Transferring a Car or Motorcycle at the LTO

Why the Transfer Matters to Both Sides

For the buyer, the CR in your own name proves the vehicle is yours. You need it to renew the registration, sell the vehicle later, or claim insurance.

For the seller, the risk is bigger. Under Supreme Court rulings on the "registered owner" rule, the person in the LTO records can be held responsible to other people (third persons) for accidents involving the vehicle, even after a sale. Selling on an "open Deed of Sale" (a signed deed with the buyer's name left blank) keeps you on the record with no end date.

In 2024 the LTO issued an order (AO No. VDM-2024-046) requiring sellers to report a sale within five days and buyers to transfer within 20 days, with fines. The LTO put that order on hold in October 2024. Check the LTO for the rules in force when you sell.

The Deed of Sale

The Deed of Sale of a motor vehicle names the seller and buyer, the price, and the vehicle's details exactly as they appear on the CR: make, model, year, color, plate number, engine number, chassis number, and the CR and file numbers.

Both sides sign in front of a notary with valid IDs. If the registered owner is married, it is safer for the spouse to sign too. If the owner is a company, the person signing needs a Secretary's Certificate or Board Resolution (a company paper authorizing them).

Use the Deed of Sale of Motor Vehicle template. Make at least three originals: one each for seller and buyer, and one for the LTO.

The Steps

1. Notarize the Deed of Sale. See above.
2. Get the HPG Motor Vehicle Clearance. Bring the vehicle to a PNP Highway Patrol Group office. The HPG physically checks the vehicle and macro-etches the engine and chassis numbers (a test that shows if the numbers were changed) to see if they were tampered with, then checks for any alarm (for example, a stolen-vehicle report).
3. Set up the buyer's LTMS account. The LTO's Land Transportation Management System (LTMS) is where the vehicle and its owner are recorded. The buyer needs their own account.
4. Go to the LTO office. Hand in the documents, have the vehicle inspected (the inspector also stencils the engine and chassis numbers, making a paper rubbing of them), and pay the transfer fees.
5. Get the new CR. The LTO issues a CR in the buyer's name. Check every detail before you leave.

If the registration is also due, you can renew at the same time. Renewal needs a valid compulsory third party liability (CTPL) insurance and, for most vehicles, an emission test. The insurance should be in the new owner's name.

Special Cases

• Vehicle bought on loan. If a bank or financing company holds a Chattel Mortgage (the vehicle stands as security for the loan), the CR carries a note of it (an annotation). You need the lender's Release of Chattel Mortgage, and the LTO must cancel the annotation first.
• Registered owner has died. The heirs first need an Extrajudicial Settlement (or a court order) giving them the vehicle. See settling an estate.
• Several sales, never transferred. If the vehicle passed through several owners on paper, the LTO usually asks for each Deed of Sale in the chain. Track down the earlier deeds.
• Seller abroad. They can sign the deed abroad (with an apostille or consular notarization) or appoint someone through a Special Power of Attorney. See Special Power of Attorney.
• Lost CR or plate. Sign an Affidavit of Loss and ask the LTO about replacement before the transfer.

Tips for the Seller

• Fill in the buyer's full name and address on the deed. Avoid open deeds.
• Keep a notarized original and copies of the buyer's IDs.
• Write down the date and time you handed over the vehicle. An Acknowledgment Receipt for the payment helps.
• Ask the buyer for a copy of the new CR once it is issued.