LTO to impose same-day OR/CR, plate release for brand-new vehicles

MANILA: The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is set to implement a policy that will direct its offices and dealerships to release a brand-new motor vehicle’s official receipt (OR) and certificate of registration (CR), as well as license plates, on the same day when the unit is turned over to its owner. 

The aforementioned, according to the LTO, is in line with President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s call for “efficient public service.” To make the initiative official, guidelines for the same-day OR/CR release for all brand-new vehicles were issued with the aid of Acting Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Giovanni Lopez. 

The implementation of the said memorandum will take effect on October 15, 2025. But prior to its national enactment, LTO Chief Vigor Mendoza III shared that the aforementioned guidelines for the new memorandum will see an immediate circulation to all of the agency’s district offices. 

Mendoza also said that it will be registered immediately at the Office of the National Administrative Register at the University of the Philippines Law Center, UP Diliman. After which, it will be published in a newspaper of general circulation. 

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“Once this memorandum circular became [becomes> effective, no brand-new motor vehicle or motorcycle shall be released by the dealers without the LTO license plates and OR/CR,” Mendoza said.  

“This is actually in 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,” Mendoza added. 

“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,” Mendoza stated. 

To note, the DOTr has previously vowed for a three-day releasing cycle for license plates and OR/CR. The new LTO memorandum, however, was made possible by a new system conceptualized by the agency’s experts. 

LTO plate backlog resolution

According to the LTO, the older three-day and new same-day plate and OR/CR releasing initiatives is expected to prevent the previous issue of license plate backlogs that have plagued the government agency for roughly 11 years. 

For the unaware, the LTO has previously claimed that it has already resolved the license plate backlog issue. The said report was released by the agency back in July 2025. 

In total, the government transport agency has produced a total of 18,578,612 number plates as of June 30, 2025. Out of the said figure, 11,815,068 plates were for motorcycles. 

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