Philippines
Driving Abroad
Last verified August 15, 2026
Written for U.S. passport holders
Driving as a Tourist
- Under the Land Transportation and Traffic Code, bona fide tourists may legally drive using a valid foreign driver's license for up to 90 days from arrival, without needing a Philippine license or an IDP.
- If your foreign license isn't in English, you should carry an official English translation, since traffic enforcers need to be able to read it.
- An International Driving Permit is accepted alongside your original foreign license, but it doesn't extend the 90-day window on its own; the 90-day cap applies either way.
After 90 Days
- Once you pass 90 days in the country, your foreign license (and any IDP) stops being valid for driving; you're required to get a Philippine driver's license from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to keep driving legally.
- If your foreign license is still currently valid, LTO conversion typically skips the written and practical exams; an expired foreign license requires taking both.
Road Basics for Americans
- Like the U.S., the Philippines drives on the right side of the road (it actually switched over from the left back in 1945), so the basic flow of traffic will feel familiar.
- Speed limits and distances are posted in kilometers (km/h), not miles. A 100 km/h limit is about 62 mph; a 50 km/h limit, common in towns, is about 31 mph.
The Gotcha
The 90-day clock runs from your date of arrival in the Philippines, not from when you first get behind the wheel, and it isn't reset by a visa extension. It's easy to extend your tourist stay well past 90 days (which the Bureau of Immigration allows routinely) while forgetting that your driving privileges quietly expired on a separate, shorter clock.
Sources
This page was drafted from the primary sources below. Rules change, so check the linked page directly before relying on any of this.
- Republic Act No. 4136, Section 21 (Land Transportation and Traffic Code) (Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines)