LTO Fees and Fines 2026: Verified MVUC & Penalty List

Short answer: The only LTO fees you can treat as settled fact are the ones written into law: MVUC registration rates under RA 8794, traffic fines under JAO 2014-01 (₱1,000–₱10,000), and PMVIC inspection fees set by DOTr memorandum. Figures for license renewal, student permits, and new licenses are widely repeated online but conflict between sources — and no official schedule is published on lto.gov.ph — so this guide marks them clearly as “confirm at the office.”

Last verified: October 2026. Fees change by issuance — confirm current amounts at your LTO office or on lto.gov.ph.

How to Read This List

Every figure below is labeled:

• Verified — traceable to a law, official issuance, or real LTO official receipt.
• Confirm at the office — widely quoted online but conflicting or unofficial. We deliberately do not print these as fact.

MVUC: Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (Verified — RA 8794)

The MVUC is the core of your annual registration cost. These are the current rates under Republic Act 8794 (base rates doubled since ~2004):

Private vehicles

Vehicle	Annual MVUC
Passenger cars, up to 1,600 kg	₱1,600
Passenger cars, 1,601–2,300 kg	₱3,600
Passenger cars, 2,301 kg and above	₱8,000
Utility vehicles, up to 2,700 kg	₱2,000
Utility vehicles, 2,701–4,500 kg	₱2,000 + ₱0.40 per kg over 2,700
SUVs	15% above utility-vehicle rates
Motorcycles, without sidecar	₱240
Motorcycles, with sidecar	₱300
Trucks & truck-buses, over 4,500 kg	₱1,800 + ₱0.24 per kg over 2,700

For-hire vehicles

• Passenger cars: ₱900 / ₱1,800 / ₱5,000 (light / medium / heavy)
• Motorcycles: ₱300
• Utility vehicles, trucks, buses: ₱0.30 × GVW; trailers: ₱0.24 × GVW

Note: new motorcycles are initially registered for 3 years (₱240 × 3). See our registration renewal guide for the full schedule.

Traffic Violation Fines (Verified — JAO 2014-01)

These fines come from DOTC/LTO Joint Administrative Order 2014-01, still the operative schedule:

Violation	Fine
Driving without a valid license (expired, revoked, suspended, wrong restriction code, fake license, unaccompanied student driver)	₱3,000 + 1-year disqualification
Reckless driving — 1st / 2nd / 3rd offense	₱2,000 / ₱3,000 / ₱10,000
Failure to carry DL, CR, or OR while driving	₱1,000
Submitting fake documents in a license application	₱3,000 + disqualification + criminal charges
Driving an unregistered motor vehicle	₱10,000

Number-coding fines are not on this list — coding is an MMDA scheme in Metro Manila, not an LTO fine. Check our violations guide for how to look up and settle violations.

Inspection Fees (PMVIC Verified — DOTr Memo)

• PMVIC full inspection: light vehicles ₱600, motorcycles ₱500, for-hire vehicles ₱300 — set by DOTr memorandum (reported by the Philippine News Agency).
• PETC emission test: confirm at the center — no official cap found; private centers typically charge around ₱400–₱800.

See our emission testing guide for PETC vs PMVIC.

Transfer of Ownership

• Transfer fee ₱50 + Legal Research Fee ₱10 — itemized on a real LTO official receipt (Legazpi, 2024). Confirm at your office, as no official published schedule was located.
• The full checklist is in our transfer of ownership guide.

License Transaction Fees: Confirm at the Office

This is where honesty matters most. You’ll find exact-looking totals for license renewal, student permits, new licenses, and duplicates all over the internet — but they conflict (the computer fee alone is quoted as both ₱67.63 and ₱67.50), and no official fee schedule is published on lto.gov.ph. Some sites even cite a 2026 memorandum that doesn’t appear to exist in any government source.

So we won’t print a number we can’t stand behind. Confirm the current license fees at your LTO office or on lto.gov.ph before you go — and treat any blog quoting them as fact with skepticism.

What is official: under RA 10930, licenses are valid 5 years (or 10 years with zero violations). See our renewal guide and student permit guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much is the LTO license renewal fee in 2026?

No official 2026 schedule is published on lto.gov.ph, and secondary sources conflict — confirm the current amount at your LTO office before going.

What is the MVUC for a motorcycle?

₱240/year without sidecar, ₱300/year with sidecar, under RA 8794. New motorcycles are initially registered for 3 years.

What is the fine for driving without a license?

₱3,000 plus a one-year disqualification from getting a license, under JAO 2014-01. This covers expired, revoked, suspended, wrong-restriction-code, and fake licenses.

What is the fine for driving an unregistered vehicle?

₱10,000 under the “No Registration, No Travel” policy, and the vehicle can be impounded.

How much is the PMVIC inspection fee?

₱600 for light vehicles, ₱500 for motorcycles, ₱300 for for-hire vehicles — set by DOTr memorandum.

Why don’t you list the student permit fee?

Because sources conflict (₱150 vs ₱250 base fee) and no official figure is published. We’d rather tell you to confirm than print a wrong number.