Driving hired car in phils

[blackcat22]

..can you drive with valid british driving license in phils? ..or do you definately need international drving license?

[Pete/London]

You can drive with an oyster card if you like, :icon_lol:
the trouble may start when you are stopped and asked for your licence :yikes:

Yes you are required to have an international driving licence and it should be easy enough to obtain, just a passport size photo and a small fee. There was a AA shop near me that issued them immediately, but its long gone now but I am sure they do it by post, also the post office. When I hired cars in the Philippines it was always a requirement.

[blackcat22]

thanks for that useful info :)

[grahamw48]

UK licence is ok for 3 months. :)

[Pete/London]

well I have learnt something as well,
why then did the hire car companies insist on an international licence?

[grahamw48]

Depends on the hire company I suppose.

I've hired and driven my own vehicles there, and was told my uk licence fine for 3 months, then local licence needed from LTO.

It'll be on Phils govt. website somewhere.

[fred]

Pretty sure the UK licence is good for 90 days .. No idea why the rental place wouldnt accept it..Perhaps like a lot of local policemen they simply are not aware of the law!
Personally I would not drive here on my UK licence, especially in large cities like Manila and Cebu..
As a foreigner its not unusual in Manila to have your licence confiscated and used as a bribe chip..
One of our tenants,a Canadian now uses online fake international licenses for when he`s in town..They look so convincing these days that the local cops dont seem to have a clue.. He lost two genuine International licences due to local Police..
There are some pretty good British and international ones with holgrams available for around 15.00 20.00 Quid...
http://fakeidentification.co.uk/fake-id-cards-driving-license-student-card/fake-identification.php
Not that I`d suggest anyone actually try to use one here...God forbid!!

You can convert your Brit licence to a Filipino one in less than a day but bare in mind that you must renew every year.. Non renewed licences are subject to a penalty each year..

[BoholoX]

You can convert your Brit licence to a Filipino one in less than a day but bare in mind that you must renew every year.. Non renewed licences are subject to a penalty each year..[/QUOTE]

Not sure on this, I think it has a 3 year validity. My LTO conversion from British licence was secured on 10/7/09 with an expiry date of 27/04/12 - the renewal date is your birth date assuming that you wont forget I suppose. Vehicle licence is of course annual with late penalties.

[fred]

Not sure on this, I think it has a 3 year validity. My LTO conversion from British licence was secured on 10/7/09 with an expiry date of 27/04/12 - the renewal date is your birth date assuming that you wont forget I suppose. Vehicle licence is of course annual with late penalties.

The only reason I know this is because 4 years ago I converted my licence and was issued a tempory for one year.. After that one year I went back to collect my licence card.. It wasnt there and I was called into the LTO office.. They reminded me that I already had a licence applied for and received sometime in the 90`s.. (I had completely forgotten about it)
They reckoned that the old licence was still current and they worked out that I owed a 3,500 PHP fine for not ever renewing it..:doh
It took them 8 months to issue me a new card!!:angry:

[BoholoX]

Now that's unlucky!!!

[grahamw48]

I never carried my original UK licence with me (remember, you're also SUPPOSED to carry your passport around with you too :NoNo:)...just photocopy.

If they make a fuss it's less hassle to pay a 'fine' than lose any of your UK documents. Just got to play the system...oh, and have tinted windows in your car. ;)

[Moy]

Many Philippines car rental companies report problems with highway police stopping obvious foreign drivers and attempting to extort ‘fines’ for bogus traffic offences.

Some companies even suggest telling authority figures that your Philippines car rental is actually borrowed from a friend, the logic being that highway police will presume you have less money than if you shelled out for a hire car in the Philippines.

Whatever tactic you chose to avoid police corruption, it pays to stay under the speed limit, wear a seatbelt and, of course, never to drive after drinking alcohol. This is also good advice as many of the roads in the country are in serious states of disrepair, while driving standards can also be extremely reckless. This, obviously, can make for a deadly combination without adequate care.:icon_lol::Wave:

[Pete/London]

Depends on the hire company I suppose.

I've hired and driven my own vehicles there, and was told my uk licence fine for 3 months, then local licence needed from LTO.

It'll be on Phils govt. website somewhere.

Always used Avis , they used to photocopy the I.L. and my passport.
Cant remember ever showing a licence to hire a motorbike though.

[blackcat22]

I never carried my original UK licence with me (remember, you're also SUPPOSED to carry your passport around with you too :NoNo:)...just photocopy.

If they make a fuss it's less hassle to pay a 'fine' than lose any of your UK documents. Just got to play the system...oh, and have tinted windows in your car. ;)

sounds like a good idea tinted windows so the cops can't see who is drving as a foreigner for possible extortion. :icon_lol:

I'm there for 15 days and only gonna drive 3-4 days out there.

[blackcat22]

Pretty sure the UK licence is good for 90 days .. No idea why the rental place wouldnt accept it..Perhaps like a lot of local policemen they simply are not aware of the law!
Personally I would not drive here on my UK licence, especially in large cities like Manila and Cebu..
As a foreigner its not unusual in Manila to have your licence confiscated and used as a bribe chip..
One of our tenants,a Canadian now uses online fake international licenses for when he`s in town..They look so convincing these days that the local cops dont seem to have a clue.. He lost two genuine International licences due to local Police..
There are some pretty good British and international ones with holgrams available for around 15.00 20.00 Quid...
http://fakeidentification.co.uk/fake-id-cards-driving-license-student-card/fake-identification.php
Not that I`d suggest anyone actually try to use one here...God forbid!!

You can convert your Brit licence to a Filipino one in less than a day but bare in mind that you must renew every year.. Non renewed licences are subject to a penalty each year..


hmmm... fake ID? knowing my luck I'd get caught and in phils they'll lock you up and throw away the keys :NoNo:

[tanga]

UK licence is valid for 90 days. There is no need for a International Driving Permit to legally drive in Philippines. It may be a necessary documentary requirement with some car hire companies.
Philippine driving licence is valid for 3 years and it is a legal requirement to carry it when driving.
I do not know any expats here who carry their original passport or ACR card. A xerox copy is acceptable.
As Fred rightly states many policemen and enforcers do not know the law,this is especially true concerning foreign drivers licence regulations