The Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced on Thursday that it will extend the validity of driver’s licenses that expired on April 3, 2023, and onward for a year due to a card shortage caused by a legal dispute.
In a memorandum, the LTO said that driver’s and conductor’s licenses expiring from April 3, 2023, to April 1, 2024, will be automatically valid until April 2, 2024, or until the availability of plastic cards becomes sufficient, whichever comes first.
The extension applies to all types of driver’s licenses, including professional, non-professional, student permit, and conductor’s license.
Moreover, penalties will be waived for the licenses expiring on that date. The memorandum also emphasized that until the plastic card is released, the system-generated-license official receipt (OR) will have a stamp that says “Valid as temporary driver’s license”.
LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II said that the extension is meant to ease the burden on motorists who are unable to renew their licenses because of the ongoing case involving the contract for the production of driver’s license cards.
The agency advises motorists to keep their expired driver’s licenses and their official receipts as proof of their valid licenses.
The LTO also assured the public that it will inform them once the plastic cards are available and give them enough time to renew their licenses.
According to the LTO, there are about 1.7 million backlogs in driver’s license cards as of September 2023, which is due to a legal dispute that has prevented the agency from implementing the contract with the supplier of the driver’s license cards.
