The Land Transportation Office (LTO) said that starting August 3, all LTO sites will only accept and process applications for student permits (SP), new driver’s licenses and additional restriction code transactions from applicants who have secured driving course completion certificates.
According to an advisory signed by LTO chief Edgar Galvante, LTO-accredited driving schools, authorized driving school instructors/administrators, and LTO-Driver Education Centers in LTO offices which are ready to conduct the 15-hour driving course will issue the required driving course completion certificates beginning July 1.
The agency said that all applicants of student permit, including Foreign SPs and those with expired SPs who will be applying for new SPs beginning August 3 onwards, are required to secure the Theoretical Driving Course (TDC) Certificate.
For application of new driver’s license (professional and non-professional), all applicants with student permits issued from August 3 onwards will also be required to secure practical driving course (PDC) certificates.
Meanwhile, applicants for additional restriction codes (RC) will also be required to secure their PDC certificates for the additional restriction code being applied for.
It said that these certificates will then be electronically transmitted by the accredited driving school or DECs to the LTO-IT system.
As for the conversion of a Foreign Driver’s License to a Philippine Driver’s License, no TDC or PDC certificates will be required, according to LTO.
Galvante said that the move seeks to further strengthen the digitalization efforts of the Department of Transportation in a bid to minimize human intervention in various agency transactions.
“To recall, we have already launched the new Land Transportation Management System in 24 offices as our way of adhering to the directive of [DOTr] Secretary Tugade to shift to digitalization of transactions. As we ready for the nationwide activation of this new system, I have directed all concerned regional offices and district offices to be fully equipped and ready to accept electronically-transmitted certificates, which are prerequisite in securing driver’s licenses before August 3,” Galvante said
The LTO earlier advised applicants that it will be temporarily suspending the acceptance of student permit applications from July 1 until August 2, 2020 to pave the way for the new training requirements in the transaction.