NOTE: Our sources from the Land Transportation Office have told us that as of May 29, 2019, the memo below has been retracted and taken down from all LTO branches. Watch this space for updates.
If you’ve ever visited your nearby Land Transportation Office (LTO) branch to renew your car’s registration, only to be hassled by the requirement of an original copy of the OR/CR because your car’s plates haven’t been issued yet, the government agency has some good news.
In a recent memorandum issued jointly with the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the LTO has confirmed that for vehicles with pending license plates, a photocopy of the vehicle’s OR/CR is acceptable for the purpose of emission testing. The memorandum emphasized that the measure is “effective immediately.”
The measure was made and finalized following a public consultation held on Thursday, May 23, and as a result of public clamor for a more seamless and convenient registration renewal process for vehicles with pending license plates. To date, the LTO’s efforts to address the existing license-plate backlog has resulted in more than 1.7 million plates being printed using the agency’s new machines.
The LTO intends for this directive to “once and for all settle all issues surrounding the matter.” So if your car’s registration is up for renewal, keep this in mind.
