Vehicle registration plates in the Philippines, commonly known as license plates (), are issued and regulated by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), a government agency under the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
History
In 2016, the LTO began issuing "virtual plates" as a temporary measure to address the backlog of physical license plates. New vehicles were given a virtual identifier consisting of a combination of alphanumeric symbols, which facilitated the release of permanent plates once they became available. In August 2017, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) selected the winning bidder under the government's "Moving Forward Program" to address the backlog of 3.4 million plates covering July 2016 to December 2017.
In January 2018, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ordered the release of license plates that had been held due to restraining orders affecting the modernization program. Full-scale distribution of the new plates was expected by mid-February 2018. The LTO received the plate-making machines that month and installed them in a new production facility. The new plates were released nationwide beginning in July 2018. Under this series, the first letter of the license plate indicates the place of registration, following the same designation system used in the 1981 series.
Current plate design specifications Under the current system, plates for four-wheeled vehicles follow the format ABC 1234 (three letters followed by four digits). Motorcycle plates initially used the format 123 ABC, but as these combinations were exhausted, the LTO introduced new formats such as A 123 BC, AB 123 C, 1 ABC 23, A 1234 C, A 1C 234, and A 12C 34. It is unclear whether this expansion of formats was part of the agency's original plan or a response to an unexpectedly rapid depletion of available combinations. In all cases, the first letter, regardless of its position, indicates the region where the motorcycle was registered. The LTO has not stated that the current set of formats is final, and additional combinations may be introduced as needed.
The replacement plates registered in the National Capital Region with two letters followed by four digits (and vice-versa) may be also required by the LTO for motorcycle plates, replacing the older white-green plates with white-black plates (e.g. 1234 AB and AB 1234). Also, this action is to address the backlog plates of motorcycle riders in several regional offices nationwide. However, for motorcycle owners who have registered their plates with the format of two letters followed by five digits (e.g. AB 12345) between 2014 and 2016, the newer system shall be generated by the office.
Plate number dimensions and typefaces The current license plates for four-wheeled vehicles measure 390 mm wide and 140 mm high, while motorcycle plates released since 2020 measure 235 mm wide and 135 mm high. The characters are stamped on an aluminum plate and coated with reflective paint. In 2018, the Land Transportation Office adopted FE-Schrift as the official typeface for license plates because its characters are designed to be difficult to alter. Plates issued since 2018 no longer display a separate region code (as that can be already inferred from the first two characters of plate number, and for diplomatic vehicles above 1000 the first three for the entity it was assigned to).
Before 1981, the Philippines used the North American standard measuring for cars and trucks.
Registration area prefixes When the revised plate design was introduced in 2018, virtual and temporary plates issued from July 2016 to December 2017 under the 2014 series were updated to use the new alphabetical designation.
This reintroduced the scheme used prior to the 2014 series, in which the first letter of the plate number indicates the region where the vehicle was initially registered, with slight modifications and reallocation of certain codes to accommodate newer regions and those requiring additional allocations. For example, the former Southern Tagalog region (Region IV), which was later split into Calabarzon (Region IV-A) and Mimaropa (Region IV-B) in 2002, retained its legacy codes, with Calabarzon using D and Mimaropa using V. The Cordillera Administrative Region and Caraga each received distinct codes, Y (formerly used in Central Visayas) and Z (formerly used in Metro Manila), respectively.
The letter S is reserved for government-owned vehicles, including those owned by government-owned and controlled corporations (GOCCs). In cases where a government vehicle was donated, acquired from private entities, or previously registered to private individuals, its plate may not begin with S despite being marked in red. In some cases, the vehicle may also retain its private plate.
+ license plate number prefixes since 2018PrefixRegionAIlocos RegionBCagayan ValleyCCentral LuzonDCalabarzonEBicol RegionFWestern VisayasGCentral VisayasHEastern VisayasIIlocos RegionJZamboanga PeninsulaKNorthern MindanaoLDavao RegionMSoccsksargenNMetro ManilaOCalabarzonPMetro ManilaQMetro ManilaRCentral LuzonSNoneTMetro ManilaUMetro ManilaVMimaropaWCentral LuzonXMetro ManilaYCordilleraZCaraga
Vehicle classification by color scheme PatternColorClassDescriptionImageNBC 1234 123NBC N123BC NB123C N1234CBlack text on white backgroundPrivate vehiclesPrivate vehicles, generally not for commercial use. However, public utility vehicles and some government vehicles also use this plate design. NBV 1234 123NVB N123VB NV123BGreen text on white backgroundElectric/hybrid vehiclesPrivate electric or hybrid vehicles, not for commercial use. However, some public utility vehicles also use this plate design. NBC 1234 123NBC N123BC NB123CBlack text on yellow backgroundPublic utilityvehiclesPublic utility vehicles and other for-hire vehicles (e.g. commercial trucks, public transport buses, taxis, tricycles and jeepneys.)SNA 1234 123SNA S123NARed text on white backgroundGovernmentvehiclesVehicles for official government use (e.g.: government-owned cars, police cars, ambulances, and fire trucks). 001 1234Blue text on white backgroundDiplomatic vehiclesVehicles in diplomatic use
7 digit new diplomatic license plate with blue numbers on a white background. The first 3 digits of the plate will indicate the assigned number of the country, diplomatic missions, consular missions, and international organization.
Vehicle classification by second and third letter The second letter on the number plate classifies special types of vehicles, such as trailers, electric, hybrid, and vintage vehicles. +VehiclesClassificationPosition of letter assignmentExampleColorImagePrivate TrailersSecond letter is UNUA 1234Black text on white backgroundElectric vehicleSecond letter may be from A to M Third letter may be the following: V, W, X, Y, ZNHV 1234 NIV 5678
NJV 9012Green text on white backgroundHybrid vehicleSecond letter may be from N to Z Third letter may be the following: V, W, X, Y, ZJNW 4321 CRW 8765
NNV 2109Green text on white backgroundVintage vehicleLast two letters are the following: TX, TY, TZNTX 9876 BTY 5432 GTZ 1098Black text on white background with byline. (e.g. vintage vehicle 1960) +MotorcyclesClassificationPosition of letter assignmentExampleElectric vehicleSecond letter may be from V, W, X, Y, Z Third letter may be the following: A to MD123VB J209XK N124YMHybrid vehicleSecond letter may be from V, W, X, Y, Z Third letter may be the following: N to ZN583ZZ C789WO G897VQVintage vehicleLast two letters are the following: TX, TY, TZP123TX N921TY K388TZ
Motorcycle classification by color strip and position
Motorcycle registration plates released since 2020 feature color-coded strips indicating the region of registration, in addition to the registration area prefix. In 2025, LTO began issuing alternate color strips in select regions to address supply allocation challenges caused by uneven regional demand and plate backlogs. The assignment of an alternate color strip may be initiated by LTO when deemed necessary, provided that the leftmost letter assigned to the region remains unchanged.Multiple sources: +Strip colorStrip positionRegionImageNone–National Capital RegionGovernment vehiclesPinkTopCordillera Administrative Region Alternatively used by: Central VisayasBottomCaragaGreenTopIlocos Region Alternatively used by: Central LuzonBottomEastern Visayas Alternatively used by: Calabarzon, Western Visayas, Davao Region GrayTopBicol RegionBottomNorthern Mindanao Alternatively used by: Central Luzon BlueTopCentral LuzonBottomDavao Region PurpleTopCalabarzon Alternatively used by: Mimaropa, CaragaBottomWestern Visayas OrangeTopMimaropa Alternatively used by: Central Luzon, Bicol RegionBottomCentral Visayas RedTopCagayan ValleyBottomZamboanga Peninsula Alternatively used by: Calabarzon, Western Visayas BrownBottomSoccsksargen
Special plate number designs High-ranking government plates
Known officially as low-numbered (protocol) license plates, these are reserved for the highest-ranking government officials of the Philippines and share the same paint scheme as plates issued to private vehicles.
+ List of low-numbered plates and corresponding officialsPlateOfficials1President of the Philippines2Vice-President3President of the Senate4Speaker of the House of Representatives5Chief Justice of the Supreme Court6Cabinet Secretaries7Senators8Representatives9Associate Justices of the Supreme Court10Presiding Justices of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, Sandiganbayan, and the Solicitor General11Chairperson of Constitutional Commissions and the Ombudsman14Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces of the Philippines and Chief of the Philippine National Police
Until 2024, plate 16 was assigned to Regional Trial Court justices, while plate 17 was issued to first-level courts, including Metropolitan Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts, Municipal Trial Courts in Cities, and the Sharia Circuit Court, for use by assistant city prosecutors, district prosecutors, and chief city prosecutors.
Associate justices of the Court of Appeals, Court of Tax Appeals, and Sandiganbayan may also be authorized to use protocol plates upon the recommendation of the LTO and the approval of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Diplomatic plates
The new diplomatic license plates consist of seven numeric characters in blue on a white background. These plates are issued to foreign diplomats, members of diplomatic missions, and international organizations based in the Philippines. In October 2022, the LTO and Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) launched the new plates, replacing the older designs. The previous diplomatic and other exempted vehicle (OEV) plates remained valid until September 2023.
The first three digits of the plate indicate the country or organization code, assigned based on the establishment of diplomatic relations. For example, 003 0045 is assigned to Australia. The remaining four digits are motor vehicle serial registration numbers assigned by the LTO and the DFA, with 1000 always reserved for ambassadors.
List of country codes for diplomatic plates Number Country Number Country Number Country Number Country001 /Holy See 021 041 061 002 022 042 062 003 023 043 063 004 024 044 064 005 025 045 065 006 026 046 066 007 027 047 067 008 028 048 068 009 029 049 069 010 030 050 070 011 031 051 071 012 032 052 072 013 033 053 073 014 034 054 074 015 035 055 075 016 036 056 017 037 057 018 038 058 019 039 059 020 040 060