The Land Transportation Office (LTO) is stepping up its campaign against illegal improvised and fake license plates, with a nationwide crackdown set to begin on September 1, 2026.

LTO Chief, Assistant Secretary Markus Lacanilao, announced the move earlier today, saying the agency is seeing more motorists turn to online sellers offering unauthorized plates that mimic official LTO-issued plates.

“Nagiging rampant ngayon na yung mga kababayan natin na nagpapagawa ng mga improvised plates online… Paulit-ulit ko pong sinasabi na pinagbabawal po iyan ng LTO,” said Lacanilao.

(This is becoming rampant now, with some of our fellow Filipinos having improvised plates made online. I keep saying that these are prohibited by the LTO.)

According to Lacanilao, several sellers are openly offering copies of LTO license plates online, particularly through social media, despite having no authorization from the agency to produce them.

“Wala po kami binibigyan ng authorization na gumawa po ng mga improvised na plaka, ginagaya ang plaka ng LTO, o nang issue po ng gobyerno,” added Lacanilao.

(We do not authorize anyone to make improvised plates, copy LTO plates, or produce plates issued by the government.)

LTO Chief Markus Lacanilao

Lacanilao said he has already issued a memorandum directing law enforcers to confiscate illegal license plates. The enforcement will cover the entire country.

The LTO is also coordinating with other government law enforcement agencies, along with the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), to track down sellers and manufacturers of these unauthorized plates and pursue the appropriate legal action against them.

The crackdown also comes as the LTO sees fake and improvised plates being used to get around the No Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP). Since traffic cameras rely on a vehicle or motorcycle’s plate number to identify the registered owner, using a plate that cannot be traced to the actual vehicle can give violators a way to avoid being issued an automated traffic citation.

Worse, the legitimate vehicle owner could end up shouldering the hassle of proving that they were not the one who committed the NCAP violation.

What about legitimate temporary plates?

Not all temporary plates are illegal. Lacanilao clarified that motorists who have been authorized by the LTO to use a temporary plate, such as in cases where an original plate has been lost, should make sure their authorization remains valid.

Motorists with an existing authorization are advised to visit the nearest LTO office to have it extended if necessary.

For those who have already paid for a replacement plate, Lacanilao also advised checking with the LTO if the plate has already been stamped and is ready for release.

The LTO chief said agency personnel are ready to assist motorists with these transactions and help make the process faster and more convenient.