The Land Transportation Office (LTO) has ordered all initial registration of all motor vehicles valued over P6 million to be handled exclusively by its Central Office in East Avenue, Quezon City. The directive was announced following concerns over the growing number of high-end units being processed in the National Capital Region (NCR).
The new ruling was issued last November 26, 2025 to all LTO regional directors, assistant regional directors, chiefs of new registration units, authorized district offices, and other concerned personnel through Memorandum Circular No. MVL-2025-4791. The memorandum notes that vehicles priced P6 million or more are what LTO refers to as “high-value motor vehicles.” These often include specialized models, complex ownership arrangements, and elevated risks related to importation, taxation, and law-enforcement compliance.
According to the circular, recent reports have shown an increase in the volume of expensive motor vehicles undergoing initial registration, prompting the agency to strengthen its oversight. To address the concern, the LTO has mandated that all initial registrations falling under the high-value motor vehicles category be processed exclusively by the Central Office’s New Registration Unit. This means that regional and district offices are no longer authorized to process or approve the initial registration of any motor vehicle with a sales-invoice value of at least P6 million.
The circular also directs field officers to immediately forward any such applications they receive to the Central Office for full evaluation, processing, and approval. Additionally, no high-value registration may be released or encoded in the Land Transportation Management System without clearance from the Central Office’s New Registration Unit. This ensures a centralized system of verification and approval for these transactions.
The LTO states that the policy aims to reinforce uniformity, transparency, and accountability in handling high-value motor vehicle registrations. According to the agency, this is an area where stricter oversight has become increasingly necessary.
