COE glossary

A tax paid when a car is first registered, worked out on tiers of the car's OMV. It sets the size of the PARF rebate you can get back if the car is deregistered within 10 years. More →

LTA's open auction for new COEs, held twice a month. Each exercise opens at 12 noon on a Monday and closes at 4pm on the Wednesday. Each category's premium is set by the lowest successful bid. More →

Cars up to 1,600cc and 130bhp, and electric cars up to 110kW. More →

Cars above 1,600cc or 130bhp, and electric cars above 110kW. More →

Goods vehicles and buses. Cat C COEs can be renewed for 5 years more than once, up to the vehicle's statutory lifespan. More →

Motorcycles. Like cars, they can take a 5-year renewal only once. More →

An open category that can be used for any vehicle type except motorcycles. It has no PQP, so it doesn't affect renewal prices. More →

The right to own and use a vehicle in Singapore for 10 years. When it expires, the vehicle must be deregistered or the COE renewed by paying the PQP. More →

The unused part of the COE premium you paid, refunded if the vehicle is deregistered before the COE expires: premium paid × unused months ÷ the COE's term in months. More →

Extending a COE by 5 or 10 years by paying the PQP for your category. LTA calls it revalidation. It can be done up to one month after expiry, with a late fee. More →

A loan from a bank or finance company that pays the PQP to LTA, repaid in fixed monthly instalments. Meyer Motors arranges these loans as a broker. More →

Taking a vehicle off the road permanently, by scrapping or exporting it. Deregistering before the COE expires is what unlocks the PARF and COE rebates. More →

The yearly interest rate on the balance you actually still owe. For a flat-rate car or COE loan it is roughly 1.8 to 1.9 times the flat rate. More →

An interest rate charged on the full amount borrowed for the whole loan, even as it's paid down. Car and COE renewal loans in Singapore are usually quoted this way. More →

The fee for renewing a COE in the month after it expires, from $50 to $250 depending on the vehicle. The vehicle can't be driven until it's renewed. More →

A vehicle's value as assessed by Singapore Customs at import. The ARF and other taxes are worked out from it.

A car on the off-peak scheme, with red plates and limited weekday driving hours, in exchange for lower road tax and a registration rebate. It can be renewed like a normal car. More →

The rebate scheme that returns part of the ARF if a car is deregistered within 10 years. The percentage and cap depend on the car's age and on which bidding exercise its COE came from. More →

The price of renewing a COE: the average of the COE premiums for your category over the previous three calendar months. A 5-year renewal costs half the PQP. More →

The COE premium set at a bidding exercise for each category. The PQP is the moving average of these. More →

Extra road tax on cars more than 10 years old: 10% of the base road tax in the 11th year, rising by 10 points a year to 50% from the 15th year. More →

The maximum age some vehicle types may reach on Singapore roads, for example goods vehicles and buses. Cars have no statutory lifespan and can keep renewing in 10-year blocks. More →

A MAS limit on how much of your income can go to debt repayments when you take a property loan. Car and COE loans count towards it. More →

How long a loan runs. On a 10-year COE renewal it can go up to 118 months; a longer tenure lowers the monthly but adds interest. More →