Truck axle load limits and overloading rules in the Philippines

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

In the Philippines, no truck axle may carry more than 13,500 kg, and each truck type has its own maximum gross vehicle weight (GVW), from 18,000 kg for a two-axle six-wheeler to 45,000 kg for the largest truck-trailer. Republic Act No. 8794 sets the axle limit and a penalty of 25% of the truck's motor vehicle user's charge (MVUC) for loading past the GVW.

This guide covers what the law says, the GVW for each truck code, what an apprehension costs, how weighbridge checks work, and how dispatch can plan loads so a truck never gets stopped.

What does RA 8794 say about overloading?

RA 8794 is the Motor Vehicle User's Charge law, approved on June 27, 2000. Most of it sets the MVUC, the yearly road charge paid when a vehicle is registered with the LTO. Section 1 says the charge is collected from and paid by the owner of the motor vehicle.

Section 6 is the part people mean when they search for the anti-overloading law. It says an amount equal to 25% of the MVUC shall be imposed on trucks and trailers loaded beyond their prescribed gross vehicle weight, provided that no axle load shall exceed 13,500 kg. That one sentence holds both rules: a total weight limit that depends on the truck, and a per-axle limit that is the same for every truck.

The money goes back to the roads. Under Section 7, 80% of MVUC collections go to the Special Road Support Fund, mainly for maintaining national roads. The 2001 joint circular that set up the weighbridges gives the reason plainly: national roads and bridges were being damaged by trucks whose gross weights and axle loads went over the limits.

What is the maximum gross vehicle weight for each truck type?

The DPWH sorts trucks by code. On March 14, 2025 it issued Department Order No. 45, series of 2025, the current policy guidelines for its anti-truck overloading operations. The weighbridge summary form attached to that order lists these maximum allowable GVWs "per RA 8794":

• Code 1-1, a truck with 2 axles and 6 wheels: 18,000 kg.
• Code 1-2, a truck with a tandem rear axle, 3 axles and 10 wheels: 33,300 kg.
• Code 1-3, a truck with 4 axles and 14 wheels: 35,600 kg.
• Codes 11-1, 11-2 and 12-1, truck semi-trailers with 3 or 4 axles: 34,000 kg, 40,600 kg and 39,700 kg.
• Code 12-2, a semi-trailer with 3 axles on the tractor and 2 on the trailer, 18 wheels: 41,500 kg.
• Code 12-3, a semi-trailer with 3 axles on the tractor and 3 on the trailer, 22 wheels: 42,000 kg.
• Truck-trailers: code 11-3 at 41,000 kg, 11-11 at 39,700 kg, 11-12 and 12-11 at 43,500 kg, and 12-12 at 45,000 kg.

The same form lists several newer configurations with no GVW yet, marked N/A. If your truck does not match a code above, ask the DPWH district office how it is classified before you load it heavy.

These figures are higher than the old table many offices still have on the wall. Department Order No. 16 of 2002 capped a six-wheeler at 16,880 kg and a 10-wheeler at 27,250 kg. The 2025 order expressly supersedes that 2002 order, so replace the old chart. One thing did not change: every code still carries the 13,500 kg ceiling per axle. A truck can be under its GVW and still overloaded on one axle if the cargo sits too far back.

Is the moratorium on 12-2 and 12-3 trucks over?

For years the GVW limits for codes 12-2 and 12-3, the tractor-trailers that pull most containers, were not enforced. PortCalls reported that the suspensions began in 2013 and were extended again and again at the truckers' request. The last DPWH extension we found ran to December 31, 2017, and the DPWH news release told owners to upgrade their units before January 1, 2018.

A July 2022 PortCalls report said the moratorium ended in June 2021. It also said the share of overloaded trucks went from 11% to 13% in 2012 to 2017 to 34% nationally by 2021, and that the DPWH was studying an update to the implementing rules to recognize newer truck configurations and allow higher weights. The 2025 order's form still shows 41,500 kg and 42,000 kg for these two codes, so plan with those numbers.

What is the fine for overloading a truck?

There is no fixed peso fine in the law. The penalty is 25% of the MVUC for that truck, so a heavier truck with a bigger yearly charge pays more. PortCalls has described it as 25% of the MVUC in the truck's registration with the LTO. Look up the MVUC on each truck's registration papers and take a quarter of it. That is roughly what one apprehension costs, before you count the lost hours.

For the base rate, Section 3 of RA 8794 charges trucks over 4,500 kg GVW ₱900 plus ₱12 for every 100 kg of GVW over 2,700 kg, with increases the law phased in over its first four years. The amount on your registration is the one that counts.

How it is collected at the station comes from a 2001 joint circular of the DPWH, the then Department of Transportation and Communications and the DILG. The LTO officer, or a deputized DPWH or PNP-TMG officer, issues the driver a Temporary Operator's Permit showing the excess load and the penalty. The circular waived the penalty when the load was over the GVW by less than 5%. It also told the PNP-TMG to stop a truck from going on if any dual-wheel axle was over 13,500 kg or the whole load was over 150% of the allowed GVW.

The DPWH order that circulated that joint circular is the 2002 order replaced in 2025. Most pages of the posted 2025 guidelines are scanned images we could not read, so we cannot confirm the 5% tolerance and the 150% rule still apply. Ask the weighbridge or your LTO district office before you count on any tolerance.

Overloading can also bring tickets under Republic Act No. 4136, the Land Transportation and Traffic Code. In a November 2022 operation at the Tabang weighbridge in Guiguinto, Bulacan, PortCalls reported that 15 trucks were apprehended under RA 8794 and three vehicles were ticketed under RA 4136.

Enforcement is not rare. A March 2025 statement from Senate President Francis Escudero cited LTO figures of 16,020 apprehensions for axle overloading from January to September 2023, with ₱32,012,810 in penalties collected.

Who is responsible when a truck is overloaded?

The law ties the charge to the truck. The MVUC is the owner's, and the penalty is a share of it. At the weighbridge, the 2001 rules hand the permit and the penalty to the driver on the spot. RA 8794 itself does not name the shipper who loaded the cargo, so whether a client pays you back depends on your contract, not on the law.

The stakes rise when something breaks. After the Cabagan to Santa Maria bridge in Isabela collapsed on February 27, 2025, Senator Escudero's statement said the truck on it reportedly weighed 102 tons, more than double the bridge's 45-ton capacity. Philstar reported that the Palace said truck owners could be among those held accountable.

Put it in writing. When a client declares a cargo weight, record it on the trip ticket, and agree beforehand who pays if a weighbridge stops the truck because the cargo was heavier than declared.

How do weighbridge checks work?

The DPWH runs the weighbridges and portable axle load weighing stations on national roads. Under the 2001 joint circular, DPWH staff weigh each loaded truck, write the actual load per axle and the allowable GVW on a form, and flag overloaded trucks to the LTO and PNP-TMG personnel posted at the station. The stations were to run 24 hours a day, weekends and holidays included, in three shifts.

Escudero's statement adds that the revised implementing rules of 2013 require the DPWH to install and operate weighbridges at strategic points on national roads, and allow it to outsource their operation. The July 2022 PortCalls report counted 17 permanent weighbridge stations and 23 anti-truck overloading weighing stations nationwide.

Under the 2025 order, the DPWH Bureau of Quality and Safety sets procedures and validates sites for new weighbridge and ATOME stations, and the regional offices run, maintain and buy the weighing equipment. New sites keep being added, so do not assume a route stays unchecked.

How can dispatch plan loads to stay legal?

• Write each truck's code and maximum GVW on its file, from the list above. Your drivers and helpers should know the number too.
• Weigh every truck empty once and record its tara. Example: if your 10-wheeler (code 1-2) weighs 12,000 kg empty, it can carry at most 21,300 kg more under a 33,300 kg GVW, and fuel, crew and pallets count toward that.
• Spread the load. A truck under its GVW can still put more than 13,500 kg on one axle when heavy cargo sits over the rear.
• Ask for the cargo weight when the client books, not when the truck arrives. For bulk loads such as sand, scrap or rice, get a scale ticket at loading.
• Split or refuse loads that would put the truck over. Two legal trips usually cost less than one apprehension and a truck held at the station.
• Keep every scale ticket and weighbridge form with the trip record, so you can answer a client or a ticket with facts.
• Check for rule changes before you rely on old habits. Weight limits for 12-2 and 12-3 trucks were suspended for years and then enforced again.

Orvyn's Transport Management System (TMS) keeps each trip on one record: the client, pickup, drop-off, cargo, truck and driver, its status, and the driver's photo of the signed receipt. It does not weigh loads or know axle limits, and it is not a GPS tracker, so the weight check stays with your dispatcher and the scale. It does mean the cargo details and proof for every trip are in one place when a question comes up. A demo is available.

Sources

• Republic Act No. 8794, Sections 1, 3, 6 and 7, on Lawphil (lawphil.net). Checked October 7, 2026.
• DPWH Department Order No. 45, series of 2025, Policy Guidelines on the Implementation of DPWH Anti-Truck Overloading Operations, with its weighbridge summary form, Department of Public Works and Highways (dpwh.gov.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• DPWH Department Order No. 16, series of 2002, with the DPWH, DOTC and DILG Joint Circular of November 19, 2001 and the 2000 table of maximum allowable GVW, Department of Public Works and Highways (dpwh.gov.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• Anti-Overloading Policy moratorium extended until December 31, DPWH news release (dpwh.gov.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• PortCalls, February 2, 2015 and August 4, 2015, on the 12-2 and 12-3 suspensions (portcalls.com). Checked October 7, 2026.
• PortCalls, July 11, 2022, Anti-overloading law IRR update eyed to allow higher vehicle weight limits (portcalls.com). Checked October 7, 2026.
• PortCalls, November 17, 2022, LTO intensifies anti-overloading drive (portcalls.com). Checked October 7, 2026.
• Senate President Francis Escudero, Chiz calls for comprehensive review of anti-overloading policies, March 2025 (chizescudero.com), and Daily Tribune, March 17, 2025 (tribune.net.ph). Checked October 7, 2026.
• Philstar, March 5, 2025, on the Cabagan to Santa Maria bridge collapse (philstar.com). Checked October 7, 2026.