Vehicle registration plates of the Philippines

Vehicle license plates in the Philippines (in ) are issued and regulated by the Land Transportation Office of the Philippines, a government agency under the Philippine Department of Transportation (DOTr).
2014 Series (plate standardization project).
In January 2013, the Land Transportation Office began a license plate standardization project by issuing plates with modern security features, including holograms and bar codes. They also planned to slowly phase out the old 1981 plate format. In the new format, the LTO will issue LLL-DDDD plates (where L represents a letter and D represents a one-digit number) for four-wheel vehicles and LL-DDDDD plates for motorcycles. 
Project Timeline.
The new plate format series and design was originally scheduled for release on September or October 2013. However, it has been delayed several times primarily due to concerns about the release of funds for the license plate project, as well as the increase in purchases of new cars using temporary license plates bearing the conduction sticker number. Eventually, in May 2014, the first batch of new license plates was released. By January 2015, vehicle owners were required to pay PhP 450 to change their old plates into a modern series plate.
In 2016, the LTO issued "virtual plates" as a temporary measure to address the backlog in physical license plates. New vehicles will be issued a virtual identification consisting of a combination of alphanumeric symbols, which will make it easier for the LTO to release the permanent license plates once they are available.
In January 2018, the Supreme Court ordered the release of license plates held due to restraining orders saddling the plate modernization program. It is expected that the distribution of new plates will commence at full swing by mid-February 2018.
Automobile vehicle plates.
Private Vehicles.
Alphanumeric symbols for 2014 private car plates will be black on a white background. Motorcycle plates will also follow the black on white scheme, as will those for three-wheel vehicles used for personal purposes. The seven digit personal plates also contain a bar code for verification and LTO hot stamp.
The number format of the 2018 series plate is the same as that of the 2014 series. It also comes with a LTO watermark and a QR code. Vehicles registered from July 2016 – December 2017 using the temporary plate ABV-AEE will updated to the latest designations. For example, ACD-1234 registered in NCR will updated to NCD-1234.
Public Utility Vehicles.
Registration plates for public utility vehicles (PUVs) continue to be black on a yellow background, with the authorized route for the vehicle indicated on the plate. Three-wheel vehicles used as PUVs will also continue to be issued plates with the black on yellow scheme. In the 2014 series, beside the region of registration, the type of PUV is also indicated (e.g. NCR TAXI, R4A JEEPNEY, R8 PROV BUS).
In the 2016 series, PUVs will use private style plates since yellow plates have not been released to production.
Government Vehicles.
Government plates, meanwhile, will sport red symbols on a white background, with the name of the agency/office indicated on the plate. However, since red plates are not yet available in 2016, new government plates are printed in black and white. 2014 series government plates follow the SLL-DDDD pattern.
Motorcycle plates.
Private motorcycles.
Private motorcycles are issued plates with green characters (1981 series) or black characters (2014 series) on a white background with the letters "MC" (for motorcycle) stamped on the upper left-hand corner next to the registration sticker. Plate numbers are usually in the format LL-DDDD (e.g. NK 9081), LL-DDDDD (e.g. NA 25953) or LLL-DDDDD (e.g. FTU 23789), but with the rise in the number of motorcycles on the road, the DDDD-LL (e.g. 9081 NK) format has also come into use.
Rear plates are made out of aluminum and are 235 mm wide and 135 mm tall. Front plates are 135 mm wide by 85 mm tall, and also contain reflective material.
Public utility motorcycles.
Public utility motorcycle plates feature yellow characters on a black background. They have the same numbering format as private motorcycles. PUV motorcycle plates are very rarely seen.
Diplomatic motorcycles.
Diplomatic motorcycles use all-number plates featuring the same physical dimensions and the "MC" stamp as other motorcycle plates. Numeric patterns include DDDD–DDDD, and DDD-DDD (100-000 for ambassadors).
Special vehicle plates.
Diplomatic Vehicles.
Diplomatic plates will continue to carry blue symbols on a white background, and will follow the DDDDD pattern for diplomats, embassy and consulate officials, country ambassadors, and some expatriates such as scientists and researchers at the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Diplomatic plates will follow the DDDD pattern for officials such as ambassadors, whose plates are always numbered "1000" and used to have the country they represent at the bottom of the plate (not specified anymore). These plates have a small decal on the bottom left part with a "CM" (e.g. 3478, 24589) 
Plates with decal numbers between 1001 – 9999 contain another small decal on the bottom left, that displays the text "DC", for "diplomatic corps". Plates with decal numbers between 10000 – 99999, such as embassy vehicles, also have a small decal on the bottom left displaying the text "OEV", which stands for "other exempt vehicle". 
Electric vehicles.
Orange plates with white characters are used on electric vehicles.
Other Vehicles.
Plates for non-Diplomatic Other Exempt Vehicles (OEV) feature black symbols on a light blue background. 
Old 1981 series.
Old automobile vehicle plates.
Private vehicles.
Old series private vehicle plates contained green symbols on a white background (or reverse – white symbols on green background, used from 1989 to 1995) with the alphanumeric format LLL-DDD. In 2009, it had used the increment letters I, O, and Q in the middle, right or both for NCR.
Public utility vehicles.
The 1981 series PUVs used yellow plates (black characters on a yellow background) in the form LLL-DDD and usually begin with the letters "N", "P", "T", or "U" in NCR. They always have either "V", "W", "X", "Y" (trailers only), "Z" (trailers only) in the middle of the letter block. Older license plates starting with "N" and "P" may have other letters in the middle of the block, although the "V", "W", "X", "Y", "Z" (Trailer) letters are also present from NVA-101 in 1981 to NYZ-999 in early 1995.
Current specifications.
Dimensions and materials.
The current version of the Philippine registration plate measures 390 mm long by 140 mm wide. The characters are stamped on an aluminum plate, which is then painted with reflective paint. Previously, watermarks of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) logo as well as a small logo of the plate manufacturer were stamped on the plate. This was replaced in 2002 with a reflective colored sticker of the José Rizal monument. , all plates issued by the LTO are produced by a sole, privately funded manufacturer in Manila.
There also used to be a slogan on the bottom of the license plate usually reflecting the campaign goals of the incumbent President. The practice began under President Fidel V. Ramos' "Philippines 2000" campaign in 1995. Until 2003, plates also bore the word ""Pilipinas" at the bottom; in 2003, the word was replaced with the Arroyo government's slogan "Matatag Na Republika"" ("Strong Republic"), which was still used on the plate instead of the new government's "Daang Matuwid" ("Straight Path") slogan when Benigno Aquino III became President in 2010. The introduction of the 2014 design plate replaced the presidential slogan with region names, and with the introduction of its 2016 revision, the slogan feature has been removed.
Typeface.
There were numerous typefaces for Philippine registration plates. The current typeface used for Philippine registration plates was first implemented in 1981. It is loosely based on the Australian license plate system. There have been slight variations on the font design until February 2018, when all plates were switched to FE-Schrift, which has been used since at least 2010 for personalized plates. FE Schrift was chosen to be used on license plates because the style of the font makes it difficult to modify the letters.
High-ranking government plates.
These plates are green D or DD plates reserved for top government officials of the Republic of the Philippines.
Trailers.
Trailers use yellow, green or white plates that in most cases have either "U" (Private) or "Z" (For Hire) as the middle letter of the letter block, e.g. CUU-482, NZB-263, BUA-5301.
Private Three-wheel vehicles.
Private three-wheel vehicles use plates with green characters on a white background with the letters "MC" stamped on the upper left-hand corner next to the registration sticker. This plate is also rare because when a three-wheel vehicle is purchased, its immediate use is as a public transport vehicle and will be registered with black on yellow plates.
Public utility Three-wheel vehicles.
Three-wheel PUVs feature plates with black characters on a yellow background with the letters "TC" stamped on the upper right-hand corner next to the registration sticker. Both the 1981 and 2018 plate series feature the alphanumeric format DDD-LLL. The rear plates and front decals are the same as on private motorcycles (but are color coded).
Department of Tourism accredited vehicles.
Vehicles accredited by the Department of Tourism (usually tour buses and airport taxis) are issued plates that look similar to those of private vehicles, but have yellow highlights mixed with the green color. They also share the same first letter as current public utility vehicle plates. These vehicles must also have special stickers placed on the rear windows indicating that they are DOT-accredited.
In the 2014 series, the DOT now uses a yellow plate with black characters, the same as PUVs. The word TOURIST is indicated on the plate (e.g. NCR TOURIST).
Coding scheme.
2014 Series Geographical designation.
Between April 13, 2014 to June 30, 2016, plate letter combinations were standardized throughout the Philippines and the region where the vehicle is registered was printed at the bottom of the new license plates.
2016 Series Geographical Designation.
In August 2017, the Department of Transportation selected the winning bidder under the government's "Moving Forward Program" to reduce the backlog of 3.4 million plates spanning from July 2016 to December 2017. The machines were delivered to the LTO in February 2018 and were installed in their new plate making facility. The new license plates were released in July 2018 throughout the country. Under this new plate series, the first letter of the license plate will determine where the vehicle is registered. This is the same designation that was implemented during the 1981 series. Subsequently, all virtual plates that were issued from July 2016 to December 2017 using the previous design (e.g. Virtual plate ABV 1001-AEE 9999) will be updated to the latest alphabetical designation (e.g. ACD 1234, registered under NCR, will be updated to NCD 1234, the designation for vehicles registered in NCR).
MV File & Temporary Plate Numbers.
The MV File Number for each vehicle has 15 digits, which are based on where the initial registration of the vehicle was carried out. (e.g. MV File # 1301-00000012345 registered in NCR).
The Temporary Plate Number has 6 digits based on where the initial purchase location of the vehicle was and its use as a PUV. (e.g. 130123 for NCR use).
Plate numbers in National Capital Region.
Private (plate series with approximate year issued):
I, O and Q were originally excluded to avoid confusion with the numbers "1" & "0". But with the exhaustion of the "Z" series in 2009, they were used by reverting to the old "N" series. A new serial scheme was implemented using these characters, instead of the third letter coming into series (e.g. after ZAA-999 has been reached, ZAB-101) the middle letter is the one being replaced (e.g. after NAI-999 series has been exhausted, NBI-101 will follow.) These include combinations for public utility vehicles (middle letters V-Y) and trailers (middle letters U and Z), which were repurposed for private vehicles. After all the possible combinations with I, O and Q as the third letter for the same starting letter have been used, I, O and Q are used as middle letters and the third letter is being replaced (e.g. After NIA-999 has been used, NIB-101 will follow), if the reverted letter is exhausted (e.g. After PQZ-999 has been used, TAI-101 will follow). During 2013, some letter combinations (e.g. FJB-101) were also used in Metro Manila.
<br>e.g. 1981 series: NFD-838, PAL-901, PGU-909, TAX-798, TFN-697, UTH-468, WBU-389, WSD-820, XAF-789, XDG-289, XHK-537, XJA-993, XKW-594, XLA-475, XMS-907, XSC-769, ZCZ-679, NUI-205, NJO-542, NBQ-217, NIA-101, NOR-686, NQZ-544, PXI-296, PSO-338, PQQ-332, PIK-342, POC-902, PQL-497, TEI-517, TZO-390, TSQ-486, TIT-120, TOL-979, TQH-924, UMI-615, UFO-392, UHQ-571, UIP-207, UOG-874, UQF-281, WAI-365, WOO-911, WEQ-451, WIC-143, WOP-723, WQL-856
Special Issue: VRB-468, EBX-578, FJB-357, HBG-257
2014 series: AAA-5500, AAI-8557, AJA-8068, APA-9631, ABG-9416, ABS-1953
2018 series: NAA-1234, NBA-2020, NCU-7018, NDG-9606, NEB-3003, NFT-2047, NGF-1365
Provincial plate numbers.
Private (plate series with approximate year issued):
Yellow plate numbers in Provincial & National Capital Region.
National Capital Region:
Provincial:
Government plate numbers.
Note: Government plate numbers from SLJ-101 (including increments of "I", "O" and "Q") up to SZZ-999 were skipped.
Trailer plate numbers.
Yellow Plates in National Capital Region and Provincial.
Note: AZA-AZD, EZA-EZC, IZA-IZE, OZA-OZE And UZA-UZB are used for Electric Vehicles.
Motorcycle plate numbers.
Provincial.
Note: For 2016 Updated Motorcycle Plate Numbers, Tricycle Plates have O, P, Q, and Z for Private or V, W, X, and Y for For-Hire in the Middle of the Letter Block.
Special designation.
1981 series
e.g. SA-1001
e.g. "XA-1001", "QA-7587"
e.g. "IA-3339", "OA-6210"
e.g. 1981: NVA-101, 2014: VVD-999
e.g. AK-0673, 0333-CL
e.g. SS-1001, 1001-SA
e.g. ZZI-101, ZZO-890, ZZQ-476
e.g. SUA-101, SUB-698, SUC-346, SUD-697
Personalized plates.
A motorist who would like to have personalized plates can choose any letter combination upon three conditions:
Optional motor vehicle special plates (OMVSP).
A project of the Land Transportation Office since 2004, OMVSP plates are printed in the forms LLL-DD or LLL-DDD but not in the order of normal plates shown on the table. They are in the 2003 font series for the "Matatag na Republika" (Strong Republic) plates (e.g. GOD-333, QQQ-47).