Every car in Singapore runs on a Certificate of Entitlement (COE). When it nears its end, you choose. You can deregister the car, or you can renew the COE and keep driving. This guide covers what renewal involves, how the cost is worked out, and what changes for insurance and road tax once your car is past 10 years old.
What does renewing a COE mean?
A COE gives you the right to own and use a car for a set period. When that period ends, the car cannot stay on the road unless you act.
Renewing means you pay to extend the COE on the car you already have. You do not bid in the usual COE rounds to do this. You keep the same car, the same number plate and your own driving record.
The other choice is to deregister the car. Many owners then buy a new car with a fresh COE. Which way you go depends on the car's condition, what you plan to spend, and how long you want to keep driving it.
What are the 5-year and 10-year options?
When you renew, you pick one of two lengths: 5 years or 10 years.
- 5 years costs less up front, because you pay for a shorter period.
- 10 years costs more up front, but covers a longer period.
The two options do not come with the same conditions. They differ in what happens when the renewed COE ends, including whether you can renew again. These rules matter a great deal to your plans, and this guide does not set out the exact terms. Check the current conditions for each option on LTA's OneMotoring site before you decide.
How is the cost of renewal set?
You do not pay the price from the latest bidding round. The renewal fee is based on the Prevailing Quota Premium. This is an average of recent COE results for your car's category, worked out by LTA.
Because it is an average, it moves more slowly than the round-by-round results. It can sit above or below the most recent result. A 5-year renewal is charged at a share of this figure. A 10-year renewal is charged on the full figure. LTA publishes the current Prevailing Quota Premium for each category on OneMotoring, so check it there.
For context, the latest bidding results are on our COE page. In the October 2026 2nd round, Category A closed at S$132,004 and Category B at S$131,901. Over the last 12 rounds, Category A ranged from S$123,847 in the June 2026 2nd round to S$133,009 in the September 2026 1st round. These are bidding results, not renewal fees. Your car's category and the Prevailing Quota Premium decide what you pay.
What you need before you renew
- Your car's COE expiry date
- Your car's COE category, which follows its engine size or motor power
- The current Prevailing Quota Premium for that category, from OneMotoring
- A decision on 5 years or 10 years
- The means to pay the renewal fee
- Valid motor insurance for the period after renewal
- A plan to renew road tax once the COE is renewed
How to renew, step by step
- Check the expiry date. Find out when your COE ends. Leave yourself time to compare costs and arrange insurance.
- Look up the Prevailing Quota Premium. Find the current figure for your category on OneMotoring.
- Read the conditions for each option. Check what each length allows at the end, and what you give up by renewing.
- Get the car inspected if needed. An older car may need repairs. Add those costs to your sums before you commit.
- Renew through LTA. Use OneMotoring to submit the renewal and pay the fee.
- Sort out insurance. Make sure cover runs without a gap. Get fresh quotes if your current insurer's terms change for an older car.
- Renew road tax. Road tax needs valid insurance in place. It also carries a surcharge once the car is past 10 years.
What to weigh before renewing
Renewing is a money decision. Lay the costs side by side.
- The renewal fee. Set by the Prevailing Quota Premium for your category.
- Repairs and upkeep. An older car may need more work. Get a workshop's view on what is due.
- What you give up. Deregistering at the end of the original COE may bring a rebate. Renewing can change or remove that. The rules and amounts are on OneMotoring.
- Insurance. Prices and the number of insurers offering cover change as the car ages. See the sections below.
- Road tax. It rises for cars past 10 years old.
- How long you need the car. Match the 5-year or 10-year option to your plans, and check what each allows at the end.
What happens to car insurance after 10 years?
A car with a renewed COE is more than 10 years old. Insurers price a car by its age, and many stop offering comprehensive cover online past a certain age.
Our older car insurance page tracks this with one example. It uses a Toyota Corolla Altis 1.6, a driver aged 40 with 10 years' driving and a 50% NCD, and an authorised workshop. Prices are as of 22 October 2026, with GST.
- 10 years old: comprehensive from S$569.36, priced by 12 insurers. Third party, fire and theft from S$490.50.
- 11 years old: comprehensive from S$608.20, priced by 10 insurers.
- 15 years old: comprehensive from S$718.79, priced by 10 insurers.
- 16 years old: comprehensive from S$872.48, priced by 4 insurers. Third party, fire and theft from S$589.18, priced by 7.
- 20 years old: comprehensive from S$872.48, priced by 3 insurers. Third party, fire and theft from S$711.34, priced by 5.
Two points stand out. The lowest price rises after the 10-year mark. And the number of insurers quoting comprehensive cover online drops sharply after 15 years. Some insurers price cars only up to 10 years old online. Others stop at 15 years.
Comprehensive or third party, fire and theft?
Comprehensive cover pays for damage to your own car, up to its market value. An older car is usually worth less. The gap between comprehensive and third party premiums can end up larger than the car would sell for.
That is why many owners of older cars move to third party, fire and theft. Before you choose, check:
- What your car would fetch today
- The price gap between the two types of cover
- The excess you would pay on a claim
- Whether repairs are at an authorised or any workshop
How does road tax change for an older car?
Road tax is based on engine size, or motor power for an electric car. Once a car is more than 10 years old, LTA adds a surcharge on top:
- More than 10 years old: 10%
- More than 11 years old: 20%
- More than 12 years old: 30%
- More than 13 years old: 40%
- More than 14 years old: 50%
As a base, a 1,600cc petrol car pays S$742.90 a year before any surcharge. A 2,000cc car pays S$1,212.10. You can pay for 6 or 12 months. You need valid insurance, at least third party, to renew road tax. The full rates are on our road tax page.
Does your no-claim discount carry over?
Yes. Your no-claim discount belongs to you, not the car. Renewing the COE does not reset it. If you switch insurers because your current one no longer quotes an older car, the discount moves with you. Keep your latest renewal notice to hand when you get quotes.
Car insurance through Shenton Brokers
Before you drive off or renew, get your car insurance through Shenton Brokers. See which cars cost least to insure, or look up your own model's prices from every insurer we compare. Or get a quote with your own details.