LTO given until June 30, 2026 to release all backlog license plates
President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s approval of RA 12209 on May 9, 2025, brought welcome news to the motorcycle community. This new law amends the long-opposed RA 11235, removing the stringent Doble Plaka provisions by significantly lowering penalties and removing the need for front motorcycle license plates.
Under RA 12209, motorcycle owners who are still using the “old version” of motorcycle license plates only have until the end of this year to register and apply for the new, bigger plate.
Likewise, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) is now mandated to fix and end its license plate backlog—specifically on motorcycles—by June 30, 2026.
Sec. 7 of RA 12209 effectively amends Sec. 19 of RA 11235, which now reads “Transitionary Provision – Motorcycle owners with number plates not in conformity with the provisions of this Act shall renew their registration and apply for the required readable number plate not later than December 31, 2025. The LTO is given until June 30, 2026 to produce, release, and issue the number plates as required by this Act.”
While there is no equivalent monetary fine for failing to comply Sec. 19, the new law says something about “penal provisions.”
“After June 30, 2026, the penal provisions regarding the use of bigger, readable and color-coded number plates as required under this Act shall take effect.”
RA 12209 also updates the prescribed jail time of 6 months to 2 years under Section 12 of RA 11235 “Erasing, tampering, forging, imitating, covering or concealing a number plate or readable number plate and intentional use therof.”
While the LTO has announced initiatives to address the backlog, including increased production and a digital tracking and delivery system, the consistent failure to meet previous targets casts doubt on their capacity to fulfill this commitment within the given timeframe. The sheer volume of the historical backlog, combined with the ongoing registration of new vehicles, presents a significant logistical and production challenge. Let’s just hope that the LTO will finally put an end to this decade-long license plate backlog.
