The Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced on Thursday that only the backlog of driver’s licenses will be issued with plastic cards until June 2023. This is due to the issuance of a Writ of Preliminary Injunction on the supply of driver’s license cards.
The LTO also reminded the public of the schedule of renewal for driver’s licenses that expired from April 1 to June 30, 2023. Drivers who fail to renew their licenses on the assigned schedule will automatically incur penalties and expiration.
Meanwhile, the validity of expired driver’s licenses has been extended again until April 2024, starting this November. This is to accommodate the large number of drivers who are unable to renew their licenses due to the pandemic and the legal dispute over the card supply.
LTO Driver’s License Renewal Schedule as of November 9, 2023
| Expiration Date | Schedule of Renewal |
| April 1 to 30, 2023 | Renew by November 6, 2023 |
| May 1 to 31, 2023 | Renew by November 30, 2023 |
| June 1 to 30, 2023 | Renew by December 31, 2023 |
The LTO advised the public to check their official website and social media pages for the latest updates and announcements on driver’s license renewal and issuance.
The LTO said the driver’s license renewal process would only take 15 minutes, as long as motorists already have their paper licenses and receipts ready. The agency has improved its system and equipment to speed up the printing of the plastic cards.
For those who have renewed their driver’s licenses and have been issued a temporary paper license, you may contact the LTO branch that processed your renewal to check if your plastic card is ready for pickup.
The agency has faced a backlog of driver’s license printing since 2019 when it ran out of plastic cards due to contractual issues with its supplier.
It 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.
