Other than contending with the financial headache of looking at those premium figures, the bidding itself for a Certificate of Entitlement (COE) can be one of the most stressful processes ever for most drivers.

This guide will walk you through the process of submitting, enquiring, and revising your COE bids, as well as how to go about your COE renewal should (or if) the time eventually come!
 
 
5 things to know before bidding for COE

The purpose of the COE system is to control the growth of Singapore's vehicle population by limiting the number of COEs available annually. With a valid COE, you can drive your car on the roads for 10 years before deciding to deregister it or continue with a COE renewal.

1.  There are two bidding exercises a month

The Land Transport Authority (LTA) holds two Open Bidding exercises a month on its website. Before any exercise, the bidding period, and the number of COEs available for each category will be announced online as well.

The bidding starts on the 1^st and 3^rd Monday of the month (12pm) and ends on Wednesday (4pm) of the same week, given that there is no public holiday in between.

2.  Not all banks participate in the COE bidding process

Currently, drivers can bid for their COEs at an ATM with any of these three partner banks: DBS, POSB and Maybank. Ensure that you have an account with any of these three banks and that there are sufficient funds for the bid deposit and administration fees.

3.  Companies can bid for COEs too

Non-individual bidders include drivers who place COE bids under the name of an organisation, company, business, club or association. To place a bid, non-individual bidders can do so through Internet banking with any of these three banks: DBS, UOB and Maybank. It is important to note that any COEs awarded to non-individuals are non-transferrable, no matter the category that it belongs to.

4.  There is a limit to the number of bids you can place in one exercise

For individual bidders, only one bid is allowed in each exercise, whereas non-individual bidders are permitted to place more than one bid in each exercise.

5.  Know which category you are bidding for

Under the Vehicle Quota System (VQS), there are five COE categories for all vehicles in Singapore.

COEs awarded in Categories C, and E are transferable if you bid for them as an individual, while COEs in Categories A, B and D are non-transferable at all.

*The EV revolution is here! For electric vehicles, cars with a power output of up to 110kW (147bhp) are allowed in Category A, while anything above will be classified as a Category B vehicle.
 
 
How to bid for COE


Submitting bids

• Prepare the necessary information

To submit a COE bid, you must ensure that you have sufficient funds for the fixed sum deposit in your bank account along with a valid ID or ACRA number/Unique Entity Number (UEN).

The administration fees range from $2 to $10, depending on the respective banks.

• Indicate reserve price

You should indicate the reserve price during the bid submission, also known as the maximum amount, you are willing to pay for the COE. The minimum reserve price is S$1, and any subsequent increase in bids must be in multiples of S$1.

If the current COE price exceeds your reserve price, you must revise your bid or else you will not be in the running for a COE.

• Receive acknowledgement code

Once your bid is successful, the bank will deduct the deposit and administration fee from your bank account.

Every time you adjust or submit a COE bid, you will receive a 6-digit acknowledgement code, which you will use to enquire about your current bid or make a revision.
 
 
Enquiring about your bid

Throughout the bidding process, you can check on your bid status through two different methods.

Individuals can check through LTA's Open Bidding website. You will need to enter your bank account ID and the latest acknowledgement code.

There will be two vital pieces of information you need to note - the current bid price and your bid status.

'Out-bid' means your current bid is no longer in the running.

'Accepted' means that you are still in the running for the COE.

Non-individuals can check through the LTA Open Bidding website or on the Internet banking platform of their corresponding bank. Enquiries made through Internet banking can only be made by directly contacting the bank.
 
 
Revising your bid

If you decide to revise your bid, you can do so anytime during the bidding period. Revisions of bids must be in multiples of S$1 and can only be revised upwards. Bid revisions and bid submissions go through the same facilities.

For every successful revision, the bank will impose an administrative fee. If you revised your bid through the LTA's Open Bidding Website, you would make payment for the administration fee during vehicle registration or COE transfer, whichever is earlier.

While there is no limit on the number of revisions, drivers are highly encouraged to submit the maximum amount they are willing to pay for the COE to avoid frequent revisions.



Bidding results

If your bid is successful:

You will receive a Temporary COE (TCOE), which is valid for either three months (Categories C and E) or six months (Categories A, B and D).

Drivers must register their vehicles before the expiration of the TCOE, or else their full bid deposit will be forfeited.

Categories C and E TCOEs can be transferred once, and both owners must log in through their Singpass to start and accept the TCOE transfer.

If your bid is unsuccessful:

The deposit will be automatically refunded to your bank account one working day after the announced bidding results. You can then try bidding on the following tender exercise.
 
In truth, most of us will leave the bidding in the hands of our dealers, but understanding how things work is still important!
 
COE Renewal

Things are much less complex for a COE renewal - thankfully - since the vehicle owner does not need to bid for a new COE.

Instead, he will have to pay the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP). The PQP amount is based on the moving average of the last three months of premium results. If there were months in which there were no bidding exercise, those months would be excluded from the calculation.

Take note: For any COE that you renew before its due date, the remaining period of the current COE will be forfeited, and no rebates will be entitled to the owner! (As such, you might want to consider all available options at every juncture.)

The PQP is payable by cheque, cashier's order or online if the COE of the vehicle has not expired. For online payments, drivers can do so with eNETS Debit on their Internet Banking accounts with the following banks:

Be watchful of time: If the current COE has expired (but is within one month of its expiration date), a late payment fee will be added to the PQP. Drivers can still pay through cheque, cashier's order, or online methods. (Strangely, there's no indication for the amount for an electric vehicle - but we guess we're not at the point where their COEs need to be renewed yet!)

You can visit here according to different COE categories. The search engine shows updated PQP rates for the past three to six months and a function for drivers to manually search for a specific date.

*This article was updated on 3 October 2022. 

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