New Arrivals - The International Drivers License

[RonHenk]

If you have been following the recent threads on the debacle the LTO has recently introduced to obtain and/or renew a drivers license here in the Philippines, I urge you to obtain an international drivers license prior to coming here to PI to live. You cannot get one once you are here in the Philippines. From my understanding you must get one from the DMV in the state/country where you currently reside before you depart your home country. This will allow you to drive here as well as any other country that honor them. At the very least, it will buy you years of time to figure out the Philippines LTO bureaucracy if you plan to live here long term. If anyone has more complete information PLEASE chime in. I wish I had gotten one!

[Jack Peterson]

I urge you to obtain an international drivers license prior to coming here to PI

 

 I will agree to am extent but it should be remembered that an IDL is not a licence, it is merely an International Translation of your own countries License into English, The 90 day rule will still apply. The main reason that you can't get an IDL here in the PI is I suspect, that the PI does not Recognize it at all. Trying to Circumnavigate the rules here to me, is just Silly.

Sorry! but sometimes things just have to be said to be Clear  :thumbsup:  

 

Jack  :)

[RonHenk]

 

I urge you to obtain an international drivers license prior to coming here to PI

 

 I will agree to am extent but it should be remembered that an IDL is not a licence, it is merely an International Translation of your own countries License into English, The 90 day rule will still apply. The main reason that you can't get an IDL here in the PI is I suspect, that the PI does not Recognize it at all. Trying to Circumnavigate the rules here to me, is just Silly.

Sorry! but sometimes things just have to be said to be Clear  :thumbsup:  

 

Jack  :)

 

 

Thanks for the input Jack. I will be the first to admit I don't know the rules. I'm going by what I've been told here by the police and they told me if my license was an international license then I could drive until I get my Filipino one. As with all things here, I suppose it's where you are and who you talk to. DRIVER BEWARE!

Edited February 1, 2016 by RonHenk

[robert k]

I will admit that I drove with my US license for more than 90 days and did not convert it to a Philippine license until the day it was to expire. I heard a lot of happy birthday! If all they want is your license, and vehicle papers don't volunteer passport with visa stamps, acri card or anything that would lead them to believe you had been there more than 90 days.

 

Alternatively, at checkpoints you could stop before you reach them and park and wait it out Filipino style. Actually when I saw a checkpoint I drove past a line of pulled over vehicles and they just waved me on. I guess they just assumed that my paperwork was good as I did not even hesitate. Actually, at that moment in time they would have been wrong as I didn't have the vehicle papers with me. OOPS!

[gusincebu]

I urge you to obtain an international drivers license prior to coming here to PI

I will agree to am extent but it should be remembered that an IDL is not a licence, it is merely an International Translation of your own countries License into English, The 90 day rule will still apply. The main reason that you can't get an IDL here in the PI is I suspect, that the PI does not Recognize it at all. Trying to Circumnavigate the rules here to me, is just Silly.

Sorry! but sometimes things just have to be said to be Clear [emoji106]

Jack :)

You can get an IDP ( international driving permit ) here .. like almost everywhere, they are issued by the countries Automobile Association , in this case you must join the AAP , Automobile Association Philippines and apply for one ..The catch is of course , that they are for use in conjunction with your Philippines D/L , when travelling overseas, not for use here.

You are right, the 90 day rule , will be in play here, as the local police and traffic enforcers dont appear to even understand what one is.

In Thailand complete opposite , totally acceptable , but only along with your license from your home country.

Sent from my GT-P5210 using Tapatalk

[RonHenk]

I will admit that I drove with my US license for more than 90 days and did not convert it to a Philippine license until the day it was to expire.

 

Did you get pulled over during that time? Right now with the election and gun ban there's checkpoints on every other corner.

[robert k]

 

I will admit that I drove with my US license for more than 90 days and did not convert it to a Philippine license until the day it was to expire.

 

Did you get pulled over during that time? Right now with the election and gun ban there's checkpoints on every other corner.

 

Not pulled over but I did get stopped at a checkpoint on my way to Bayawan City. All they wanted was to see my drivers license and ask "where is your GF". I told them she wouldn't shut up so I left her behind this trip. :thumbsup:

[jai_ren]

1. It is called an International Driving Permit. Not an International Driving Licence.

2. They are not required in the Philippines although seeing as in the UK they are so inexpensive (about 8 US dollars a year) I do get one as they make you seem a little bit more legitimate when you are able to present not one, but two photo ID's at a checkpoint.

3. Your home license lasts for 90 days. After that strictly speaking, you need to head to an LTO and get a Filipino one.

4. Nobody ever asks to see your passport in the Philippines and certainly not for me at any of the 30-40 checkpoints I have been stopped at. How are they going to know that you have been in the country for more than 90 days, if they never ask to see your passport?

5. Despite 4., it is still a good idea for most people to get a Filipino licence within 90 days.

[jai_ren]

1. It is called an International Driving Permit. Not an International Driving Licence.

2. They are not required in the Philippines although seeing as in the UK they are so inexpensive (about 8 US dollars a year) I do get one as they make you seem a little bit more legitimate when you are able to present not one, but two photo ID's at a checkpoint.

3. Your home license lasts for 90 days. After that strictly speaking, you need to head to an LTO and get a Filipino one.

4. Nobody ever asks to see your passport in the Philippines and certainly not for me at any of the 30-40 checkpoints I have been stopped at. How are they going to know that you have been in the country for more than 90 days, if they never ask to see your passport?

5. Despite 4., it is still a good idea for most people to get a Filipino licence within 90 days.

[Dave Hounddriver]

4. Nobody ever asks to see your passport in the Philippines and certainly not for me at any of the 30-40 checkpoints I have been stopped at. How are they going to know that you have been in the country for more than 90 days, if they never ask to see your passport?

 

This is a good point.  But the cops always ask me how long I have been in Philippines so if you have been here more than 90 days and you are following this advice then you will have to be prepared to lie.  Not everyone is comfortable with that.

 

As to the IDP, when I researched whether I would need one to bring my Philippine license for use in Canada I found out that its only purpose (when used in BC Canada where I looked it up) is to translate non English licences.  If the language of the license is already English then the IDP is not required.  I would expect the same to be true here but YMMV yada yada