LTO: stencil no longer required

LTO removes requirement of engine and chassis stencil on plain renewal

Stencil is the process of obtaining an impression of the vehicle or motorcycle’s engine and chassis numbers with the use of a pencil and Land Transportation Office’s (LTO) MVIR form.

For outgoing LTO chief, Atty. Jayart Tugade, this process seems redundant and has issued a new memo that effectively removes this requirement from the plain renewal of the vehicle and motorcycle registration.

“Consisted with the policy of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) to streamline its processes to ensure the effective and efficient delivery of services to the public in line with the provisions of R.A. 11032, known as the ‘Ease of Doing Business and Efficient Government Service Delivery Act’, the stencil of the engine and chassis numbers of a motor vehicle shall no longer be required for ‘plain renewal’ registration transactions,” outlined in the new Memorandum Circular No. JMT-2023-2399, signed last May 22, 2023. This new memo also includes motorcycles, as confirmed by the LTO.

The LTO reiterated, however, that the motor vehicle, prior to the approval of the application, has already undergone and passed the physical inspection to determine the unit's roadworthiness. That means motorists will have to have their vehicle inspected by a motor vehicle inspection center (MVIC) and pass or secure a certificate of emission compliance from an emissions testing center.