MANILA – The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will implement a policy requiring the release of license plates and official receipt/certificate of registration (OR/CR) on the same day that brand-new motor vehicles are turned over to their owners.

LTO chief Assistant Secretary Vigor Mendoza II said the policy, which takes effect on October 15, 2025, follows President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s directive to improve efficiency in government services.

“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 said.

He explained that the agency has developed a system integrated with its existing operations to ensure the immediate release of documents and plates.

“Once this memorandum circular becomes effective, no brand-new motor vehicle or motorcycle shall be released by the dealers without the LTO license plate/s and OR/CR,” he added.

The LTO said the measure also aims to prevent a recurrence of the backlog in license plates, which reached more than 12 million before being cleared in June 2025.

The memorandum will be registered with the Office of the National Administrative Register at the University of the Philippines Law Center and published in a newspaper of general circulation before its implementation.