As reported earlier this week, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is setting standard rates for driving school fees, taking into account the schools’ investment and operating costs as well as the local minimum wage, rent, and electricity costs.
The agency has now released Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2390 or the ‘Omnibus Guidelines on the Accreditation, Supervision, and Control of Driving Institutions, and the Standardization of Driver and Conductor’s Education.’ This covers the maximum prescribed rates for driving schools, as well as the fines for driving institutions that will not follow the price caps.
Maximum driving school rates in the Philippines
There are different rates for courses covering the operation of motorcycles (under driver license codes A and A1), four-wheeled light vehicles (driver license codes B, B1, and B2), and heavy vehicles (driver license codes C, D, or CE). They are as follows:
Rates for motorcycle driving courses
- Theoretical driving course (TDC) – P1,000
- Practical driving course (PDC) – P2,500
Rates for light vehicle driving courses
- Theoretical driving course (TDC) – P1,000
- Practical driving course (PDC) – P4,000
Rates for heavy vehicle driving courses
- Theoretical driving course (TDC) – P1,000
- Practical driving course (PDC) – P8,000
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“Ang mga bagong panuntunan na ito ay dumaan sa masusing pag-aaral ng technical working group at sumalang din sa serye ng mga konsultasyon sa lahat ng stakeholders,” said LTO chief Jay Art Tugade.
“Nabuo ang maximum prescribed rates na ito bilang tugon sa apela ng marami nating kababayan na umiiyak sa mataas na singilin pero maituturing din itong patas na hakbang para sa driving schools na namuhunan din.”
Fines for driving schools that will not follow the maximum prescribed rates
The memorandum circular prescribes the following fines for driving schools that charge higher than the maximum allowed prices:
- First offense – P50,000 and six-month suspension of accreditation
- Second offense – P100,000 and one-year suspension of accreditation
- Third offense – Revocation of accreditation
New guidelines for driving course durations
Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2390 also revises the number of days in which theoretical driving courses may be completed. The mandatory time is still set at 15 hours in total, but student drivers may complete the requirements in two days (instead of the previous three) within the same month: seven hours during the first day, and eight hours during the second day.
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Practical driving courses, meanwhile, must be at least eight hours in total regardless of license code. For light and heavy vehicles, practical driving courses must be conducted for at least two days; for motorcycles, practical driving courses may be conducted in one day, “provided the student driver has proven to have already acquired the knowledge based on the assessment by a practical driving instructor.”
Registration of biometrics of student drivers
Finally, the circular states that driving schools are now required to log the details of all student drivers using the Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) Client ID. This is to track when a student driver actually began taking the driving courses, and to address the purported ‘non-appearance’ of some applicants.
The guidelines state that “registration of his/her biometrics before and after every session for attendance purposes is required. The Driving Institution shall provide and maintain an attendance sheet to record the actual presence of the applicant during the conduct of the face-to-face TDC and written examination or validation.”
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Once the student driver completes both theoretical and practical driving courses, and then passes the final exams, he or she will be issued a corresponding Certificate of Course Completion, an electronic copy of which will be transmitted to the LTO via the LTMS.
Note that for those trying to get a driver’s license for the first time, the Certificate of Course Completion for the theoretical driving course is just one of the requirements to get a student license. Check out the full list requirements here.
When will these changes be implemented?
Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2390 will take effect on April 15, 2023.
