Converting Your Philippine Driver's Licence in Singapore: The 2026 Process
The Traffic Police want the steps in one order: pre-assessment form, Basic Theory Test, then an appointment at Ubi. Skip one and you go home without a licence.
You have a Philippine driver's licence in your wallet, a job that keeps you on the road, and a friend who says you can drive here for a year with no paperwork. That advice ends careers. The Traffic Police run the conversion in a fixed order, and skipping a step sends you home from Ubi with your S$50 still in your pocket.
Who needs to convert
The Singapore Police Force lists conversion as the route for Permanent Residents and pass holders, including Work Permit, S Pass, Employment Pass and Student's Pass holders. The Immigration and Checkpoints Authority states the rule for PRs: once you become a Singapore PR, you must convert your foreign licence if you want to keep driving here.
Deadlines depend on your status and your pass, and the numbers passed around in Facebook groups go out of date. Read the Traffic Police conversion page before you count on a grace period.
Step 1: The pre-assessment form
Conversion starts online, not at a counter. Fill in the Foreign Licence Pre-assessment at go.gov.sg/foreign-driving-licence-conversion. The Traffic Police review your case and send eligible applicants a link to book an appointment. No link means no appointment, and no appointment means no service at the counter.
The form takes about 10 minutes.
Step 2: Pass the Basic Theory Test
Every applicant must pass the Basic Theory Test in Singapore. Your years of driving on EDSA count for nothing here, and neither does an LTO exam.
You book the BTT through one of the three driving centres: Bukit Batok Driving Centre, ComfortDelGro Driving Centre at Ubi, or Singapore Safety Driving Centre at Woodlands. The test fee is S$7.20 for bookings made from 13 March 2026.
Study the Singapore rules, not the Philippine ones. The road markings, the give-way rules and the speed limits differ, and the BTT tests all three.
Step 3: Your appointment at Ubi
Once you hold an appointment, you go to Traffic Police Headquarters at 10 Ubi Avenue 3, Singapore 408865. Counter processing runs about 20 minutes.
The conversion fee is S$50. The counters take NETS, debit card, credit card and SGQR. Bring the documents listed at go.gov.sg/fdlconversioninfo, and expect the Traffic Police to ask for more if something in your file looks thin.
The requirements that trip Filipinos up
Four conditions from the SPF eligibility list cause most of the rejections:
1. Your Philippine licence must be valid. An expired, suspended or cancelled licence fails on the spot. Renew it with the LTO before you start the process, not after.
2. The six-month residency proof. If you got your Philippine licence *after* you received PR status or your first Singapore pass, you must show documents proving a stay of at least six months within a 12-month period in the Philippines. This one catches kababayan who renewed a lapsed licence during a two-week home leave.
3. Age. You must be at least 18 to convert for Class 3, Class 3A or Class 2B.
4. The BTT. No pass, no conversion. It sits ahead of everything else.
What it costs, end to end
Basic Theory Test: S$7.20 per attempt from 13 March 2026
Conversion fee at Traffic Police HQ: S$50
Your time: one online form, one test booking, one appointment
Compare that with a full Singapore driving course, which runs into the thousands, and the conversion route is the cheapest licence you will ever hold here.
Before you book anything
Check three things this week. Your Philippine licence expiry date. Your pass or PR status. Whether the licence in your wallet was issued before or after you first held a Singapore pass.
Those three answers decide whether your conversion takes a month or a year. Get them straight, fill in the pre-assessment, and let the Traffic Police tell you where you stand.
