Finally got my driver's license card after almost a year! (LTO Alabang)

I renewed my driver's license last year and as expected, the card itself was not available and would be released months later (I renewed August 2017 and release date was April 2018).

The renewal itself last August at the LTO Alabang Town Center branch was pretty painless. I remember going late in the afternoon on a weekday (an hour before closing) and there were only a few people left. Yun daw kasi ang style since usually everyone will be there in the morning, so in the afternoon naubos na un tao. Just take note, this branch doesn't have aircon so bring a fan/water to help you be comfy while waiting.

LTO ATC branch which is near Jollibee mall exit

After following all the steps - medical, getting my picture, data, biometrics taken, and then finally payment, I was then given the Official Receipt which will act as your Temporary License until the actual card is released. It was pretty quick, like less than 30 minutes tops.

Fast forward to April of this year, me and hubby eagerly went back to claim our licenses. We thought it would just be pretty straightforward, the cards would be ready and we'd just be in and out of there in a flash.

However, we were told we had to line up and have our photos/signature/biometrics/data taken AGAIN! WHY??? Then what was the point of our renewal last year when we had to repeat the process?! Plus, there was also a cut-off for the the number of applicants per day so we had to come back next time. It was all very confusing and a lot of people that were also there to claim were VERY upset. Hubby and I just resigned ourselves to the fact that we would never get our license cards.

Well, I had errands to run a few days ago and I decided I would go to LTO before they opened at 8am so I would be one of the first in line lol. However, there was absolutely NO parking in the Alabang Town Center vicinity! 8:30 or 9am pa daw mag-oopen un possible parking areas. Well, I just did my errands muna and came back at 9am when the Metro Department Store parking lot was open. I reached LTO at 9:10am and my number was 44. Based on the table above, estimated time for my number was 10:00 - 11:00am which wasn't bad.

I was asked to fill up a form for all my details again and I was surprised when I was called at exactly 10am for picture/signature/biometrics/data taking. And then in 10 minutes my driver's card was printed and released! Finally after 10 months! ALLELUIA! So all in all, I was there for exactly 1 hour from start to finish (9:10am - 10:10am). And it was perfect timing since the mall just opened also, so shopping time na haha!

I saw this sign and I think you can claim your license cards in these places as well (not the renewal process, just printing of the cards if you already have the OR). But better verify to be sure.

What was funny is the next day, me and hubby went back to ATC since we were gonna watch a movie. And we decided to have lunch in North Park which is near the LTO. So I told him why don't we check and see baka konti lang tao since lunch time naman. And lo and behold, there were only like 5 other people there! As in hubby was able to do everything and get his license in 10 minutes! Bwisit, sana sabay na lang kami diba? ;p

no NOON break

This was at exactly 12 noon. I've never seen LTO this empty!

So I don't know if we were just lucky that day but I'm just so happy we have our driver's license cards already. I don't really know if it's better to go early or late, depends din I guess on the amount of people that day. But it was pretty efficient when I was there so I'm just glad there's an improvement already.

Land Transportation Office (LTO)
www.facebook.com/ltoalabang
Ground Level, Alabang Town Center
Muntinlupa