LTO to temporarily stop the issuance of student driver permits starting July 1

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be suspending the issuance of new student permits starting July 1, 2020. This was done in order for the government office to start the roll-out of its new Automated Certification and Education of Student drivers (ACES). Starting August 3, 2020, those who want to acquire a student permit will now have to undergo a 15-hour theoretical driving course.

(Effective July, we are suspending the issuance of student permits because, by August, those applying to have a student permit must have undergone a 15-hour theoretical session)

He continues by stating that by August 3 all those who will want to apply for a student permit will be required to go through theoretical sessions through the government office’s partnerships with driving schools. The 15-hour lecture will discuss the laws and regulations on driving.

The new 15-hour course was originally supposed to be implemented back in April of 2020 through its Memorandum Circulation 2019-2167. However, with the onset of the ongoing pandemic, its implementation was pushed back to a later date. 

Only LTO accredited driving schools will be allowed to issue the 15-hour long course. The 15-hour course will be divided into three sections each one consisting of 5-hours each. The seminar will be focusing on traffic laws and other essential driving skills. The seminar sections can be attended on separate dates with each one being scheduled beforehand with the driving school that the participant has chosen. 

Each session will include the following:

• Introduction to driving

• Traffic rules

• Land transportation-related special laws

Once the participant has completed the 15-hour course they will automatically earn a certificate of completion from the driving school which in turn will be transmitted to the LTO. After this, the participant will then be qualified to receive his or her student’s permit. 

The cost of the seminar has not been released by the LTO and will probably depend on the accredited driving school giving out the course. As such it is highly advised that those interested in getting a student permit contact their closest driving school and check if they are accredited to make sure the process of scheduling and attending these lectures goes as smoothly as possible.