LTO wants plates, OR/CR to be released on the same day for brand new car owners

New LTO policy for same day release of OR/CR, license plates to take effect Oct 15, 2025

Remember when the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced last July that registration and license plates would be available to brand-new cars in just three days? Well, the LTO wants new brand new cars to have their license plates and OR/CR released on the same day once the motor vehicles are turned over to their owners.

According to LTO Chief Assistant Secretary Atty. Vigor D. Mendoza II, the guideline for the nationwide implementation of the policy will immediately be cascaded down to all the agency’s district offices and even to the dealers of motor vehicles and motorcycles.

“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 (Official Receipt/Certificate of Registration) are released in the soonest possible time. 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,” said Mendoza.

The move was aimed at ensuring that the 11-year problem with the backlog of license plates will not happen again. According to the LTO, the backlog in the license plate numbering, which was more than 12 million, was wiped out in June 2025 under the leadership of Asec. Mendoza.

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 October 15, 2025, or “unless otherwise extended by subsequent issuance.”

“Once this Memorandum Circular became effective, no brand-new motor vehicle or motorcycle shall be released by the dealers without the LTO license plate, and OR/CR,” added Mendoza.

Do you think the LTO will be able to implement its policy of same-day release of license plates and OR/CR to owners of brand new vehicles?