LTO releases schedule for driver's license renewal

Driver's licenses that expired from 1 April to 31 August of 2023, and expiring from 1 to 30 April this year should be renewed from 15 to 30 April, 2024, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) said Tuesday.

It was Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista who also announced it and that the 600,000 license cards delivered to LTO this week will augment the 1 million previously distributed by the office in the last two weeks.

"The 600,000 cards will fill the backlog from the previous year. Meron pa tayo nung additional na 1 million na nai-deliver sa LTO noong nakaraan," Bautista said as he turned over the first license card since the Court of Appeals (CA) lifted the writ of preliminary injunction issued by a Quezon City court in 2023.

The transport chief who presided the press conference at the LTO headquarters said at least 2.2 million more cards will be delivered to LTO by May, and will be distributed to various LTO district and satellite offices.

"Now that the writ is lifted, we can now proceed with the issuance of license cards for new DL applicants and those who will renew," Bautista said.

LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said they expect the delivery of the 3.2 million cards within 45 days since the first delivery of 1 million cards last 25 March.

He added that drivers' licenses that expired from 1 September to 31 December of last year and expiring from 1 to 31 May 2024, should be renewed from 1 to 31 May 2024.

Drivers, Mendoza said, should now apply for renewal as plastic cards are already available.

According to Mendoza, drivers should renew and claim their plastic license cards from 16 to 30 April because those who fail to do so will face penalties.

"Drivers whose licenses had expired from April to August 2023 must renew their licenses and get their plastic cards," Mendoza said.

Mendoza also said that only motorists with expired licenses from April to August 2023 may claim plastic cards because the available supply was enough for them.

The LTO previously said that as of March 2024, its backlog was at 4.1 million driver's license plastic cards.

"It's the supply side because our supplier does not deliver it in one go. In fact, what was delivered to us is 1.6 million out of 3.2 million, so we, on the supply side, cannot cater to all the backlog na 4.1 million in one blow," he explained.

The LTO chief likewise said that another reason for the scheduled release was to prevent crowding and long lines on site.