LTO Car Registration Renewal 2021

This has been the 5th time I've gone through the car registration renewal process of the LTO. I was expecting the usual steps.

1. Get emission testing certificate
2. Get CTPL insurance
3. Go to LTO and have a technician help accomplish the MVIR form
4. Have documents assessed
5. Pay the Cashier
6. Claim your OR/CR

Left the house at around 9:00 A.M. and arrived at the emission testing center at around 10:00 A.M. Testing was done in around 15 minutes. The test center even offered insurance coverage so I was done with steps 1 and 2. 

At the LTO, after finding a suitable parking spot, the technician was able to stencil the required info to our MVIR form in around 20 minutes. I then had to check out a checklist of required documents and leave this with the security guard who attached a number to my documents.

This is when my 5-hour wait began. This was amazing considering I had gone through the same registration process when the country was already experiencing COVID-19. And I also experienced what is was like before COVID-19. And this was the first time I've had to wait this long. Before, my worst experience was probably around 3-hours of waiting time.

There were multiple times when different people would go to the cashier's window and ask if their name was already called. This was very different from my experiences before. Maybe, it is high time that the Quezon City government help the LTO improve their queuing system. Not having any kind of tracking number, and completely surrendering your documents without any proof that you've already submitted all of these to the LTO, for me, creates anxiety. What if the documents were lost in the process? How do I prove that I've submitted them already? How do I track where the documents are in case I want to leave? etc. etc.

So, when people go to the Cashier window and ask if their name was already called, this further causes delays in the process. The cashier personnel has to act as customer service and re-check the documents that have been called to verify if the person was already bypassed. They then have to direct the person back to the assessment window.

There were also cases wherein an LTO representative would call out the name of a person who was already waiting at the cashier's area and inform that person that some of his documents were missing. This could have been avoided if the documents were assessed properly at the time of submission.

I can also understand why some of the people waiting were worried. The waiting area can be considered an enclosed area, and during the time of COVID-19, nobody wants to be stuck in a room full of people, even if the room is at 50% capacity. So some people would rather wait in open-space areas than in that room, and this was the reason why they'd have to pester the cashier every so often.

After what seemed like an eternity, my name was finally called and I had to pay 1,610 pesos. Combine this amount with 500 pesos for emission testing, 1,000 pesos for the insurance and the 50 pesos tip to the technician, and the total amount spent was around 3,160 pesos.

The cashier issued the new printed OR which looks like a photocopy of some receipt. There was no CR issued. According to the LTO personnel, this was part of the new system. And this was also the reason why it took a long time for registration. (Sounds fishy, since a black and white print-out on regular bond paper should take less time and resources than a more elaborate colored OR and CR. But that's life in the Philippines)

So, the next time you have the car's registration renewed, you might want to take along a book, or your mobile phone for entertainment. Expect a long time of waiting.

Renewing My Non-professional Driver's License 2019

My non-professional driver's license will expire in a month's time. So I decided to try renewing the license via LTO's Satellite Office at the basement of SM North Annex. It is located at the farthest end, to the right of the bowling alley. There are other government kiosks present there such as Pag-ibig, Philpost, GSIS, SSS, etc.

You are required to bring your old driver's license. The other requirements can be obtained onsite. This includes the medical exam and the form you are supposed to fill-out. But the medical examination center conveniently located just before the entrance to the LTO Satellite Office will be the one to fill out your form for you. The only draw back is that they charge 450 pesos for the examination. When I paid for my medical exam in 2016, it was only 180 pesos.

When you fill out the medical exam forms, make sure you know your height in cm, weight in kg, eye color, and blood type. It took me a while to obtain these info, so instead of finishing filling out the forms ahead of the other applicants, I ended up the last applicant processed during the day. Also be well versed with your medical history because there are questions that will ask you whether or not you have undergone certain medical procedures or illnesses.

After submitting the form, together with your old license, you will be asked to pay 450 pesos. (Note that this amount is during the time of this writing and might change by the time you are reading this post).

After paying the fee, your eyes will be tested using the traditional "read the letter's" test. There are also color blindness tests. And there was a machine where you put your chin and then the technician checks your eyes.

If you pass the tests, you will be given documents that you will then submit to the LTO kiosk. You'll have to wait a while before your documents are processed. Your photo will be taken, and you will have to sign your electronic signature.

Afterwards, you will have to pay the LTO fee of around 653 pesos. (Again, this amount probably varies depending if you have incurred penalties). So all in all, I spent about 1093 pesos to get my non-pro license renewed.

After paying, you wait a few more minutes and actually go to a back-room where they input your personal data (Name, address, phone, etc), retake your picture and electronic signature, and also go through electronic fingerprinting. I asked the technician what the difference was between the first time they took our picture and signature and this second time. According to her, the first time was for LTO Main Office's records. The second time was for their satellite office's records.

It took me about 2 hours all in all from the start of the medical exam to getting my printed license. Although 2 hours might seem like a long time, this beats having to go through the process at the main office which might take you a day, and you might have to come back after a week to actually get the printed license. So, props to LTO's SM North Satellite Office for a job well done.

And since this new license is valid for 5 years, I hopefully will not have to do this for quite some time. Hope this helps others who are planning on renewing their license this year.