LTO announces shortage in driver’s license cards

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has formally announced that it is currently experiencing a stock shortage of driver’s license cards.  

The social media post from the official LTO Facebook page about using the OR as a temporary license

So in lieu of the usual plastic cards, the said agency says that the official receipt (OR) for the driver’s license transaction will be used to fill in as an LTO-issued license. This was declared via an LTO memorandum stating that the OR can be used as a “Temporary Driver’s License” if a particular regional or district office runs out of plastic cards. 

The memorandum further added that the OR that will function as a temporary driver’s license should contain all the necessary details. Specifically, it should display a unique QR code and a screenshot of the front and rear of the yet-to-be-printed actual driver’s license card.  

A meeting between LTO and the Philippine National Police (PNP) Highway Patrol Group was also conducted in order for the latter to be informed and thus accept the OR as a temporary driver’s license.  

Hopefully, the supply issue is fixed soon as plastic cards are much more resilient than mere paper

The memorandum likewise directed LTO regional heads to file for a reallocation of their respective supplies of plastic cards. According to the LTO, the agency only has 147,522 plastic cards remaining, which is then projected to run out before the end of March 2023.  

According to the LTO, this policy will remain until the agency can print plastic driver’s license cards. For now, the agency is now waiting for the process of procurement of plastic cards which is currently being handled by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).  

Do note likewise that the LTO has also extended the validity of driver’s licenses that are scheduled to expire from April 24 until October 31, 2023. This validity extension was likewise implemented by the LTO as a response to the plastic card shortage.  

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