LTO: License plates of new vehicles to be released on the same day of purchase starting Oct. 15

The Land Transportation Office announced that starting next month, the license plate as well as official receipt/certificate of registration of brand new cars and motorcycles will be released on the same day of purchase.

In a statement, the LTO said the memorandum circular on the guidelines for the same-day registration and release of license plates and OR/CR of all brand new motor vehicles will take effect on Oct. 15, “unless otherwise extended by subsequent issuance.”

According to LTO chief Vigor Mendoza II, the guidelines will be "immediately cascaded" to the agency's district offices and even to car and motorcycle dealers.

“This is actually a compliance with the President’s directive to us during his recent SONA that we have to ensure that the license plates and OR/CR are released in the soonest possible time,” he said.

“The instruction is to release all of them within three days, but on the part of the LTO, we assessed that the release of license plates and OR/CR could be done on the same day the newly-purchased motor vehicle is released to the owner. That is why we will implement it,” he added.

Mendoza noted that once the circular becomes effective, dealers cannot release brand new cars or motors without the LTO license plate and OR/CR.

The LTO noted that the same-day release is a means to ensure that the 11-year backlog on license plates "will not happen again."

The backlog, which amounted to over 12 million license plates, was "finally wiped out" last June, according to the agency.