Everything you need to know about the 10-year Philippine Driver's License

Historically, driver’s licenses in the Philippines lasted 3 years before requiring renewal, but thanks to Republic Act (RA) 10930 which was signed back in 2017, motorists will now be allowed to apply for a license with up to 10-years’ worth of validity if certain conditions are met.

Along with that, the LTO also released new requirements and other announcements surrounding the validity of licenses in the Philippines. To help you navigate through some of the more important details, here is a quick guide on the 10-year valid licenses and a quick pass on how to get one in the Philippines. 

Simply put, follow all the rules and regulations on Philippine roads, and you should be fine. All this means is that you should have no demerits to your driving record, and by “no demerits,” we mean zero demerits. That means no tickets and violations. 

The point of having a 10-year license is to incentivize safe driving on Philippine roads. The RA seeks to improve road safety and give license holders a reward for following all the traffic rules on the road and contributing to a safe driving environment. 

As such, motorists with at least one demerit point will receive the standard 5-year validity period for their driver’s license. The issuance of demerit points on your LTO record will depend on the gravity of your infraction. Light constitutes one demerit point, less grave gives three, and grave offenses will get you five demerit points. 


Aside from the spotless driving record, you also need to take a Comprehensive Driver’s Education Program prior to the renewal of your license, regardless of if it is for a standard 5-year validity or incentivized 10-year validity period. 

In tandem with the announcement, the LTO stated that all renewing drivers must take the CDE test either on-site or online and submit a certificate indicating that they have passed the exam with at least 13 out of 25 questions correctly answered. You can go online to the LTO’s Management System (LTMS) to register, log in, and take your test for free—you may retake the exam multiple times as well. Also, LTO accredited driving schools will also carry this service and be able to issue a CDE certificate. 

The validity period has changed, but the process is largely the same. Save for the CDE certificate that you have to obtain and present upon renewal and registration, you will have to prepare some cash to pay for the renewal fees, and a few other documents in order to renew. 

Fees for renewal 

License fee:                                   P585

Computer fee:                               P67.63

Application fee:                             P100

Additional  computer fee:              P67.63

Estimated total without penalties:  P820.26

Also, the LTO stated that the Central Office Licensing Section and the Quezon City Licensing Center (QCLC) will be the first two branches to start issuing 10-year-valid licenses starting October 28, 2021. 

On November 3, 2021, other branches in the National Capital Region (NCR) will be equipped to process and issue 10-year valid licenses.