All motor vehicles registered with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) are covered by the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge (MVUC) Law in the Philippines.

Quick Scoop

  • The law (Republic Act No. 8794) imposes a Motor Vehicle User’s Charge on owners of all types of motor vehicles that are officially registered.
  • In practice, this means all LTO-registered vehicles , whether used for private purposes, for hire, or by the government, are subject to MVUC.
  • Vehicles that are not registered for use on public roads (for example, some purely off-road or private-road-only vehicles) are generally outside the scope because the charge is tied to registration and road use.

Types of vehicles typically covered

These categories are explicitly mentioned in summaries of the MVUC law and its implementing rules:

  • Private passenger cars
  • Utility vehicles (e.g., SUVs, AUVs, pickups)
  • Motorcycles (including certain motorcycles for hire)
  • Buses
  • Trucks
  • Trailers

All of these, when registered with the LTO for use on public roads, fall under the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge.

In short: if it’s a motor vehicle duly registered with the LTO to run on Philippine public roads, it is covered by the Motor Vehicle User’s Charge Law.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.