When applying for a driver’s license (DL) in the Philippines, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) requires all DL applicants, regardless of classification, to submit an LTO medical certificate. The certificate is issued by LTO-accredited medical clinics and physicians nationwide. These clinics are usually strategically located near LTO offices, in a bid to make securing the required medical certificates easier for aspiring drivers.
Also Read: List of LTO-Accredited Driving Schools
As the medical certificate requirement is for everyone, those who are applying for a student driver’s license, a non-professional driver’s license, and a professional driver’s license, as well as those who are renewing their driver’s license would be interested to know what and where these LTO-accredited clinics are and what they are actually for.
What is an LTO-Accredited Clinic?
In a bid to ensure that no health condition, disease, or disability will cause drivers to meet any vehicular accident, the LTO has recently made changes to the requirements for driver’s license application and renewal. In the recent change, they mandated the electronic submission of medical certificates for aspiring drivers. These medical certificates must be secured from LTO-accredited clinics and physicians—or those medical clinics and physicians who have registered with and have been acknowledged by the agency as legitimate.
LTO-accredited medical clinics are clinics that received the LTO’s stamp of approval. These clinics made it beyond the LTO screening process—from the computerization requirements to the registration via the LTO’s IT system, the Land Transport Management System (LTMS) Medical Clinics Portal, submission of the necessary documentation, and validation and screening.
The accredited clinics are expected to have their own IT infrastructure to meet the computerization requirements. This is so they can offer the required digital services including biometric examination and uploading of results in the LTO system.
Also Read: How to Renew LTO Driver’s License Guide
Purpose of LTO Clinics
The LTO-accredited clinics are the go-to clinics for the medical examination and medical certificate processing of aspiring drivers in the Philippines. These clinics have received the stamp of approval from LTO after satisfying the conditions of accreditation—from the size to computerization requirements.
With this stamp of approval, the clinics make it to the list of LTO-accredited medical clinics waiting to receive driver’s license applicants who need LTO medical certificates.
Qualifications
The LTO-accredited medical clinics are specially selected to offer medical diagnostic services to the following LTO clients:
- Foreigners in the Philippines who are looking to secure a driver’s license
- Filipinos who are looking to apply for a new student driver’s license
- Filipinos who are looking to renew their existing or expired driver’s license
- Filipinos who wish to change their driver’s license classification
- Filipinos who wish to change the restriction codes on their driver’s license
- People whose driver’s license has been revoked after having been found to be an improper person to operate motor vehicles
- Any person who has committed, or has served as an accessory to, any crime
- Any person who has committed, or has served as an accessory to act which endangers the public while driving
- Any person who has accumulated at least forty demerit points
- Drivers who have been subject to an outright revocation of driver’s license under Section 16 of the IRR of RA 10930
- Filipinos or foreign nationals in the Philippines whose driver’s license has been revoked for any other lawful reason except in cases where perpetual disqualification from being granted a license has been imposed.
- Drivers whose license has five-year validity and are nearing their 3rd birthdate from the issuance of their license.
- Drivers whose license has a ten-year validity period and are nearing either their 4th or 7th birthdays from the issuance of their license.
What can DL Applicants Get from LTO-Accredited Clinics?
Driver’s License applicants who are visiting any of the LTO-accredited medical clinics or physicians can get the following:
- Medical tests, including:
- Eye tests
- Hearing and speaking test
- Blood test
- Physical exam
- Disabilities Check
- Blood Pressure
- Medical History
- Existing Medical Conditions Check
- Neuro-psychiatric assessment or exam
- Drug test
The LTO requires checking on these things to ensure that those who would eventually be allowed to drive will not be a danger to himself and others. The drug test, for instance, will ensure that the applicant doesn’t abuse illegal narcotics. The eye test, on the other hand, ensures that the applicant meets the standard distant binocular visual acuity of not less than 20/40 by Snellen (or 0.5, 6/12) in both eyes, with or without corrective lenses, or in some cases the following restrictions:
- 20/50 vision qualifies for driving with corrective glasses/lenses
- 20/60 vision qualifies for daytime driving only
- Persons with cataracts are not allowed to drive at night
Aside from these tests, applicants will also get an LTO medical certificate, though it would be electronically transmitted directly to LTO. The medical certificate would serve as proof that the person whose name appears on the certificate is qualified and capable of driving safely. The medical certificate would also include the following information:
- DL applicant’s full name
- Complete address
- Professional Tax Receipt (PTR) number
- Professional Regulation Commission (PRC) number of the Physician who did the exam
- Any form of disabilities, including:
- Orthopedically Impaired
- For upper limbs: Amputated left or right arm with prosthesis
- For lower limbs: Amputated left or right leg with prosthesis
- Post-Poliomyelitis: With one paralyzed leg either left or right
- Partially blind
- Speech and Hearing Impaired
- Free from highly contagious diseases (for PDL applicants)
- Orthopedically Impaired
- All other existing diseases or medical conditions or disabilities.
List of LTO-Accredited Clinics Philippines
So how do you know which clinics and doctors you can visit for your medical exam?
If you need to know the nearest LTO-accredited clinics and physicians who can issue an online-only medical certificate that you can use when you apply for or renew your LTO license in Metro Manila and the regions, check out this list of LTO accredited clinics and physicians below
Note: The list is Updated as of July 30, 2022.
Important Reminders
When scouring the Internet for the nearest or most accessible LTO-accredited clinics and physicians to secure your medical certificate from, here are some things you’d want to remember:
- The new LTO process requires accredited clinics to transmit the medical certificate directly to LTO through an online platform.
- The entire process of electronically sending LTO medical certificates only takes about 8 minutes.
- LTO implemented the online-only medical certificate requirement to reduce the incidence of fraud and fixers of medical certificates.
- Memorandum Circular 2018-2157 which requires electronic medical certificates from clinics rolled out in December 2018 to better streamline all types of drivers’ and conductors’ license applications.
- Before the medical certificate can be submitted to the LTO via the LTMS Medical Clinics portal, both the examining physician and the license applicant must have their biometric finger scans.
- If the LTO-accredited clinics near the LTO offices are closed or unavailable, any LTO-accredited clinic will do when applying for the mandatory medical certificate.
- It doesn’t really matter which LTO-accredited medical clinic you decide to get tested.
- The important thing to consider when acquiring a medical certificate for LTO is that the medical clinic and the physician is accredited by the agency.
Video: How to Find Medical Clinics Accredited by LTO in Philippines
Check out this video to learn how to find medical clinics nearest you that are accredited by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) in the Philippines. The LTO is responsible for regulating road safety and vehicle registration, and its requirement for accreditation means that these clinics meet certain standards for providing quality healthcare services.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
For your reference, here are some common questions and answers regarding the LTO-accredited medical clinics and physicians:
1. What is an LTO-accredited medical clinic?
An LTO-accredited medical clinic is a medical clinic duly registered on the LTO IT system. These clinics have been vetted by the agency before they are recognized and allowed to issue medical certificates to driver’s license applicants.
2. What could be the possible reason for this change in terms of the submission of medical certificates to LTO?
This change is caused by the increasing number of applicants who submit fake or fabricated medical certificates to LTO. In a bid to put a stop to this problem, LTO has become stricter and started mandating that the clinic release the medical certificate straight to the LTO in order to regulate the incidence of fake medical certificates of individuals who aspire to drive on Philippine roads.
3. What is the legal basis for this change?
The LTO, in an effort to serve the public better and conform with the mandate of the Republic Act (R.A.) 11032, Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Delivery of Government Services Act of 2018 to automate transactions, issued and implemented the Memorandum Circular No. 2018-2157 on the Revised Guidelines for Medical Examination, Accreditation of Medical Clinics and Registration of Physicians Relative to the Issuance of Medical Certificate to Student-Driver’s Permits on Driver’s/Conductor’s License Applicants. The circular mandates the change, necessitating the need for online medical certificate submission in the LTO system.
4. How much is the medical fees in LTO-accredited clinics?
According to LTO, they have not set a specific price range on the cost of the medical exams so the price may vary depending on the clinic and at the clinic’s discretion. Numerous reports, however, placed the price at Php 450.00 to Php 500.00 for the said medical examination for license applications in the Philippines.
5. Can I visit an LTO-accredited clinic on weekends?
To learn about whether LTO-accredited clinics operate on weekends, license applicants are encouraged to reach out to the clinic they intend to visit. The LTO, on the other hand, usually only operates on weekdays, much like all other government offices. Some branches, however, open and accept various license application and renewal transactions on Saturdays. You simply have to reach out to the LTO branch to check first.
Summary
LTO-accredited clinics and physicians came about after the Land Transportation Office (LTO) decided to put a stop to the increasing incidence of fake or fabricated medical certificates. It was the agency’s attempt for stricter regulation of who may or may not operate motor vehicles legally to ensure road safety, both for the motorists and pedestrians. By ensuring that the medical certificates are not tampered before it reaches them, thr LTO can accurately restrict drivers with certain medical conditions and disabilities from driving when they shouldn’t, effectively doing away with potential risks of accidents due to diseases and disabilities.
Sure, if you have been driving for a long time, you may feel that the new requirements may be a bit too much, but if you really think about it, this is but the government’s attempt to stop you from being a danger to yourself and to others while driving on the public roads anywhere in the country. Suppose you didn’t know that you are suffering from hypertension and you suddenly get cardiac arrest while, you can just imagine how much damage it could cost, not only to the driver and to government properties, but also to unfortunate pedestrians who happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time.
That said, we hope that with this guide, drivers in the Philippines can be more understanding of the newer policies that the agency implements as they are usually rolled out with good intentions in mind.
Contact Information
Land Transportation Office (LTO)
LTMS portal: Visit the LTO’s official website and fill out their Contact Us form at https://portal.lto.gov.ph/ords/f?p=PUBLIC_PORTAL:CONTACT_US:115716301949471.
Telephone Number: You may contact them at their telephone number (632) 922-9061 to 66.
Email: You may also send them an email at clientcare@lto.gov.ph.
LTO Text Hotline Service: You may use LTO’s nationwide SMS service for drivers and vehicle owners by typing LTOHELP and sending it to 2600
LTO office: For information, you may check the LTO branch closest to you.