LTO extends validity of license and registration of new motorcycles

MANILA: Due to a shortage of plastic cards, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is extending the validity of driver's licenses that expired last April 24.

In a new policy that is expected to help drivers who rely on motorbikes for their livelihood, the LTO will also prolong the registration validity of new motorcycles up to three years.

Drivers’ License Extension

Drivers whose licenses expire on April 24 are not obliged to renew them until October 31, according to a memo from LTO Chief Jay Art Tugade, and any late renewal fines will be canceled.

“All holders of driver’s license cards expiring 24 April 2023 onwards shall no longer be required to renew their licenses until October 31, 2023, or as soon the driver’s license cards become available for distribution to the public,” the LTO chief’s memorandum circular stated.

“Further, all penalties for late renewal transactions shall be waived,” it also read.

Tugade recently said that the LTO's stock of plastic driver's license cards is running low and that soon, permits would only be printed on the back of official receipts.

He stated that they anticipate using up all 147,000 plastic cards at the LTO branches nationwide by the end of the month of April. Drivers who are renewing their licenses or applying for new ones are anticipated to be impacted by the card scarcity issue.

Registration Extension of Motorcycles with Engines 200cc and Below

Approximately 2 million drivers whose newly registered motorcycles have an engine displacement of 200cc or less will benefit from the LTO's Memorandum Circular JMT-2023-2395, according to a statement released on Sunday by the LTO.

Following research done by the LTO, LTO Chief Tugade stated that it was decided to grant a three-year validity of vehicle registration even for motorbikes with an engine displacement of 200cc and below.

On the basis of Republic Act Number 4136, or the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, and RA 11032, or the Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act of 2018, only motorcycles with an engine displacement of 201cc and above were qualified for a three-year validity period upon their initial registration with the LTO.

This means that once the three-year validity period expires, motorcycles with an engine displacement of 200cc or less must register each year.

According to Divine Reyes, a representative for the LTO, the new policy will save drivers money on annual emission testing because motorcycles with 200cc and under engines are typically utilized for delivery and as motorcycle taxis. “We do not see that there will be a problem with the roadworthiness of motorcycles with three-year registration because these are new vehicles,” Tugade meanwhile observed.

The LTO memorandum also indicated that the motor vehicle user's charge to be collected during the initial registration would be adjusted to cover the relevant registration validity term. This extended the registration validity of new motorcycles.

Photos from Land Transportation Office, Honda, Lalamove, and Dylan Afuang 

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