The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has good news for drivers who have been waiting for their plastic driver’s licenses. The LTO said on Thursday that it has received enough plastic cards to print the licenses and has set a schedule for drivers to renew their expired licenses.
According to LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II, the schedule is for drivers whose licenses expired from April 1 to September 30 this year. He said the LTO has allocated a specific month for each expiration date to avoid overcrowding in its offices.
Drivers whose licenses expired in April can renew their licenses from October 6 to 31. Those whose licenses expired in May can renew them in November, those in June can renew them in December, and so on until March 2024. Here’s the complete list of renewal dates.
| Expiration Dates | Scheduled Renewal Dates |
| April 1 – 30, 2023 | October 6 – 31, 2023 |
| May 1 – 31, 2023 | November 1 – 30, 2023 |
| June 1 – 30, 2023 | December 1 – 31, 2023 |
| July 1 – 31, 2023 | January 1 – 31, 2024 |
| August 1 – 31, 2023 | February 1 – 29, 2024 |
| September 1 – 30, 2023 | March 1 – 31, 2024 |
Mendoza reminded drivers that they need to follow the schedule and renew their licenses within the allotted time. Otherwise, their licenses will be considered expired and they will have to pay penalties.
He also assured drivers that the renewal process would only take 15 minutes, as long as they have their paper licenses and receipts ready. He said the LTO has improved its system and equipment to speed up the printing of the plastic cards.
He added that drivers who have not renewed their licenses due to the plastic card shortage are still allowed to drive until their scheduled renewal date. He said the LTO has extended the validity of their paper licenses until then.
The LTO has been facing a backlog of driver’s license printing since 2019 when it ran out of plastic cards due to contractual issues with its supplier. The problem was worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, which disrupted the delivery of new plastic cards from abroad.
The agency expects to clear the backlog by Q2 2024 when it will resume its normal operations and issue plastic driver’s licenses on the same day of renewal.
