LTO orders car dealerships to display vehicle registration process

A memorandum from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) was recently released to de-mystify the process of getting a car’s initial registration, as well as the issuance of a brand-new car’s Certificate of Registration (CR), Official Receipt (OR), and license plates.

The LTO has released a memorandum for the benefit of car buyers

Dealerships are specifically directed to post in their facilities a poster of the time frame in which these important documents are to be released to a new vehicle owner. It will also function as a reminder to both dealerships and customers of the appropriate length of time that these should be accomplished. 

As posted on the official LTO Facebook page regarding the new memorandum, the processing period for a brand-new car’s registration is mandated by law. Dealerships are reminded that this should be strictly observed. Car buyers are likewise reminded that they can report erring dealerships to the LTO.

According to the new memo, there are five steps for processing a brand-new car’s papers (OR/CR and license plate). For more details, here’s a poster of the said steps as released by the LTO:

The steps for processing the initial registration and papers for brand-new, four-wheeled vehicles

One can see on the poster above that there are prescribed processing times for each step. The first step of the process involves the purchasing of the vehicle, and it should take one day. 

The second step is the processing of the requirements and it has a recommended processing time of two to three days, while the third step is the sales reporting and initial registration taking up one to two days. 

The fourth step concerns the release of the motor vehicle registration, the CR, and the license plate to the dealership. This should take two to three days. 

The last step then constitutes contacting the customer to inform him or her that their papers and plate are now ready for pick-up. The recommended time for this takes one to two days. 

In total, the LTO says that all the necessary paperwork should be released by the dealer after seven to 11 processing days for four-wheeled vehicles. The processing time for motorcycles meanwhile, is a bit shorter at three to five days.

Car buyers spending good money on cars should get good service

Also detailed are the penalties for non-compliance on the LTO-prescribed processing time frame. For car dealerships, the first offense carries a penalty of Php 100,000, while the second offense comes with a penalty of Php 500,000 plus a suspension of not more than six months.

The third penalty meanwhile, has the heftiest penalty. It constitutes the cancellation of a dealership’s Certificate of Accreditation, as well as being blacklisted. The Certificate of Stock Reported (CSR), sales report, and registration will also be canceled if needed. 

Buying a new car is a big deal for anyone. One may even say that it's a significant life milestone. As such, one wants this process to go as smoothly as possible. But do you think this new LTO memorandum can help in providing that?

For more car news and automotive industry updates, keep it here on Philkotse.