LTFRB truck-for-hire franchise requirements (CPC)

A summary, not legal advice. Checked October 7, 2026.

To haul other people's cargo for pay, each truck needs a Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) from the LTFRB. You file a notarized application with the LTO OR/CR of every truck, your DTI or SEC papers, proof of Filipino citizenship, proof of a garage, a bank deposit of ₱50,000 per truck and a notarized hauling contract, then attend a hearing before the Board decides.

Who needs a truck-for-hire franchise?

The rule starts with the Public Service Act, Commonwealth Act No. 146 of 1936. Its Section 15 says no public service shall operate in the Philippines without a valid and subsisting certificate. Since 1987, Executive Order No. 202 has given the LTFRB the power to issue, amend, suspend or cancel Certificates of Public Convenience for public land transportation.

For trucks, the LTFRB spelled it out twice. Memorandum Circular No. 98-027 (1998) requires owners of dump trucks, cargo trucks and other private vehicles rented out for a fee to secure a franchise from the Board or its regional offices. Memorandum Circular No. 2004-043 orders all owners of trucks and aluminum vans registered with the LTO and used for hauling to secure a CPC to operate a truck-for-hire service.

The Land Transportation and Traffic Code (Republic Act No. 4136) backs this up from the LTO side. Section 7 says trucks registered as private shall not be used for hire under any circumstances, and a vehicle habitually used to carry freight that does not belong to its registered owner is conclusively presumed to be for hire. If your truck regularly carries a client's goods for a fee, the law treats it as a for-hire truck.

Can you skip the franchise if you only haul your own goods?

Possibly, but only with LTFRB approval. MC 2004-043 says trucks operated for the exclusive use and in furtherance of the owner's own business may be exempted, as determined solely by the LTFRB. A junkshop that only carries its own kalakal to its trading company is the kind of operation this covers. The exemption is not automatic: you file a Petition or Application for Exemption with these attachments:

• Certificates of Registration and Official Receipts of the trucks you want exempted.
• SEC or CDA certificate of incorporation or cooperation, if you are a corporation or cooperative.
• DTI business name registration, if you are a sole proprietor.
• Business permit or mayor's permit from the city or town where your main business is.
• Financial statements for the last two fiscal years, received by the BIR, if you are a corporation or cooperative.
• Income tax return.
• SSS enrolment or coverage of your employees.

The same circular told traffic enforcers to apprehend drivers of these trucks from February 15, 2005 unless they can show a CPC or an Order of Exemption. Keep a copy of whichever one you hold in every truck.

What documents does the LTFRB ask for?

The list below combines the "Issuance of a New Certificate of Public Convenience" section of the LTFRB Citizen's Charter (2020, 2nd edition, the version linked from the LTFRB website) with the checklist the LTFRB posted on May 3, 2023. Bring one photocopy of each document and the originals for the hearing.

• Verified application, four original copies, notarized, stating your citizenship and financial capacity, your email address and contact number, with a verification and certification against forum shopping. Add a signed attestation that your documents are genuine, and put everything in an orange folder.
• LTO OR/CR of each truck, showing the year model. For a leased truck, an Affidavit of Undertaking under MC 2018-015. For an imported or rebuilt truck, a Certificate of Year Model.
• DTI Certificate of Business Name, for sole proprietors.
• Proof of Filipino citizenship. Individuals: PSA birth certificate, passport, voter's ID or another government ID showing citizenship. Corporations: articles of incorporation or partnership, by-laws, SEC certificate of registration and a board resolution. Cooperatives: articles of cooperation, by-laws, CDA certificate of registration and a certificate of good standing.
• Proof of a garage: a land title (TCT) or tax declaration in your name, or a notarized contract of lease or authority to use, together with the lessor's TCT.
• Proof of financial capability: the stamped-received latest income tax return, or your BIR Certificate of Registration showing transportation as your line of business if you are newly registered, plus a bank deposit of ₱50,000 per truck. Operators with several trucks also submit an audited financial statement (the 2023 checklist says from three units; the charter says more than three).
• An operator's data sheet with the valid driver's licenses of your authorized drivers.
• A notarized hauling contract that states its duration, or an authority to operate in a port, trade center or economic zone.
• An LTFRB motor vehicle inspection report with a picture of each truck taken during inspection.
• If you apply for ten or more units, an undertaking to comply with the tree planting requirement.
• At the hearing: proof that the notice of hearing was published (the publisher's affidavit of publication and the newspaper clippings) and your formal offer of evidence with all exhibits marked.

One difference between the two lists: the charter asks for a bank Certificate of Conformity when a truck is still being paid off, while the 2023 checklist says that certificate is no longer required. If you cannot attend in person, a representative needs a notarized special power of attorney and both your IDs; a corporation or cooperative sends a board resolution or secretary's certificate naming the representative.

Where do you file, and how long does it take?

At the LTFRB Central Office on East Avenue, Quezon City, the charter lays out these steps. First, get the application form and checklist at the Public Assistance and Complaints Desk and have your documents pre-evaluated. Then submit the verified application at the receiving windows, claim your payment order slip and pay at the cashier. The Legal Division emails you a notice of hearing. You publish the notice, submit your sealed formal offer of evidence ten days before the hearing, attend the hearing, and claim the decision at the records releasing unit.

The charter puts the total at 71 days and 30 minutes, including 20 days after the case is submitted for resolution. Outside Metro Manila you can deal with a regional office: Section 7 of EO 202 creates a Regional Franchising and Regulatory Office in each region, and MC 98-027 lets truck owners apply to the Board or to the regional office covering them. The LTFRB publishes a separate citizen's charter for its regional offices.

How much does an LTFRB truck franchise cost?

These are the fees the charter publishes for a new CPC. Your payment order slip shows the amount you actually owe.

• Filing fee: ₱510 for the first two units and ₱70 for each unit after that.
• Legal research fee: ₱10.
• Inspection fee: ₱100 per truck (₱50 for vehicles of 4,500 kg gross weight or less).

The ₱50,000 per truck is a bank deposit that proves financial capacity, not a fee paid to the LTFRB. You will also pay for notarization and for publishing the notice of hearing in a newspaper; the LTFRB does not set those prices, so get quotes.

Can your trucks run while the application is pending?

Not on the strength of the filing alone. In February 2026, LTFRB Chairperson Vigor Mendoza II, speaking about a separate case, told applicants that submitting the documents for a CPC does not mean the vehicle can already be used for public transport, and that they must wait for approval and release of the permits (Daily Tribune, February 9, 2026).

The LTFRB has at times issued a provisional authority (PA) to truck applicants. MC 2014-008 described a PA stamped on the application once the filing fee is paid. In 2021, Board Resolution No. 033 extended a truck-for-hire PA from 90 days to one year, according to PortCalls (April 2021). Run a truck for hire only when you hold a written CPC or PA for its plate number.

How long is a CPC valid, and how do you extend it?

The validity is written in the decision granting your CPC, so read yours. As a guide, PortCalls reported in October 2014 that the LTFRB tied truck franchise validity to the truck's age: five years for trucks up to 10 years old, four years for 11 to 15, three years for 16 to 20, two years for 21 to 25, and one year for 26 years and older. We found no newer published schedule.

To keep the franchise, file an application for extension of validity before the CPC expires. The charter's extension checklist is close to the new-CPC list, including the ₱50,000 per truck deposit. Timing matters: under Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, a vehicle with an expired CPC and no extension application filed on time counts as colorum. MC 2010-032 lets truck-for-hire holders apply to extend an expired CPC even more than a year after it lapsed, but with penalties and charges.

What happens if you operate for hire without a franchise?

Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, the DOTC, LTO and LTFRB schedule of fines that took effect on June 19, 2014, calls this a colorum violation. For a private truck operating as a for-hire vehicle without LTFRB authority, the first-offense penalties are:

• A ₱200,000 fine.
• Impounding of the truck for at least three months.
• Revocation of the truck's registration and blacklisting from use as a public utility vehicle.
• Disqualification of the registered owner (for a corporation, its stockholders and directors) from operating any kind of public land transportation.

If the colorum truck belongs to an operator who holds a CPC, the whole CPC it belongs to is revoked, and a second offense revokes every CPC the operator holds. Even with a valid franchise, failing to show it or carry it in the truck costs ₱5,000 for a first offense, ₱10,000 and 30 days of impounding for a second, and ₱15,000 plus cancellation of the CPC for a third. SunStar reported the same ₱200,000 truck fine when the order took effect in 2014.

Clients are also told to check. MC 98-027 urges customers of truck operators to ask for the franchise before hiring. And a 2019 LTFRB advisory warns truck-for-hire operators and drivers not to carry passengers other than the persons the truck category allows.

So keep the decision, the latest OR/CR and a copy of the hauling contract for every truck in one folder, and note each CPC's expiry date where the whole office can see it. Clients may ask for your franchise, and enforcers will ask for it on the road.

Orvyn Solutions' Transport Management System (TMS) handles the trip side. The office books a trip with the client, pickup, drop-off and cargo, gets a trip number right away, and assigns a truck and driver. At drop-off the driver sends a photo of the signed receipt from a budget Android phone, so delivered trips with proof are ready to bill and each client can log in to see their trips. It does not file anything with the LTFRB, track franchise expiry dates, or show where a truck is; keep your GPS tracker for that. A demo is available.

Sources

• Commonwealth Act No. 146, Public Service Act, on Lawphil (lawphil.net). Checked October 7, 2026.
• Executive Order No. 202 (1987), creating the LTFRB, on Lawphil (lawphil.net). Checked October 7, 2026.
• Republic Act No. 4136, Land Transportation and Traffic Code, on Lawphil (lawphil.net). Checked October 7, 2026.
• LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 98-027, Franchise for dump trucks and other private vehicles used as for hire, Supreme Court E-Library (elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2004-043, order for truck owners to secure a CPC for truck-for-hire service, Supreme Court E-Library (elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2010-032, extension of expired CPCs, Supreme Court E-Library (elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2014-008, clarification on TH freight truck services under JAO 2014-001, Supreme Court E-Library (elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• LTFRB Citizen's Charter, Central Office, 2020 (2nd edition), LTFRB (ltfrb.gov.ph), archived copy. Checked October 7, 2026.
• Alamin: ang mga available na prangkisa sa LTFRB at ang requirements nito, LTFRB (ltfrb.gov.ph), posted May 3, 2023, archived copy. Checked October 7, 2026.
• Advisory to all truck-for-hire operators and drivers, LTFRB (ltfrb.gov.ph), posted September 19, 2019, archived copy. Checked October 7, 2026.
• Joint Administrative Order No. 2014-01, Revised schedule of fines and penalties, Land Transportation Office (lto.gov.ph), archived copy. Checked October 7, 2026.
• Higher fines for colorum PUVs questioned, SunStar (sunstar.com.ph), June 10, 2014. Checked October 7, 2026.
• LTFRB investigates PUVs operating without franchise, Daily Tribune (tribune.net.ph), February 9, 2026. Checked October 7, 2026.
• From 90 days, trucks-for-hire provisional authority now valid for one year, PortCalls (portcalls.com), April 2021. Checked October 7, 2026.
• Still no policy limiting age of trucks, clarifies LTFRB, PortCalls (portcalls.com), October 30, 2014. Checked October 7, 2026.