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.
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