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Unsure about the COE renewal process, or wondering what's the PQP? We'll walk you through how to renew your COE before it expires with this simple driver's guide!
Category: Car Ownership Advice
Cars are very expensive in Singapore.
But if you're looking to save on your motoring costs, you might want to consider a COE renewal for your current car instead of buying a brand new one - provided that is - that your car is well-maintained, in good condition and gives you little to no problems.
We've taken some frequently asked questions about COE renewal and compiled them into this article.
Why is COE renewal necessary?
When your COE expires, you will need to renew it to keep the vehicle registered under your name. Should your COE fail to be renewed, your vehicle will have to be deregistered and scrapped or exported.
When to renew your COE?
But you won't have to wait until that happens and then rush out your car's COE renewal. Instead, you can renew your COE before the existing COE expires (on the other hand, you could even stretch that renewal till one month after the COE expiry date)! Nonetheless, do note that you won't be able to drive your vehicle until its COE has been renewed.
Furthermore, a late payment fee will apply, the costs of which we have reproduced in the table below:
| Vehicle type | Late renewal fee |
| Motorcycle | $50 |
| Private motor car (1,000cc and below) | $50 |
| Private motor car (1,001cc to 1,600cc) | $100 |
| Private motor car (1,601cc to 2,000cc) | $150 |
| Private motor car (2,001cc to 3,000cc) | $200 |
| Private motor car (more than 3,000cc) | $250 |
| Business service passenger vehicle (company car) | $250 |
| Goods vehicle and public service vehicle | $250 |
| Others | $250 |
How much does COE renewal cost?
To calculate the cost for your COE renewal, you'll have to take the past three-month average of COE premiums from the month you are opting to do the renewal. This average is also known as the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP). For example, the October Cat A COE PQP is the average of the Cat A COE price from July, August and September. So fret not - calculating this doesn't require you to be a math wizard.
The PQP rate depends on the date you choose to renew your COE and your COE expiry date.
For example, if your COE expires on 3 October 2022, you can choose...
1. An early COE renewal before it expires
• Your new COE period will start on 1 April 2020.
• In this case, you have until the end of March to do this.
*Note that the unused portion of your COE will be forfeited (including COE rebates)
2. A COE renewal in the month that your COE expires:
• You can find out the PQP for October 2022 after the second bidding exercise in September 2022, and renew your COE on the Friday after that particular bidding exercise.
• Your COE period will start the day after your current COE expires (which in this case, will be 4 October 2022)
• You will have until the end of your COE to do this. (3 October April)
Psst... In case you didn't know, there's actually no need for you to manually calculate the PQP! You can always find the current PWP rate by looking at our COE bidding results page!
Should you opt for a COE renewal of five or 10 years?
And there's one other thing to note: You can choose to renew your COE for either five years or 10 years.
Opting for a COE renewal of only five years, however, does mean that you will not be allowed to renew your COE any further, and that you will be forced to deregister your vehicle when its COE expires. The plus side of this is that you'll only have to pay 50% of the PQP.
Instead, only vehicles that have their COE renewed for 10 years will be able to enjoy yet another renewal on their next COE expiry date.
Here's some general advice: If you don't want such a huge financial commitment, go with a five-year renewal instead. After all, you may not want to be driving the same vehicle again for the next 10 years.