A COE renewal means paying the Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP) to the Land Transport Authority (LTA) in one payment to keep your car’s Certificate of Entitlement (COE). As of October 2026, a 10-year renewal for a Category A car costs S$128,715. LTA accepts eNETS Debit or SGQR PayNow, not credit cards. To pay for a COE renewal without emptying your savings, you can renew for five years at half the PQP, take a bank COE car loan, or cover a shortfall with a personal loan from a licensed moneylender.
Which of those fits depends on decisions that come before the payment: whether the car is worth keeping, how long to renew for, and when to do it. This guide works through them in that order, then looks at what borrowing the gap would actually cost.
The PQP Sets the Price of Your COE Renewal
The cost of renewing a COE is the PQP for your vehicle category. A 10-year renewal costs the full PQP, and a 5-year renewal costs 50% of it, rounded up to the nearest dollar. LTA calculates the PQP as the moving average of the Quota Premiums from the last three months in which COE bidding took place, leaving out months with no bidding.
LTA publishes a PQP for each month, so what you pay depends on when you renew. These are the figures for October 2026.
| Category | 10-year renewal (full PQP) | 5-year renewal (50%, rounded up) |
|---|---|---|
| A | S$128,715 | S$64,358 |
| B | S$131,616 | S$65,808 |
| C | S$92,614 | S$46,307 |
| D | S$11,161 | S$5,581 |
Category E has no renewal PQP of its own. A vehicle registered with a Category E COE renews under its corresponding Category A to D. Renewal rules: LTA OneMotoring, COE Renewal.
Renewing Versus Deregistering the Car
When a COE expires, the owner either renews it or deregisters and disposes of the vehicle. The PQP is the visible cost of renewing. Behind it sit the Preferential Additional Registration Fee (PARF) rebate, a road tax surcharge that rises with age, and the chance that the car will not last the renewal period.
Renewing does not by itself cancel PARF eligibility. PARF depends on the car’s age and other conditions when it is deregistered, and once a car is more than 10 years old, the current PARF schedule provides no PARF rebate. For a car reaching the end of its first 10-year COE, deregistering after a renewal will generally fall outside that schedule.
Road tax climbs too. As of October 2026, LTA adds a surcharge of 10% for vehicles more than 10 years old, rising to 20%, 30%, 40% and 50% as the vehicle gets older. That cost recurs every year of the renewal, on top of any loan repayments.
If the car has to go early, the PQP is not entirely lost. A renewed COE can earn a COE rebate when the vehicle is deregistered before the COE expires. LTA bases it on the PQP paid for the renewal, prorated to the remaining period. A loan taken to pay that PQP keeps its own repayment terms, set out in the Note of Contract.
Five Years Halves the Bill but Limits What Comes Next
A 5-year renewal halves the upfront payment, but for Categories A, B and D it can be used only once. When that period ends, the vehicle must be deregistered. Category C works differently: a 5-year renewal can be followed by further 5-year renewals until the vehicle reaches its statutory lifespan.
Per year, the two options cost almost the same. As of October 2026, a Category A 10-year renewal works out to S$12,871.50 a year, and a 5-year renewal to S$12,871.60 a year. The real difference is how much cash you need now, and whether you want the option of keeping the car beyond five years.
Diesel cars have one more limit. As of October 2026, diesel cars registered before 1 January 2025 can continue to renew their COE, but they cannot use the one-time 5-year renewal option.
Timing Your COE Renewal So No Months Are Wasted
Renewing in the month your COE expires wastes nothing, because the new COE starts the day after the old one ends. Renew any earlier and the new COE starts on the first day of the month after you renew. The unused time on the old COE is forfeited.
Renewing late is possible, but only within one month after expiry and with a late fee. As of October 2026, the fee is S$50 for a motorcycle and S$50 to S$250 for a private car, depending on engine capacity. Company cars, goods vehicles, public service vehicles and others pay S$250. After that month, the vehicle must be disposed of immediately.
If you plan to borrow part of the PQP, start early enough to have the loan in place before your expiry month. Approval from any lender is subject to its assessment, so do not plan around money arriving on a particular day.
Paying for a COE Renewal Without Emptying Your Savings
LTA takes the PQP as a single online payment by eNETS Debit or SGQR PayNow. As of October 2026, card payment is not available for LTA’s Renew COE service, so the cost cannot be spread over a credit card. To lower the upfront amount, you can choose the 5-year renewal. To spread the cost, you need to borrow through a bank or a licensed moneylender.
Check your payment limit before renewal day. As of October 2026, default eNETS Debit limits are S$3,000 at DBS/POSB, S$5,000 at OCBC, S$10,000 at UOB and S$20,000 at Standard Chartered, and each can be raised to S$100,000. A PQP above S$100,000, which includes a 10-year renewal in Category A or B, is paid by SGQR PayNow.
Banks offer COE renewal financing. UOB, for example, markets a COE Car Loan for revalidated COEs. As of October 2026, its tenure runs up to five years for a 5-year COE and up to seven years for a 10-year COE, never beyond the COE’s expiry. A personal loan from a licensed moneylender works under different rules.
| Bank COE car loan | Personal loan from a licensed moneylender | |
|---|---|---|
| Regulator | Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) | Registry of Moneylenders, Ministry of Law |
| Interest | Set by each bank’s product terms | Up to 4% per month, on the remaining principal |
| Fees | Set by each bank’s product terms | Admin fee up to 10% of principal; late fee up to S$60 per month; late interest up to 4% per month on amounts repaid late |
| Borrowing limit | Set by each bank’s product terms | Unsecured, for Citizens and PRs: S$3,000 below S$20,000 annual income, or six times monthly income at S$20,000 or more |
| Repayment period | UOB example: up to 5 years (5-year COE) or 7 years (10-year COE) | Agreed in your Note of Contract |
| Credit bureau | Credit Bureau Singapore (CBS), in UOB’s car-financing process | Moneylenders Credit Bureau (MLCB) |
Figures as of October 2026. UOB quotes its rate per year, while licensed moneylender interest is capped per month, so compare the total cost in dollars rather than the headline rates. Moneylender rules: Registry of Moneylenders, guide to borrowing.
How Much a Licensed Moneylender Can Lend Toward the PQP
As of October 2026, licensed moneylenders in Singapore can lend Singapore Citizens and PRs at most S$3,000 in total unsecured loans if they earn less than S$20,000 a year, or six times their monthly income if they earn S$20,000 or more. The limit covers everything owed to all licensed moneylenders combined, and it is checked through the MLCB. Secured loans have no cap.
Foreigners residing in Singapore face lower tiers: S$500 below S$10,000 a year, S$3,000 from S$10,000 to under S$20,000, and six times monthly income at S$20,000 or more.
Set those limits against the PQP. Borrowing a full Category A 10-year PQP of S$128,715 unsecured would need a monthly income of about S$21,453. An owner earning S$6,000 a month has an unsecured limit of S$36,000, minus anything already owed to other licensed moneylenders. Below about S$21,453 a month, an unsecured personal loan from a licensed moneylender can cover a gap between savings and the PQP, not the whole bill.
Approval is subject to the lender’s assessment of your income, existing loans and repayment ability. If you are self-employed or drive private-hire full-time, ask which documents the lender accepts as proof of income before you apply. If a loan is to be secured against your car or another asset, ask what happens to that asset if you cannot repay.
What Borrowing the Shortfall Costs: A Worked Example
As of October 2026, a licensed moneylender in Singapore can charge interest of up to 4% per month on the remaining principal, plus an administrative fee of up to 10% of the principal when the loan is granted. Interest, late interest, the administrative fee and late fees together can never exceed the principal. Court-ordered legal costs are the only other permitted charge.
Take an owner of a Category A car who earns S$6,000 a month and is S$20,000 short of the October 2026 PQP of S$128,715 for a 10-year COE renewal. The table compares borrowing that S$20,000 over six or 12 months, in equal monthly repayments, with renewing for five years from savings instead. It uses the legal maximum of 4% per month to show the upper limit of cost. This is an illustration, not a quote from ABM Creditz; the rate you are offered depends on the lender’s assessment.
| 10-year renewal, loan over 6 months | 10-year renewal, loan over 12 months | 5-year renewal, no loan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paid to LTA | S$128,715 | S$128,715 | S$64,358 |
| From savings | S$108,715 | S$108,715 | S$64,358 |
| Borrowed | S$20,000 | S$20,000 | None |
| Monthly repayment | About S$3,815 | About S$2,131 | None |
| Total interest at 4% per month | About S$2,891 | About S$5,573 | None |
| Administrative fee, if the 10% maximum applies | S$2,000 | S$2,000 | None |
| COE period bought | 10 years | 10 years | 5 years, with no further 5-year renewal |
The longer loan cuts the monthly repayment by about S$1,680 but adds about S$2,680 in interest. Even at 12 months, the repayment takes more than a third of a S$6,000 monthly income, before road tax and running costs. In both cases, interest plus the fee stays below the S$20,000 cap on total charges.
The 5-year renewal needs no loan and leaves S$44,357 of the same savings untouched. The price is deregistering the car after five years.
Missing a repayment adds cost. As of October 2026, late interest is capped at 4% per month and applies only to the amount repaid late, and the late fee is capped at S$60 for each month of late repayment.
What to Expect When You Apply to a Licensed Moneylender
A licensed moneylender checks your borrowing record with the MLCB and assesses your income, existing loans and repayment ability before approving a loan. It must explain the terms in a language you understand and give you a copy of the Note of Contract. A licensed moneylender may not keep your NRIC or other identity documents, or ask for your SingPass login details.
Read the Note of Contract before you sign, and check that the amounts match what you were told. Ask how long approval and payout usually take, and whether the money is paid to you or straight to LTA. Then leave enough room before your expiry month in case the process takes longer than you expect.
When Borrowing to Renew Is the Wrong Move
Borrowing to renew a COE makes sense only if the repayments fit your budget and the car is likely to last the renewal period. If your savings already cover a 5-year renewal and you are unsure about keeping the car for 10 years, renewing for five years from savings avoids borrowing costs altogether.
Hold off, too, if the monthly repayment plus a higher road tax bill would strain your budget. The same applies if you already owe other licensed moneylenders, since the unsecured limit counts every loan together. Deregistering the car is a reasonable outcome.
If you do borrow, borrow only the amount you are short, choose a repayment period you can keep up with, and deal with any existing debts before taking on new ones.
A Short Checklist Before Your COE Renewal
- Check this month’s PQP for your category, and decide between five and 10 years.
- Weigh the road tax surcharge and PARF eligibility before committing to a renewal.
- Renew in your expiry month so no COE time is forfeited.
- Check your eNETS Debit limit, or prepare to pay by SGQR PayNow.
- If you borrow, compare the total cost in dollars, ask whether the loan is secured, and read the Note of Contract.
You can check whether any moneylender is licensed on the Ministry of Law’s List of Licensed Moneylenders, or call the Registry of Moneylenders on 1800-2255-529.
