Philippine Drivers License: First hand Experience

What is your current visa classification?  That can make a huge difference in getting a Philippine Drivers License.

Hobbit112 wrote:

What is your current visa classification?  That can make a huge difference in getting a Philippine Drivers License.

I have my ACR Card (Probation Resident) Good for one year which converts after one year)

I used this to receive my Non professional drivers license good for Four years.

Do people living in the provinces have to do the tests/exams in Manila or they have their own facilities at their towns?

robal

If you become a resident of the Philippines, how long are you allowed to use your US Driver License?

robal

robal wrote:

Do people living in the provinces have to do the tests/exams in Manila or they have their own facilities at their towns?

robal

They have their own facilities.

Regarding using your foreign drivers license:  you can legally drive using it for 90 days from date of entry no matter what your visa status is.

Thanks bro.

robal

Ah, A typical day dealing with a Philippines bureaucracy.  If one cannot laugh one should not be here.  I like the emphasis on the background noise, especially when you are listening for someone to mispronounce your name on a PA that is leftover from a well used karaoke setup. 
I had to go to a okay-okay and got a pair of purple felt pants.  No pix below the wast.

My license is good for 5 years

You will have no fixers at LTO in Davao city

Okieboy wrote:

You will have no fixers at LTO in Davao city

It looks like fixers is endemic in Manila only.

Okieboy wrote:

My license is good for 5 years

Could the expiration be more/longer if someone is younger without obvious health problems?

robal wrote:

Okieboy wrote:

My license is good for 5 years

Could the expiration be more/longer if someone is younger without obvious health problems?

nope

https://www.lto.gov.ph/latest-issuance/ … ses-2.html

five years is the max

it used to be three years

Philippine Destiny wrote:

robal wrote:

Okieboy wrote:

My license is good for 5 years

Could the expiration be more/longer if someone is younger without obvious health problems?

nope

https://www.lto.gov.ph/latest-issuance/ … ses-2.html

five years is the max

it used to be three years

Thanks for your input.

No, now the fixer is the employee that will speed up and make the process smoother.

LemSaDipolog wrote:

No, now the fixer is the employee that will speed up and make the process smoother.

In reality they are the one that asks for more and more money and eventually disappears with all of your money and paper work.

When my wife and I first moved to the Philippines we had no idea what fixers were. We thought that the nice man in the government office who offered to help us was trustworthy. He was actually recommended to us by a relative.

After being strung along for quite some time he disappeared.

Lucky for us that he was a government employee.

We filed a case on him. He was suspended already for doing a similar thing to someone else.

We got everything back and completed our process.

but it was not fun

never use a fixer

they only break your process

PD.. totally agree with what you say about 'fixers'...but they are there strictly because the staff/employees themselves are in ca-hoots with these fixers, and so they make it ever so difficult for direct applicants.
The whole system is 'Fubar'.

Regards & 'hakuna matata'

manwonder wrote:

PD.. totally agree with what you say about 'fixers'...but they are there strictly because the staff/employees themselves are in ca-hoots with these fixers, and so they make it ever so difficult for direct applicants.
The whole system is 'Fubar'.

Regards & 'hakuna matata'

Like I said, he was a civi. And Believe me, I know who he was working for.

I got other stories not appropriate for prime time.

Hi,
In Dumaguete, on a Tourist Visa and ACR card in August of 2017, I paid Globalink Driving School (near Foundation University) about 3k PhP to arrange the medical exam, drug test, eye test, paper exam, and paper work for a beginner's drivers permit. I did not actually take the exam, nor was I given a driving test.  After 30 days, I got the 5 year license to drive a car and a motorcycle. I declined the services of several "fixers" hanging around the main LTO.
Msls6

After having serious interactions with at least 8 ‘govt agencies’ in the Phils over the course of 13 years, let’s conclude that touts/fixers/miscreants feed on the unsuspecting every day of the week in all of them. And this includes outside the gates/doors of NBI, BI, LTO, BoC, Port Authorities, DoF, BIR, etc. Such corruption continues inside those same doors when few has a mind, let alone one that’s capable of being honest or efficient. Following dumb systems to the letter helps ‘stabilize’ a rotten inner core, and seems to be enough for the gamesplayers inside and outside their jurisdiction to make us their game for however long they choose.

Hence that one’s ‘driver’s license’ here is not to be taken seriously, but that it’s not a DL at all, but just a piece of paper in plastic that looks official, but is meaningless, and mostly a means by which each window at LTO collects a little or big fee for services that are largely non-existent.

Remedy?

Never using fixers, just ramp up your patience, go through what is easily seen through, pay the fee, and go on your way. Keep your DL closeby at all times for ID and to discourage the inevitable traffic enforcers and cops from trying to extort cash from you on the sly.

I think that the Phils is the most corrupt country in SE Asia, esp as they’ve had influences from fairly together countries for at least 300 years - Spain and US - where they could have learned systems that work better, and where corruption is not so readily apparent, at least not in every circumstance.

Go with the flow. Otherwise you may go bonkers. And pls do not take any of this stuff that obviously broken too seriously. Only result in hbp and get you angry beyond measure.

W9XR wrote:

Hobbit112 wrote:

What is your current visa classification?  That can make a huge difference in getting a Philippine Drivers License.

I have my ACR Card (Probation Resident) Good for one year which converts after one year)

I used this to receive my Non professional drivers license good for Four years.

An ACR-I card is not a visa. The visa is stamped in the passport.

But from what you state it seems that you are talking a bout a 13a visa.

Philippine Destiny wrote:

W9XR wrote:

Hobbit112 wrote:

What is your current visa classification?  That can make a huge difference in getting a Philippine Drivers License.

I have my ACR Card (Probation Resident) Good for one year which converts after one year)

I used this to receive my Non professional drivers license good for Four years.

An ACR-I card is not a visa. The visa is stamped in the passport.

But from what you state it seems that you are talking a bout a 13a visa.

Yes, they stamped my passport also to coincide with the acr card.

Today at 9am drove & parked at the Surigao City (LTO) office car park, and proceeded to apply for my drivers license (issued but only for another 4.5yrs) ...somehow they jus followed my D.o.b & added 5 yrs fm there.
Didn't bother to question; as I was in my very best behaviour with smiles all around.
(*very important : If you are going in with your wife/partner, just make sure *she too wears long pants/ Jeans & covered shoes (no slippers)...In my case she was *declined entry & had to wait outside the LTO gate the whole time.

Interviewed by the LTO Manager for approx : 5minutes...Showed him my Passport/SRRV Visa & SRRV Card/Singapore Drivers License of which I had made copies earlier.
1) Paid 500 pesos (medical cost in hse medical centre).
2) Paid 852.63pesos (Final Payment).
3) Total Time Spent in LTO office a v.respectable (3.5hrs); this was inclusive of a power failure that lasted for approx 30mins.
5) Total crowd before me : approx 25 applicants...I think for foreign license conversion it is an expedited process.
6) NO sign of any fixers whatsoever.
7) Mispronounced my name over the PA that was leftover from a well used karaoke setup (thks for the alert & was prepared 'LemSaDipolog').
8) All counter staff were very pleasant & patient.
9) Overall a very pleasant experience.

Thanks

If you do everything your self at LTO it is about 600 peso to convert your license to Philippines license it can be renewed now for 10 years if you have a good driving record

Okieboy wrote:

If you do everything your self at LTO it is about 600 peso to convert your license to Philippines license it can be renewed now for 10 years if you have a good driving record

Can be renewed for 10 years regardless of age?

robal wrote:

Okieboy wrote:

If you do everything your self at LTO it is about 600 peso to convert your license to Philippines license it can be renewed now for 10 years if you have a good driving record

Can be renewed for 10 years regardless of age?

Agreed...never knew/heard about a 10yrs renewal.

@GuestPoster204  same exam po, computerized dn pero usually hnd n nirrequire ang actual driving after ng test.

Hello Jessa,

Welcome to expat.com!

Unfortunately GuestPoster204 is a deleted profile.

Also, kindly write in English only since this an English speaking forum and it is important that all members understand your message

Cheers,

Yoginee

Expat.com team

@GuestPoster204 Ones driver license from their home country is good only for the first 90 days after entering the country (regardless of if the licenses expiration date is past the 90 day mark). Thus after 90 days one must convert over to a PH driver's license, regardless of when one gets the permanent resident visa (like a 13A).

Got a ? On PH driver license conversion requirements. Let's say one was entering the country with his filipina spouse & got the balikbayan privilege upon entry. They would get a "BB" stamp in their passport (which is a one year visa free entry for them). My understanding is that the foreigner husband isn't required to have an ACR I card at least that first year under the balikbayan priviledge. But then if he has to get a PH license conversion after the first 90 days (by PH LTO law) after entry,  can he get that conversion done without having that ACR card? Or would he have to wait until after a year to get the conversion done? I keep hearing an ACR card is reqd to convert one's license from their foreign license to a PH one....seeking clarification on that situation. THKS!

Is the ACR required for a complete new driving license (i need a motorbike license but have only a german license for cars).  I'm just on 30 or 60 day tourist visa.

Harbred  I got a convention on BB w/o an ACR.  We logged into some LTO site the that ACR was one of the fields but not required to complete the form so we left it blank.  Seems like it very from place to place through.

@Velocycling People here on SRRV do not even get an ACR card but we did get our licenses.

@danfinn True. But the Id card we get says on the back it replaces ACR card.

@Enzyte Bob

I traded my ca license for a Philippine license 1day before it expired. Paid 500 pesos,didn't have to take a test. They took my picture and handed me my new license. 5 years expiration.

No problem, no worries. It's been accepted everywhere.

@laymanm65 From experience, that does not work. For example, if you apply online for a credit card or anything else requiring ACR-I, the computer algorithm does not accept SRRV. If at the LTO, clerks are not paid the read the back of the SRRV card and make a judgment, it just depends on the mood of the supervisor if you can get to that person. SRRV is a minority compared to ACR-I holders so many agencies do not bother with it. Only the PRA can fix it and many have requested that they do.