Car

Car hire in the Philippines: rates, licenses and what to ask

Updated 31 October 2026

The sources found no daily or monthly car hire rates in the Philippines, so the quickest way to current prices is a request on BlaBlaPrice. For reference, a new Toyota Vios is listed at about ₱738,000 to ₱908,000 to buy, which is a purchase price and not a rental rate. A non-professional driver's license for self-drive hire costs about ₱4,900 to ₱7,200 in total, according to approximate figures from fee guides and sellers' websites, October 2026.

Licenses and the driver

A self-drive renter needs a non-professional license from the LTO, valid for 5 years, or 10 years with a clean record under Republic Act 10930. The license fee is ₱585, plus a ₱67.63 computer fee, and you must be at least 17 years old to apply. A medical certificate costs about ₱300 to ₱500, and the practical driving course is eight hours at an LTO-accredited school. A driver hired with the car needs a professional driver's license, which costs ₱757.50 for a first issue and requires a valid non-professional license.

Season and roads

The climate is tropical, with a wet and a dry season instead of winter and summer, and October falls in the wet part of the year. Rain slows long routes and can make pickup points harder to reach, so add a margin to travel time. If your route is long or outside the city, plan the hire for the drier months when you can.

What the rent depends on

Rates are quoted per day or per month, and they depend on:

• car class and gearbox, automatic or manual;
• rental dates, and whether the hire is daily or monthly;
• with or without a driver, and the driver's experience;
• pickup location and route;
• rider age and the collateral or deposit asked.

What to put in your request

Name the car class you need, the rental dates, and whether you want a driver. Add the gearbox, the pickup location in your city, the route if it goes outside the city, and the monthly rent you can pay. State the rider's age and whether you can leave a deposit, so hire companies can quote without another round of questions.

BlaBlaPrice is free for buyers. Describe the hire in your own words in a chat, and the AI helper asks for missing details, looks through sellers' websites and price lists in the Philippines, and shows the businesses and prices it finds. Hire companies registered on BlaBlaPrice reply in the chat with their offer and terms, and your contacts stay hidden until you decide to share them. You can start with a request on the home page or look at vehicle and heavy equipment hire.