How to get a Driver's License (Non-Professional) and Student Permit

The card that lets you legally drive your own car or motorcycle in the Philippines. A Student Permit comes first. It lets you practice driving, but only if a licensed driver is sitting beside you. After you hold the permit for at least one month and pass the driving course and tests, you can apply for the real Non-Professional Driver's License.

The three ways to get it

Online

Partly

You cannot finish this fully online. The portal handles your account, your e-learning courses, and some payments and bookings, but the photo, signature, written exam, and driving test all happen in person.

The LTO portal also shows a Digital ID version of your license once you have one.

Go to portal.lto.gov.ph/ and click Register Now. Choose to enroll as an individual.
Type your name and birth date exactly as they appear on your PSA birth certificate. A mistake here is hard to fix later.
You now have an LTO Client ID. Keep it.
Take the 15-hour Theoretical Driving Course. You can do it at a free LTO Driver's Education Center (limited slots), an LTO-accredited driving school, or an LTO-accredited TESDA training center. The school sends your certificate to your ltms account electronically.
Get your medical exam at an LTO-accredited clinic. The clinic sends the result electronically too.
Some LTO offices let you book a slot and pay online through the portal.
Then go to the LTO office in person for your photo, signature, exam, and the card itself.

Walk-in

Yes

Go early. Some offices stop accepting applicants once the daily quota is full.

Never deal with fixers outside the office.

Create your ltms account first at portal.lto.gov.ph/ if you have not yet. You need the LTO Client ID.
Finish the 15-hour Theoretical Driving Course and get your medical certificate. Both must be sent to LTO electronically by the school and the clinic.
Go to an LTO Licensing Center, Licensing Extension Office, or District Office. Bring all originals and photocopies.
Fill up and submit the APL form with your documents.
Pay at the cashier. Keep the Official Receipt.
They take your photo, signature, and fingerprints.
For the license (not the permit): you also take the computer theory exam and the actual driving test.
Get your card. If they run out of cards, your Official Receipt works as a temporary license.

Representative

Partly

A regular Special Power of Attorney will not get someone a license for you. For first-time student permits and first-time licenses, there is no representative option at all.

In almost all cases no. You must go yourself, because LTO takes your photo, signature, and fingerprints, and you must take the exam and the driving test yourself.
The one exception in the LTO Citizen's Charter is renewal for a Filipino who is living or working abroad (called absentee renewal).
In that case your representative brings: the filled up APL form, a photocopy of your passport showing the first page, the visa page, your departure from the Philippines, and your latest arrival overseas, AND the original Letter of Authority that you signed naming them.
You must then appear yourself at the same LTO office within 30 days of arriving back in the Philippines, for your photo. At that time you bring your medical certificate, your passport (original and photocopy of the first and arrival pages), the Official Receipt that served as your temporary license, and your driver's education certificate if it is required.

What to bring

FOR A student permit:
Filled up Application for Permits and Licenses (APL) form
Medical certificate from an LTO-accredited clinic, sent to LTO electronically. Bring the original and one photocopy.
Original and one photocopy of any one of these: PSA birth certificate, Philippine Identification (National ID) card, Passport, Local Civil Registry certificate (in places with no PSA), or PSA marriage certificate
Original and one photocopy of any government ID with your photo and signature
If you are under 18: written consent from one parent or guardian, plus the original and a photocopy of that parent's valid government ID with photo and signature
Original and one photocopy of your Certificate of Completion of the 15-hour Theoretical Driving Course, sent to LTO electronically
LTO Client ID (you get this from the LTO online portal)
FOR A new non-professional license:
Filled up APL form
Medical certificate from an LTO-accredited clinic, sent to LTO electronically
Original and one photocopy of your Practical Driving Course (PDC) certificate, sent to LTO electronically
Your valid Student Permit
Parent or guardian consent (with their valid ID) if you are only 17 years old
TIN (Tax Identification Number), if you have a job

The details

Who can apply

Student permit: Filipinos 16 years old and above.
Non-professional license: at least 17 years old (foreigners 18), you must already hold a Student Permit for at least 1 month, you must pass the Practical Driving Course, and you must pass the computer theory exam and the actual driving test.

Cost

LTO base fees, from a well-known motoring publication: Student Permit new PHP 250 (PHP 100 application fee + PHP 150 permit fee). Student Permit renewal PHP 150.

New Non-Professional License PHP 685 (PHP 100 application fee + PHP 585 license fee). License renewal PHP 585.

On top of that you also pay: a medical exam at an LTO-accredited clinic (LTO set a cap of PHP 300 for this), the 15-hour Theoretical Driving Course (free at an LTO Driver's Education Center, but roughly PHP 1,000 to PHP 1,500 at a private accredited driving school), and the Practical Driving Course at a driving school, which is the biggest cost.

How long it takes

Usually the same day, if all your papers (medical certificate, driving course certificates) were already sent to LTO electronically and the office has card stock. You leave with the card.

If the card is not ready, LTO gives you an Official Receipt that works as a temporary license.

How long it lasts

Student Permit: 1 year from the date it was issued.
New Non-Professional License: 5 years, counted from your birthday.
Renewal: 10 years if you had no traffic violation during the 5 years before it expired.

Tips

Important for right now: LTO extended the validity of expired driver's licenses, conductor's licenses, student permits, and vehicle registrations with no penalties, but that extension ends on 31 July 2026 under Memorandum Circular No. MVL-2026-5157. From 1 August 2026, late renewals get the normal surcharges and penalties again. If yours is expired, renew now.
Take the 15-hour Theoretical Driving Course free at an LTO Driver's Education Center instead of paying a private school. Slots are limited, so book early.
Type your name and birth date in the ltms portal exactly as they appear on your PSA birth certificate. Fixing a wrong entry later means extra trips.
Do not use fixers. Fees are paid at the LTO cashier and you always get an Official Receipt.
Keep your record clean for 5 years. A clean record is the only way to get the 10-year license instead of 5 years.

Not verified

The research could not confirm these against an official 2026 source. Phone the office before you travel.

the exact official 2026 LTO fee schedule could not be checked directly, because lto.gov.ph blocks automated access. Always confirm the amount on the official receipt at the LTO office before paying.