LTO to Only Accept Medical Certificates Issued Online by Registered Clinics, Physicians

Before, getting the required medical certificates to either apply for or renew a driver's license was easy--you just had to walk into one of the "medical clinics" conveniently located right beside the Land Transportation Office's (LTO) satellite offices where they'll subject you to the very "rigorous" eye exam and take down your vital stats as dictated by you and that was it. They'll then give you a "medical certificate" which you'll turn over to the LTO to process your license.

Well, starting today, that's supposedly a thing of the past. That's because according to the LTO--National Capital Region's Facebook page--which has not been verified by the social networking site--the agency will only accept medical certificates issued online by medical clinics and practicing physicians who are registered within the LTO's system. The implementation though is staggered and dependent on the region.

So, to be clear, effective today, January 7, 2019, all LTO licensing sites within the National Capital Region's East and West district and Region 11 will only accept electronically-transmitted Medical Examination Certificates. Regions 5, 4A, 4B, and 7 will follow on January 14; Regions 6, 9, and 12 on January 21; Regions 1, 2, and 3 on January 28; and Regions 10, 8, the Cordillera Autonomous Region, and the Caraga Administrative Region on February 4. 

The agency stressed that neither the student permit nor the driver's license will be issued to the applicant/driver if no online medical certificate was transmitted to the LTO.

So, how do you find out which clinics and doctors are registered in the LTO's system?

You simply have to go to the agency's licensing center where a list of the clinics and doctors are on display. For now though, the LTO has released an initial list which notes the doctor's name and the corresponding clinic he or she is attached to, with a final list that includes the doctors' and clinics' location.

Despite the change in process though, the LTO assures everyone that the fee for the medical certificate will not change.

So, if you're planning to apply for a student's permit or a driver's license soon or simply renewing a license that's about to expire, check the initial list below of the doctors and clinics that are registered with the LTO. As for their location, you'd have to Google it using the clinic's name, at least for now. Anyway, we'll post the final list--complete with location as promised by the agency--once it has been released.

UPDATE: As promised, here's the list of accredited clinics and physicians where you can get your medical certificate online as required by the LTO. To make it easier for you, you can also check out the list as broken down per region via the LTO's website as of January 18:

• NCR-East
• NCR-West
• Region IV-A-Batangas Province
• Region IV-A-Cavite Province
• Region IV-A-Laguna Province
• Region IV-A-Rizal Province
• Region IV-A-Quezon Province
• Region IV-B-MIMAROPA
• Region V
• Region VIII
• Region XI