Renewing a COE on a company-registered car
One customer's renewal involved a lease-to-own private hire car and a transfer to his own company. Here's what he went through, and what applies to any company car.
A company-registered car renews like a personal one: the registered owner, here the company, pays the PQP for 10 years or 50% of it for 5 years. Business-owned chauffeured private hire cars registered, converted or transferred from 19 February 2025 have a 3-year lock-in, during which they can move only to another business. If the renewal is financed, the company is the borrower, and lenders may ask for a director's guarantee.
A renewal that wasn't only about the COE
Most renewals we handle are a car, an owner and an expiry date. Lance Teo's renewal also involved his company. He wrote about it in a Google review, and here it is in his words:
"Here's my story: I entered into a lease to-own arrangement for a vehicle in April 2025, with the COE expiring in April 2026. Due to new regulations from the Land Transport Authority (LTA), vehicles under PDVL registered to a corporate entity are locked in for 3 years. This means that within that period, any COE renewal must be transferred from one corporate entity to another, and cannot be converted to personal ownership."
He reached out to Gerald and Dennis, and the answer they worked out together was this:
"The solution was to transfer the vehicle to my own corporate company. While it may sound straightforward, the necessary checks, loan arrangements, and insurance approvals can be quite complex and time consuming. However, Meyer Motor managed to complete everything within a very short period of time."
We have kept to what Lance wrote. Every company-car case has its own details, and his are his.
What LTA has published on the lock-in
The rule Lance describes matches an LTA announcement from February 2025. From 19 February 2025, newly registered or converted chauffeured private hire cars (cars used mainly for ride-hail) owned by businesses must stay classified as chauffeured private hire cars for at least three years. Cars transferred from individuals to businesses are covered too.
During the lock-in, LTA says the car can still be transferred to another business, and the remaining lock-in carries over to the new owner. It cannot go to an individual. Business-owned cars registered, converted or transferred before 19 February 2025 are not covered, and neither are private hire cars owned by individuals.
LTA's release does not say anything specific about COE renewal during the lock-in. How the rule applied to Lance's renewal is his account. If your car is a business-owned private hire car, check its status with LTA or ask us to look at your case before you plan around it.
Renewing a company-registered car
Outside private hire, a company car renews the same way as a personal one. A few points are worth knowing before the expiry month.
The company is the owner
The renewal belongs to the registered owner, which here is the company, not the director who drives the car. OneMotoring has a separate business-user login for this. Rebates follow the same rule: if the car is ever deregistered, LTA pays the PARF and COE rebate to the registered owner, by GIRO or PayNow to the company's UEN.
The renewal rules don't change
You pay the PQP for a 10-year renewal or 50% of it for 5 years. Cat A, B and D vehicles can only take the 5-year option once. Renewing early forfeits the unused months of the current COE, so the usual advice is to renew in the month it expires. Renew after expiry and LTA allows one month, with a late renewal fee.
Moving the car to another company
If the plan involves a transfer, as Lance's did, two of LTA's transfer conditions matter. The new owner needs motor insurance in its own name covering the road tax period, and the car should have no outstanding matters such as a financing loan or road tax arrears. An existing loan has to be settled before the transfer, then the renewal loan and the new insurance put in place, so the steps need to happen in the right order.
Financing a company's renewal
When a company finances the renewal, the company is the borrower and the lender assesses it. Lenders may also ask a director to guarantee the loan. The documents a lender asks for depend on the lender and the company, so we confirm the list for your case at the start rather than partway through. The banks and finance companies lend; we arrange it, and we charge no admin, processing or transfer fees.
Our step-by-step renewal guide covers the process for any car, and our loan guide explains how renewal financing works.
What we'd check for a company car
For a company-registered car we'd start with who the registered owner is, when the COE expires, and whether the car is a private hire car under LTA's lock-in. If a transfer is involved, we line up the insurance and the loan so the renewal isn't waiting on either. Then we submit to lenders the same day and file the renewal with LTA, as we do for every car.
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How to renew your COE
The full COE renewal process: eligibility, finding your PQP, choosing 5 or 10 years, paying for it, and the deadline… Financing
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