‘Where should the license plate be on my car?’ [Newbie Guide]

A Philkotse reader recently came across one of our previous newbie guide articles concerning the license plate, and he sent the following question regarding side-mounted plates. 

Most vehicles sold in our market mount the license plate at the center of the bumper 

"Hi sir! Saw your article regarding license plate in Philkotse.com, I want to ask about side-mounted plate, is it illegal? I've been driving around 9 years with my plate side-mounted on my (Mitsubishi) Lancer and today is the only time that I was flagged down by HPG (Highway Patrol Group) due to improper display of license plate, I'm confused whether is it legal or not because it did pass the LTO renewal of the car registry."

Everyone who holds a driver’s license and owns a motor vehicle knows that license plates serve as one proof of a car’s registration, as well as being a unique identifier of your particular ride. For this purpose, license plates should be clearly visible on the car’s exterior. 

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) issued Memorandum Circular VPT-2013-1772 or the Motor Vehicle License Plates Standardization Program in July 2013. Section 6 of that circular states that the plates should be attached to the motor vehicle’s front and rear ends.  

Models such as the Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution X present a gray area for traffic enforcers 

By default, cars sold in the Philippines have the license plate holders located squarely at the center of the bumpers. This presumably serves as a neutral position from which traffic enforcers can easily see the plate, whether they are standing on the sidewalk or in the middle of the road. 

However, there are certain models such as the Lancer Evolution X that have the front license plate mounted to the side in stock form, and that's not illegal per se. But since the LTO doesn’t specify exactly where on the bumper the front plate should be mounted, the matter is left open to interpretation by traffic enforcers in the field, leading to our reader’s experience.

If your particular car model already comes stock with the license plate holder at the center, we suggest that you keep it that way. On the other hand, if you happen to own a car designed to mount the license plate at the side, just explain the situation in case you get flagged down by a traffic enforcer who doesn’t know any better.    

Find more tips for beginner car owners at Philkotse.com.