How to Register Your E-Bikes and E-Scooters

They're fun to drive, but before you take them out for a spin on any local road, make sure your E-Bikes or E-Scooters are registered at the Land Transportation Office (LTO). Otherwise, you may get slapped with a PHP10,000 fine for driving an unregistered Light Electric Vehicle (LEV) as it gets impounded by the MMDA.

Confusing and Vague Rules

Note, however, that the Department of Transportation's (DOTr) rules about this isn’t exactly airtight. For one, some complain that those registering their three-wheeled E-Trikes were forced to take the motorcycle for their practical test, while others say that the same vehicles don't require registration.

Then, there's that case of the orange license plates that the DOTr wants to revive again. It can be remembered that DOTr Undersecretary Thomas Orbos once said that they wanted to revive these orange license plates and assign them to E-Bikes and other vehicles, but it seems they've been shelved and forgotten again.

And what's this about LTO Enforcement Service Director Francis Almora insisting that those who ride these E-Bikes should have a driver's license, as well? E-Bikers Philippines (EBP) also issued a statement saying that LTO authorities didn’t require the "low-end" E-Bikes to be registered—only the high-end ones should be treated like motorcycles.

LTO's General Rules

Despite the ambiguity, we do know that the LTO clarified last January 2018 that E-vehicles which "can be propelled manually" or “run solely by muscular effort” are exempted from registration.

And should your E-Bikes or E-Scooters fall under the category that needs to be registered, then you need to register them at the following LTO branches:

• Diliman District Office
• Quezon City District Office
• Pasay District Office
• Caloocan District Office

They also issued an Administrative Order (AO-2006-01) which show the requirements and steps in registering these light vehicles:

1. Complete all of the following requirements:

• Commercial invoice of the vehicle from the country of origin
• BOC Certificate of Payment
• Certificate of Stock Reported (CSR)
• Sales invoice of MV with sales evaluation from the regional office
• PNP-TMG MV Clearance Certificate
• A duly accomplished and approved Motor Vehicle Inspection Report (MVIR)
• Appropriate insurance certificate of cover
• Taxpayer’s Identification Number (TIN)

2. Proceed to the transaction counters and submit all the required documents to the Evaluator for evaluation and computation of fees.

3. Undergo actual inspection of motor vehicles with duly accomplished MVIR. (It can be downloaded at the LTO website. This form should be filled up before transacting your business at the LTO

4. Proceed to the cashier when your name is called for the necessary fees and obtain an Official Receipt (OR).

5. Proceed to the Releasing Counter when your name is called to obtain the Certificate of Registration (CR), plates, stickers, and other requested documents.

While the rules for these E-Bikes and E-Scooters are still vague, we do hope that the LTO can finally give a clear and definite rule book for E-vehicle owners to follow. We think it's inevitable, since they're slowly gaining popularity over the years.

When certain modes of transport were allowed to resume operations in June, certain groups urged the government to temporarily suspend the registration of e-bikes amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This was supposedly meant to provide employees with a way to get to work, since transportation was scarce. However, the LTO did not act on this suggestion.

Updated by Wilbert Tan on July 15, 2020

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