Improvised license plates require LTO authorization letter

Land Transportation Office (LTO) Chief Jose Arturo Tugade stated that the use of improvised license plates requires an authorization letter from the agency.

In a recent press conference, the LTO chief stated that motor vehicle and motorcycle owners with lost, stolen, or heavily damaged license plates must proceed to an LTO office and request authorization to use an improvised plate.

Should the LTO allow one to produce an improvised plate, the agency reminds vehicle owners to refrain from copying or following the design of the original license plate. Further, the improvised plate should state  “Lost Plate.”

“The vehicle owner should also carry with him (or her) the Official Receipt and the Certificate of Registration, so one can present proper documentation when questioned by law enforcers for possible traffic violation,” Tugade pointed out.

In addition, the LTO Chief pointed out that the authorization letters to be issued by the LTO will have security features, which will discourage the falsification of the said document.

“Our document is an official document, so it will have certain security features to show its authenticity. There, one can also find the office that issued the document, when the document was issued, and the signature of the issuing officer,” Tugade said.

According to the LTO, motorists who are found using unauthorized improvised license plates will be facing a P5,000 fee for violating Section II (e) of the Joint Administrative Order Number 2014-01.

Further, the improvised plate will be confiscated.

Regarding temporary license plates, Tugade said that only dealers are allowed to make them and that unauthorized printing or production of temporary motorcycle and motor vehicle license plates is against the law.

“The general rule is that it is prohibited to print your own plate number. Only the dealers are allowed to issue temporary license plates, which will allow owners to drive their vehicles home as we have a ‘no plate, no travel policy,’” Tugade explained.

Per the LTO, automobile dealers are required to follow certain specifications in generating temporary license plates. These specifications include the material used for the actual plate, the font used for the letters and numbers, as well as the layout of the information presented in the temporary numberplate.

In addition, the temporary license plate issued by dealers must include the conduction sticker number of the four-wheeled vehicle or the file number of the motorcycle.

To recall, the need to clarify the issue about using improvised and temporary license plates stemmed from the supply shortage LTO is encountering in the production of number plates. 

When asked how many license plates does the department have, Tugade said that per the agency’s latest inventory, LTO has at least one million plates, which means that it has enough motor vehicle plates to last until July and enough motorcycle vehicle plates to last until June. 

On top of the looming license plate supply issues, LTO is also encountering plastic card shortage for driver’s licenses.

Photos from Land Transportation Office - Philippines and Department of Transportation - Philippines Facebook page

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