Renewing a commercial vehicle COE

How a Cat C COE renewal works

Goods vehicles and buses run on a Category C COE. It lasts 10 years from registration, and when it ends you renew it or deregister the vehicle. Renewing means paying the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP) for Cat C, which LTA sets as the moving average of Cat C COE prices over the last 3 months in which bidding took place.

For October 2026, the Cat C PQP for a 10-year renewal is $92,614. A 5-year renewal costs 50% of that, rounded up to the nearest dollar: $46,307. The rate you pay depends on the date you renew and your COE expiry date.

Renew before the COE expires, or within 1 month after expiry with a $250 late renewal fee, the rate LTA charges goods vehicles and public service vehicles. After that month, the vehicle has to be disposed of immediately. Our step-by-step renewal guide covers the process.

The rule that makes Cat C different

For cars and motorcycles, the 5-year renewal can be taken only once, and the vehicle must be deregistered at the end of it. Cat C works differently. LTA's rule is that when you renew a goods vehicle or bus COE for 5 years, you can still renew again after that 5-year period ends, but the later renewals can only be for 5-year periods.

What caps it is the statutory lifespan. Once a vehicle reaches the end of its statutory lifespan, LTA says its COE can no longer be renewed and the vehicle is deregistered.

For a goods vehicle, that means the first COE covers years 1 to 10 and the renewal can cover years 11 to 20, either as one 10-year renewal at the full PQP or as two 5-year renewals at half the PQP each. An omnibus has 17 years, which is less than two full COE terms, so check with LTA what renewal is available before you plan around it.

5 years at a time or 10 in one go

Because a Cat C 5-year renewal does not end the vehicle's life, the choice is more flexible than it is for a car. The cost per year of road time is identical at today's PQP. The differences are elsewhere.

The 5-year route ties up less cash and gives a review point at year 15 to ask whether the vehicle still earns its keep. The 10-year route suits a vehicle you know you will run to year 20 and a PQP you think is reasonable now. Our 5-year vs 10-year guide explains the financing side in more detail.

Running costs after year 10

• Inspection. Goods vehicles go for inspection annually up to 10 years old and every 6 months after that. Other buses are inspected annually up to 10 years old and every 6 months after that. Omnibuses are inspected every 6 months at any age.
• Road tax. Renewed for 6 or 12 months, with insurance covering the whole period. Heavy vehicles also need a valid Vehicle Parking Certificate to renew road tax.
• No PARF. LTA's PARF rebate is only for cars and taxis. When a goods vehicle is deregistered, the money back is limited to any COE rebate on unused COE. See PARF and COE rebates.

Twice-yearly inspection on an older lorry costs downtime as well as fees, so include it in the renewal decision.

Early turnover and emission schemes in 2026

Operators often ask whether a government scheme pays them to replace instead of renew. As of October 2026, here is where things stand on LTA's own pages:

• Early Turnover Scheme (ETS): discontinued. It ended for light commercial vehicles after 31 March 2025 and for heavy commercial vehicles after 31 December 2025.
• Commercial Vehicle Emissions Scheme (CVES): runs from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2027 for light goods vehicles, goods-cum-passenger vehicles and small buses with a maximum laden weight up to 3,500kg. Band A vehicles get a $15,000 incentive and Band C vehicles pay a $20,000 surcharge.
• Heavy Vehicle Zero Emissions Scheme (HVZES): replaced the ETS for heavy vehicles from 1 January 2026 and runs to 31 December 2028. It supports zero-tailpipe-emission heavy vehicles. From 3 September 2026 the incentive is $15,000 for vehicles of 3,500kg to 7,000kg and $40,000 above 7,000kg.

Financing a commercial vehicle renewal

A Cat C renewal loan works like a car renewal loan: the lender pays the PQP and you repay in fixed monthly instalments over a tenure that cannot outlast the renewal. Most goods vehicles are owned by companies, so the borrower is usually the company, and the lender will assess the business as well as the vehicle.

Meyer is a broker: banks and finance companies lend and pay us commission, so you pay no admin or processing fees. Car renewal loans start from 2.58% flat (2.80% if a 10-year renewal is spread over more than 7 years), subject to lender approval. For a goods vehicle or bus, terms are set by the lender case by case, so ask us to check your vehicle. See how COE renewal loans work.

Company-registered vehicles

If the vehicle is in a company's name, the company renews and pays. LTA's online payment options depend on the account and the amount: eNETS Debit is for personal accounts only, and SGQR PayNow (open to corporate accounts) is only for PQP amounts over $100,000. A Cat C PQP is usually below that, so check on OneMotoring how a company account can pay before the expiry month. The paperwork on a company renewal takes longer than a personal one, so start well before the expiry date rather than in the final week.

For more on company-registered vehicles, see company car COE renewal.

What we'd check for your vehicle

For a goods vehicle or bus, we would start with the vehicle type and its statutory lifespan, the COE expiry date, whether it has already taken a 5-year renewal, the registered owner, and the October 2026 Cat C PQP. From there we can put the 5-year and 10-year costs side by side for how long you plan to run it, so you can decide, and check whether a lender will finance it.

Questions people ask