Road Motor Transportation (Public Service Vehicles) (Amendment) Regulations, 2026 (No. 23)
Public service vehicle fees are re-set in US dollars: US$125 for a three-year operator's licence, US$20 per vehicle for route authority, US$400–US$900 for a foreign operator's licence, and transit charges of US$10 to US$120 a return journey by route.
The whole fee schedule for public service vehicles is replaced, and the 2022 amendment (S.I. 159 of 2022) is repealed outright.
An operator's licence on Form RMT 5 costs US$125 including the application fee, and covers three years; a duplicate is US$135. Route authority is US$20 per vehicle, and so is a duplicate. Bilateral permits and COMESA Treaty permits are US$50 each, duplicates included.
Foreign operators pay by validity period, in US dollars only: US$100 application plus US$400 licence for 14 days, rising through US$150/US$500 for 28 days, US$200/US$600 for 42 days, US$250/US$700 for 56 days and US$300/US$800 for 70 days, to US$350/US$900 for 84 days.
Transit charges are set per hundred kilometres for Mozambican-registered vehicles at US$25, and for Malawian-registered vehicles at US$14 for rigid trucks up to three axles, US$18 above three axles and US$7 for omnibuses. For other foreign-registered public service vehicles the charge is by named route and return journey: Bulawayo–Beitbridge US$40 for a foreign omnibus, US$70 for multi-axle goods combinations and US$50 for rigid three-axle or less; Harare–Beitbridge US$70, US$120 and US$100; Harare–Mutare US$30, US$60 and US$50; Victoria Falls–Kazungula US$10 across the board.
Certificates of fitness are US$25 for a vehicle over 2,300kg and US$20 below it, with re-inspection within a month at US$20 and US$15. A notice prohibiting use costs US$25 or US$20 by weight, using a vehicle under such a notice US$25, voluntary inspection US$25 or US$20, verification of particulars US$20, a duplicate certificate US$15, and storage US$20 a day. A further US$25 is payable where a vehicle found operating under a prohibition notice is presented for inspection.
Driving test fees are US$10 for an information search, US$20 for a learner licence, US$25 for a certificate of competency in classes 3 and 4 and US$30 in classes 1 and 5, plus US$15 production fees. Weighbridge charges are US$0.50 per kilogram of overload and US$20 for voluntary weighing or a reweigh.
For locally registered vehicles the fees may be paid in local currency at the prevailing bank rate of the day; foreign operator licences are payable in US dollars only.
What changed
- Operator's licence US$125 for three years including the application fee; duplicate US$135
- Route authority US$20 per vehicle, duplicate US$20
- Bilateral and COMESA Treaty permits US$50 each
- Foreign operator's licences from US$100 plus US$400 for 14 days to US$350 plus US$900 for 84 days, payable in US dollars only
- Transit charges of US$25 per 100km for Mozambican vehicles and US$7 to US$18 per 100km for Malawian vehicles by type
- Route-based transit charges for other foreign vehicles, from US$10 to US$120 a return journey
- Certificate of fitness US$25 over 2,300kg and US$20 under, with re-inspection at US$20 and US$15
- US$25 payable where a vehicle operating under a prohibition notice is presented for inspection
- Driving test fees from US$10 for a search to US$30 for a class 1 or 5 certificate of competency
- Weighbridge overload charge of US$0.50 per kilogram; SI 159 of 2022 repealed
Who this affects
- kombi, bus and haulage operators holding PSV licences
- foreign transport operators entering Zimbabwe
- Mozambican and Malawian registered hauliers in transit
- drivers sitting tests and operators presenting vehicles for certificates of fitness
- operators using weighbridges
Plain-language summary — not legal advice. Always read the full instrument.