LTO Exam Guide: Items, Passing Score and What to Review

The LTO theoretical exam has 40 items for a Non-Professional license and 60 items for a Professional license. The passing mark is 75%, which is 30 of 40 or 45 of 60, under LTO Memorandum Circular AHS-2008-949. Some offices may use updated formats, so confirm the current figures at your LTO office.

The exam is computer-based and taken at an LTO District Office or Licensing Center. There is no national exam date. You take it as part of your license application, followed by a practical driving test.

What the exam covers

Expect questions from five areas:

• Road signs and markings: regulatory, warning, and guide signs, traffic lights, lane lines, and yellow box junctions.
• Traffic rules and right of way: overtaking, turning, hand signals, intersections, speed limits, and parking rules under R.A. 4136.
• Laws, licensing, and penalties: R.A. 10930, R.A. 10586, R.A. 10913, R.A. 8750, R.A. 10054, R.A. 10666, and R.A. 11229.
• Road safety and defensive driving: following distance, blind spots, night and wet-weather driving, and BLOWBAGETS checks.
• Handling emergencies: tire blowouts, brake failure, skids, breakdowns, and your duties after a crash.

Where the exam fits in the process

1. Create an LTMS account at portal.lto.gov.ph and get your LTO Client ID.

2. Finish the 15-hour Theoretical Driving Course (TDC) and get a medical certificate from an LTO-accredited clinic.

3. Apply for a Student-Driver's Permit. The minimum age is 16, with parent or guardian consent for minors.

4. Complete the Practical Driving Course, at least 8 hours per license code.

5. After holding your permit for at least one month, apply for a Non-Professional license, then take the theoretical exam and the practical test.

Facts worth memorizing

These come up often, and they're easy points if you know them cold:

• Learn signs by shape and color: octagon means stop, inverted triangle means yield, a red ring with a slash means prohibited, and a blue circle means mandatory.
• The speed limit in crowded areas and school zones is 20 km/h.
• Don't park within 4 m of a hydrant or 6 m of an intersection's curb lines.
• Hand signals: arm straight out for a left turn, arm bent up for a right turn, and arm pointing down to stop or slow down.
• At an intersection, a vehicle already inside goes first, and the vehicle on the right goes first when both arrive together.
• Under R.A. 10913, handheld phone use is not allowed, even at a red light.

How to prepare

Start with the official LTO Driver's Manual, which is free on the LTMS portal, because the exam is built on its topics. Then test yourself with timed practice questions until you can consistently beat the passing mark by a comfortable margin. If you don't pass, you can retake the exam, but waiting periods and fees vary, so ask the office where you took it.