Transportes creates the Pontifical Plate for nine vehicles of the papal visit

The Ministry of Transport and Communications exceptionally created the Pontifical Plate as a symbolic act and in commemoration of the visit of His Holiness Pope Leo XIV, and authorized its use for nine motor vehicles. The decision is contained in Ministerial Resolution No. 609-2026-MTC/01.02, signed by Minister José Angello Tangherlini Casal and published on Tuesday, October 27, 2026, in the Legal Norms section of the official newspaper El Peruano (p. 13).

The regulation is based on the National Single License Plate Regulation, approved by Supreme Decree No. 017-2008-MTC, whose Article 8 defines special plates—including the exhibition plate—and whose Fifth Final Complementary Provision empowers the sector to authorize, via ministerial resolution, the use of exhibition plates for new vehicles intended for the transport of high-ranking officials and representatives of other countries arriving for international events, with circulation twenty-four hours a day. The general framework is provided by Law No. 27181, the General Law of Land Transport and Traffic, which grants the ministry regulatory competence over land traffic.

The request arrived via Letter No. 189-2026/AAP-GG from the Automotive Association of Peru, which addressed the request from the company General Motors Perú S.A. to authorize the manufacture and use of special plates intended for the units that will transport the pontiff. The proposal was supported by the General Directorate of Transport Authorizations, through Memorandum No. 1368-2026-MTC/17 and Report No. 0805-2026-MTC/17.03 from the Directorate of Road Circulation.

Seventeen-day validity and circulation without hourly restrictions

• The assignment and validity of the plates are effective from November 1 to 17, 2026.
• The vehicles may circulate twenty-four hours a day within that period.
• The exceptional use is subject to Supreme Decree No. 017-2008-MTC and its complementary regulations where applicable.
• The nine motor vehicles are identified in Annex 2 of the resolution; the characteristics of the plate appear in Annex 1.

The authorization covers nine units, detailed in the resolution’s annex, which are not enabled to provide public transport services, according to the nature of the exhibition plate regulated in the aforementioned regulation. The papal visit was declared of national interest through Supreme Decree No. 037-2026-RE, which set its development from November 11 to 16, 2026, in Cajamarca, Cusco, Lambayeque, Lima, Ucayali, and the Constitutional Province of Callao.

Commissioned manufacture and total exemption from payments

Article 3 provides for commissioning the manufacture, issuance, and delivery of the metal plates to the entity in charge of the administration of the National Single License Plate, in accordance with the special characteristics of Annex 1.

Article 4 establishes that the plates for the nine vehicles “are exempt from the payment of costs, expenses, and administrative fees arising from their manufacture, issuance, and delivery, being free of all administrative payment.” In other words, the measure does not generate any income for the treasury by way of fees.

Protocol, private company, and immediate publication

The decision chain combines the automotive guild, a manufacturer, and the public sector:

• Automotive Association of Peru, which submitted the letter with the request.
• General Motors Peru S.A., the company requesting the plates.
• Directorate of Road Circulation, which issued the favorable technical report.

Article 5 orders the publication of the resolution and its annexes on the ministry’s digital site (www.gob.pe/mtc) on the same day as its appearance in the official gazette, whereby the regulation and technical specifications become available for public consultation.

The creation of the Pontifical Plate is an exception limited in time—seventeen days—and in the universe of vehicles—nine units—but it sets an operational precedent for future State visits and international events: it enables vehicles not yet registered to circulate with a special identification, at no cost to the applicant, under the supervision of the single plate administrative body. For the reader, the practical effect is that the units of the papal entourage will be able to travel on public roads in the days leading up to and during the visit without the ordinary plate and without time restrictions.

Source: Official Gazette El Peruano, October 27, 2026, Legal Norms section, p. 13 (official reference: R.M. N° 609-2026-MTC/01.02).