LTO urges car owners to fetch replacement plates within 60 days or face penalties

Yesterday, June 31, 2023, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) announced its forthcoming issuance of a memo. According to the recently appointed Land Transportation Office (LTO) chief, Atty. Vigor Mendoza II, this memo will establish a 60-day timeframe for vehicle owners to claim their new license plates.

Furthermore, the LTO chief expressed the agency's consideration of implementing penalties for vehicle owners who fail to claim their new plates within the stipulated 60-day period. Among these penalties is the possibility of canceling the vehicle's Certificate of Registration (CR).

In an interview conducted by CNN Philippines’ The Source, in regard to the memo, Mendoza said, “We’ll be issuing a memo this week addressed to our regional directors for them to deliver these license plates to their end users within the next 60 days.”

In addition to the accumulation of unclaimed license plates at the LTO, Mendoza noted that a significant number of these plates remain held up at dealerships where the vehicles were purchased. To address this issue, Mendoza stated that the LTO intends to engage in discussions with the dealers, urging them to fulfill their responsibility in delivering these plates to their respective customers.

A prior report from the Commission on Audit (COA) highlighted that there are approximately 1,790,000 pairs of unclaimed license plates at the LTO, valued at approximately PHP 800 million. These replacement license plates were previously paid for by vehicle owners during the renewal of their vehicle's registration.

Going back to the penalty, Mendoza emphasized that in the event that these license plates remain unclaimed beyond the 60-day deadline, both vehicle owners and dealers could face penalties. Furthermore, he revealed that they are actively contemplating Senator Francis Tolentino's proposal of canceling the vehicle's registration as the penalty for non-compliance.

To provide car owners with the information they need to claim their vehicle’s plates, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the LTO have unveiled a new portal that verifies the availability of their new license plates and points out the designated locations for claiming them. 

Though the memo is not yet issued, we do advise you to claim your vehicle’s license plate before this memo becomes a reality. Mendoza has not specified if there are other penalties the LTO might issue for non-compliance. In any case, claim your license plates now to prevent a potential headache in the future.