Display and expiry
Regulation 36 of the National Road Traffic Regulations says where the disc goes. On a vehicle with a clear windscreen, it's the lower left-hand corner, with the print readable from outside. Without a windscreen, it goes in a conspicuous position on the left front side, in a watertight holder if it's exposed to the weather. The disc itself has to be displayed, not the paper it was printed on.
A licence must be renewed every year. The regulations allow a 21-day grace period after the expiry date (regulation 60), and the Department of Transport has confirmed it still applies. After that the licence is in arrears and penalties are added at renewal. Penalties differ by province, so check with the licensing office rather than quoting a figure to a customer.
What to check when a car comes in
Read the disc when the car is booked in, while the customer is still there to answer questions:
- Check the licence number on the disc matches the plates.
- Check the VIN on the disc against the VIN on the car. Insurers and parts suppliers use it, and a wrong digit means the wrong parts.
- If the VIN or engine number on the disc doesn't match the car, raise it with the customer, or the insurer on a claim, before you start work.
- Note the expiry date. If you'll road-test the car after the grace period, tell the customer the licence has lapsed.
- Take a photo of the disc for the job file, so the details can be checked later.
- Ask the customer for the model year. It isn't on the disc.
The rest of the check-in, from existing damage to the fuel level, is on our free vehicle check-in sheet. What a quote must then say is in our guide to quoting under the Consumer Protection Act.
Reading it in seconds
Typing a 17-character VIN and an engine number off a disc is where mistakes creep in. PanelDesk reads the barcode instead. When you add a vehicle, scan the disc with your phone, or pick a photo of it, and PanelDesk fills in the registration, VIN, engine number, make, model, colour and body type, plus the register number, disc number and expiry date. On a computer, a QR code turns your phone into the scanner and the details appear on the computer.
A photo of the disc is kept with the vehicle and goes onto the quote, and the customer's page flags a licence that has expired. It works for cars, trucks and trailers, for South African workshops.
FeatureLicence disc scanning in PanelDeskScan the disc and the vehicle fills itself in, then quote the job in minutes.
