| Country: | Philippines |
| Size: | 390x |
| Material: | Aluminum |
| Serial Format: | ABC 1234 |
| Issuer: | Land Transportation Office |
Vehicle registration plates in the Philippines, commonly known as license plates (Filipino; Pilipino: plaka), are issued and regulated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), a government agency under the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
See main article: History of vehicle registration plates of the Philippines. In January 2013, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) began a license plate standardization project by issuing plates with modern security features, including holograms and bar codes. They also planned to slowly phase out the old 1981 plate format. In the current format, the LTO issues LLL-DDDD plates (where L represents a letter and D represents a one-digit number) for four-wheel vehicles and DDD-LLL/L-DDD-LL plates for motorcycles.
In 2016, the LTO issued "virtual plates" as a temporary measure to address the backlog in physical license plates. New vehicles were issued a virtual identification consisting of a combination of alphanumeric symbols, which will make it easier for the LTO to release the permanent license plates once they were available.[1] In August 2017, the Department of Transportation selected the winning bidder under the government's "Moving Forward Program" to reduce the backlog of 3.4 million plates spanning from July 2016 to December 2017.
In January 2018, the Supreme Court ordered the release of license plates held due to restraining orders saddling the plate modernization program. It was expected that the distribution of new plates would commence at full swing by mid-February 2018. The machines were delivered to the LTO in February 2018 and were installed in a new plate making facility. The new license plates were released in July 2018 throughout the country. Under this new plate series, the first letter of the license plate will determine where the vehicle is registered. This is the same designation that was implemented during the 1981 series.[2]
The current version of the license plates measure 390 mm wide and 140 mm high, while current motorcycle plates released since 2020 measure 235 mm wide and 135 mm high. The characters are stamped on an aluminum plate, which is then painted with reflective paint. FE-Schrift was chosen as the font to be used on license plates in 2018 as the characters are designed to be difficult to modify.[3]
After the release of the new plate number design in 2018, all virtual and temporary plates that were issued from July 2016 to December 2017 using the 2014 series design were updated to 2018's alphabetical designation.[4] [5] The first letter in the 2018 automobile plate number design represents the prefix, which denotes the region where the vehicle was registered. The letter S is used to indicate a government-owned vehicle.
| B | Cagayan Valley | |
| C, R, W | Central Luzon | |
| D, O | Calabarzon | |
| E | Bicol Region | |
| F | Western Visayas | |
| G | Central Visayas | |
| H | Eastern Visayas | |
| I, A* (*motorcycles only) | Ilocos Region | |
| J | Zamboanga Peninsula, Bangsamoro | |
| K | Northern Mindanao | |
| L | Davao Region | |
| M | Soccsksargen | |
| N, P, Q, T, U, X | National Capital Region | |
| V | Mimaropa | |
| Y | Cordillera Administrative Region | |
| Z | Caraga |
| Pattern | Color | Class | Description | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PBC 1234123PBCP123BC | Black text on white background | Private vehicles | Private vehicles, not for commercial use | ||
| PBV 1234 123PVBP123VB | Green text on white background | Electric/hybrid vehicles | Private electric and/or hybrid vehicles, not for commercial use | ||
| PBC 1234123PBCP123BC | Black text on Yellow background | Public utility vehicles | Public utility vehicles and other for-hire vehicles (e.g. commercial trucks, public transport buses, taxis and jeepneys.) | ||
| SBC 1234123SBCS123BC | Red text on white background | Government vehicles | Vehicles for official government use (eg; police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks). | ||
| 000 0000 | Blue text on white background | Diplomatic vehicles | Vehicles in diplomatic use
|
The second letter on the number plate classifies special types of vehicles, such as trailers, electric, hybrid, and vintage vehicles.
| Private Trailers | Second letter is U | NUA 1234 | Black text on white background | |
| Electric vehicle | Second letter may be from A to MThird letter may be the following: V, W, X, Y, Z | NHV 1234NIV 5678 NGV 9012 | Green text on white background | |
| Hybrid vehicle | Second letter may be from N to ZThird letter may be the following: V, W, X, Y, Z | JNW 4321CRW 8765 NNV 2109 | Green text on white background | |
| Vintage vehicle | Last two letters are the following: TX, TY, TZ | NTX 9876BTY 5432 GTZ 1098 | Black text on white background with byline. (e.g. vintage vehicle 1960) |
| Electric vehicle | Second letter may be from V, W, X, Y, ZThird letter may be the following: A to M | D123VBJ209XKN124YM | |
| Hybrid vehicle | Second letter may be from V, W, X, Y, ZThird letter may be the following: N to Z | N583ZZC789WOG897VQ | |
| Vintage vehicle | Last two letters are the following: TX, TY, TZ | P123TXN921TYK388TZ |
Motorcycle registration plates released since 2020 features color-coded strips to indicate the region where they are registered, in addition to the registration area prefixes.[6]
| None | - | National Capital Region | ||
| Pink | Top | Cordillera Administrative Region | ||
| Bottom | Caraga | |||
| Green | Top | Ilocos Region | ||
| Bottom | Eastern Visayas | |||
| Gray | Top | Bicol Region | ||
| Bottom | Northern Mindanao | |||
| Blue | Top | Central Luzon | ||
| Bottom | Davao Region | |||
| Purple | Top | Calabarzon | ||
| Bottom | Western Visayas | |||
| Orange | Top | Mimaropa | ||
| Bottom | Central Visayas | |||
| Red | Top | Cagayan Valley | ||
| Bottom | Zamboanga Peninsula | |||
| Brown | Bottom | Soccsksargen |
These plates are reserved for top government officials of the Republic of the Philippines, and have the same paint scheme as private vehicles.[7]
| 1 | President |
| 2 | Vice President |
| 3 | President of the Senate |
| 4 | Speaker of the House of Representatives |
| 5 | Chief Justice of the Supreme Court |
| 6 | Cabinet Secretaries |
| 7 | Senators |
| 8 | Representatives (Congressmen) |
| 9 | Associate Justices of the Supreme Court |
| 10 | Presiding Justice of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan and Solicitor General |
| 11 | Chairperson of Constitutional Commissions and Ombudsman |
| 14 | Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Chief of the Philippine National Police |
The new diplomatic license plate contains seven numeric characters that are in blue with a white background. These plates are assigned to foreign diplomats, members of diplomatic missions, and international organizations in the Philippines. In October 2022 the LTO and DFA released these new diplomatic plates replacing the older ones, however, the old diplomatic plates and other exempted vehicles (OEV) plates can be still used and they will only be valid up to September 2023.[8]
The first 3 digits of the plate will indicate the assigned number of the country, and international organizations that are based in the Philippines. For example; 003 0045 is an assigned number to Australia. The next 4 digits of the plate are randomized registration digits and are assigned by the LTO and DFA, however, the 1000 number will always be assigned and reserved for the ambassadors.
The list below are the assigned number of each countries and organizations on new diplomatic license plates. The orders of the list are based on when the diplomatic relations started.
| The list of the assigned number of each country. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Country | Number | Country | Number | Country | Number | Country |
| 001 | 021 | 041 | 061 | ||||
| 002 | 022 | 042 | 062 | ||||
| 003 | 023 | 043 | 063 | ||||
| 004 | 024 | 044 | 064 | ||||
| 005 | 025 | 045 | 065 | ||||
| 006 | 026 | 046 | 066 | ||||
| 007 | 027 | 047 | 067 | ||||
| 008 | 028 | 048 | 068 | ||||
| 009 | 029 | 049 | 069 | ||||
| 010 | 030 | 050 | 070 | ||||
| 011 | 031 | 051 | |||||
| 012 | 032 | 052 | |||||
| 013 | 033 | 053 | |||||
| 014 | 034 | 054 | |||||
| 015 | 035 | 055 | |||||
| 016 | 036 | 056 | |||||
| 017 | 037 | 057 | |||||
| 018 | 038 | 058 | |||||
| 019 | 039 | 059 | |||||
| 020 | 040 | 060 | |||||
| The list of the assigned number of International Organizations. | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Number | Organization | Number | Organization | Number | Organization |
| 200 | Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines | 210 | United Nations Information Centres | 220 | United Nations Development Programme |
| 201 | United Nations | 211 | 221 | International Rice Research Institute | |
| 202 | 212 | 222 | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees | ||
| 203 | 213 | 223 | United Nations Industrial Development Organization | ||
| 204 | 214 | 224 | Japan Bank for International Cooperation | ||
| 205 | 215 | 225 | Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency | ||
| 206 | 216 | 300 | - | ||
| 207 | 217 | International Finance Corporation | |||
| 208 | 218 | Canadian International Development Agency | |||
| 209 | 219 | International Committee of the Red Cross | |||
A former president's vehicle bears the number 100 in blue letters.
A motorist who would like to have personalized plates under the Optional Motor Vehicle Special Plate (OMVSP) can choose any letter combination upon these conditions:
| Three-letter, two-number plate (except 00) | |||
| Three-letter, three-number plate (except 000) | |||
| Three-letter, four-number plate (except 0000) |
The conduction stickers are temporary identification issued to vehicles in lieu of license plates while the official license plate are in production. Started in the 1980s, there were different digit and letter positions that were produced over time.
| Years | Conduction sticker style | Examples | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005–2018 | LL-DDDD | BH1414 RP2001 | |
| 2018–2024 | L-D-L-DDD | B1H414 R2P001 | |
| 2023–present | LL-DDD-L | AB123A GH456I |
The motor vehicle file number for each vehicle has 15 digits, which are based on where the initial registration of the vehicle was carried out. (e.g. MV file no. 1301-00000012345 registered in NCR).
| Region | MV file | Temporary plateNumber (PUVs) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| NCR | 13**-***********18**-*********** | 13****18**** | |
| CAR | 14**-*********** | 14**** | |
| Region I | 01**-*********** | 01**** | |
| Region II | 02**-*********** | 02**** | |
| Region III | 03**-*********** | 03**** | |
| Region IV-A | 04**-*********** | 04**** | |
| Region V | 05**-*********** | 05**** | |
| Region VI | 06**-*********** | 06**** | |
| Region VII | 07**-*********** | 07**** | |
| Region VIII | 08**-*********** | 08**** | |
| Region IX | 09**-*********** | 09**** | |
| BARMM | 17**-*********** | 17**** | |
| Region X | 10**-*********** | 10**** | |
| Region XI | 11**-*********** | 11**** | |
| Region XII | 12**-*********** | 12**** | |
| Region XIII | 30**-***********15**-*********** | 30****15**** |
The temporary plate number was later issued by LTO, which has 6 digits based on where the initial purchase location of the vehicle was and its use as a PUV. (e.g. 130123 for NCR use). It is widely used due to extensive backlog of vehicle plate distribution from 2016 to 2019.
Public utility vehicles registered from July 1, 2016, onwards currently use private plates (white), MV File Number or the 6-digit Temporary Plate Number since yellow plates are in production.
Government vehicles registered from 2020 onwards currently use private plates (white). In November 2021 the LTO have already released new red plates for government vehicles registered from 2016 to 2019. In 2024, the LTO released the new series of red plates for government vehicles which indicate the second letter as the region where they were registered (e.g. SNA in NCR, SDA in Region 4 or CALABARZON).
The 2014 design, in production from 2014, used the numbering format LLL-DDDD for automobile vehicles, and LL-DDDDD for motorcycles. In this format, the region in which the vehicle is registered is stamped on the bottom of the plate, thereby removing the need for registration area prefixes (except for motorcycles).
The new plate format series and design was originally scheduled for release on September or October 2013.[14] [15] [16] [17] However, it was delayed several times primarily due to concerns about the release of funds for the license plate project, as well as the increase in purchases of new cars using temporary license plates bearing the conduction sticker number.[18] Eventually, in May 2014, the first batch of new license plates was released.[19] By January 2015, vehicle owners using the 1981 series plates were required to pay to change their old plates into a modern series plate.
| Pattern | Color | Class | Description | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC 1234AB 12345 | Black text on White background | Private Vehicles | Private vehicles, not for commercial use | ||
| ABC 1234AB 12345 | Black text on Yellow background | Public utility vehicles | Public utility vehicles and other for-hire vehicles (eg; Commercial trucks, public transport buses, taxis & jeepneys.) | ||
| SBC 1234SA 12345 | Red text on White background | Government vehicles | Vehicles for official government use (eg; police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks). | ||
| 00000 | Blue text on White background | Diplomatic vehicles | Vehicles in diplomatic use
|
The 1981 design was the most widely used plate number design, in production from 1981 to 2014. LTO issued the numbering format LLL-DDD for automobile vehicles, and LL-DDDD and DDDD-LL for motorcycles. Color-coded year stickers appeared in 1982, based on the license plate's color scheme. Stickers for vehicle classification appeared in the same year.
The first letter in the 1981 series of license plates represents the prefix, which denotes the following region where the vehicle was registered. The letter S is used to indicate a government-owned vehicle.
| Prefix | Region | |
|---|---|---|
| A | Ilocos Region and Cordillera Administrative Region | |
| B | Cagayan Valley | |
| C | Central Luzon | |
| D | Calabarzon and Mimaropa | |
| E | Bicol Region | |
| F | Western Visayas | |
| G | Central Visayas | |
| H | Eastern Visayas | |
| J | Zamboanga Peninsula and Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao | |
| K | Northern Mindanao | |
| L | Davao Region and Caraga | |
| M | Soccsksargen | |
| N | National Capital Region | |
| P | ||
| R | Central Luzon | |
| T | National Capital Region | |
| U | ||
| V | Calabarzon and Mimaropa | |
| W | National Capital Region | |
| X | ||
| Y | Central Visayas | |
| Z | National Capital Region |
The letter Q was also used on regular plate circulation for motorcycles in public use. In 2009, it was used as a middle or last letter for NCR plates, while it was used as a last letter for Central Visayas plates.
The second letter on the number plate classifies whether the vehicle is a wheeled trailer or an automobile. It is also used to classify whether the vehicle is private or public use. Letter U in the second letter represents a privately-used trailer, while Z represents a publicly-used trailer. Letters V, W, X and Y were used to indicate public utility vehicles. On the motorcycle license plates, U and Z represent private use for three-wheeled motorcycles, while V, W, X and Y represent public use in all types of motorcycles.
| Pattern | Color | Class | Description | Image | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABC 123 AB 1234 (Motorcycles) 1234 AB (Motorcycles) | Green text on White background (1981-2002);White text on Green background (rear only from 1988-1995); Green text on Rizal monument background (2002-2014) | Privatevehicles | Private vehicles, not for commercial use | ||
| PVA 123 PV 1234 (Motorcycles) 1234 PV (Motorcycles) | Black text on Yellow background (1981-1992; 1995-2014);Yellow text on Black background (1992-1995) | Public utilityvehicles | Public utility vehicles and other for-hire vehicles (eg; Commercial trucks, public transport buses, taxis & jeepneys. | ||
| SBC 123 SB 1234 (Motorcycles) 1234 SB (Motorcycles) | Red text on White background (1981-2003);White text on Red background (rear only from 1989-1995); Red text on Rizal monument background (2002-2014) | Governmentvehicles | Vehicles for official government use (eg; police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks). | ||
| 100010000 | Blue text on White background (1981-1989; 1995-2003);White text on Blue background (1989-1995); Blue text on Rizal Monument background (2003-2014) | Diplomaticvehicles | Vehicles in diplomatic use
| ||
| GOB 123 | Red text on Yellow background (1981-2014); Yellow text on Red background (rear only from 1989-1995) | Officialbus | Buses for official government use |