6 August 2026 · 5 min read
How Much Does It Cost to Renew COE for a Lorry in Singapore?
Your COE is running out and you want the number. Fair enough — it is the biggest single cost in the decision, and it is the one nobody explains properly.
The short version: renewing is not a bidding exercise. You do not compete with anyone and you do not put in a bid. There is a set figure, it is called the PQP, and it changes on the first of every month.
Here is how that figure is arrived at, and what actually changes it.
What you actually pay: the PQP
PQP stands for Prevailing Quota Premium. It is the average COE price from the last three months of bidding for your category. So it follows the market — a step behind it.
For a lorry, van or bus you are in Category C. Whatever Cat C has been doing at the recent biddings is what your renewal will cost.
Two things follow from that, and both matter more than most people expect.
- The month you renew in sets your price
- A new PQP is published each month. Renew in one month and you pay that month's figure; renew the next and you pay a different one. If COE prices have been falling, waiting can save you money — and if they have been climbing, waiting costs you. Nobody can tell you which in advance.
- There is no negotiating it
- The PQP is set. No dealer, agent or broker can get you a lower one, and anybody who says they can is selling you something else. What can differ is the loan you use to pay it.
Five years or ten?
You choose the term, and the term sets the cost.
A 10-year renewal costs the full PQP. A 5-year renewal costs half of it. So five years is not a compromise on price — it is exactly half.
The difference is what happens afterwards, and this is where a goods vehicle and a car part company.
- A lorry or van (Cat C) can keep renewing
- A goods vehicle can take a 5-year renewal, and then another, up to the vehicle's statutory 20-year lifespan. A 5-year renewal is not the end of the road for it.
- A car (Cat A or B) cannot
- A car may take a 5-year renewal only once, and must be deregistered at the end of it. This is the single most common mix-up we hear, and it is worth getting right before you choose.
- A 10-year renewal keeps your options open
- Pay the full PQP and the vehicle keeps full transferability and a future rebate window. Whether that is worth double depends entirely on how long you actually intend to keep it.
The part most people forget
Renewing the COE does not renew anything else. Once the PQP is paid you still have road tax due, insurance to arrange and, for a goods vehicle, an inspection to pass. None of it is expensive on its own, and all of it has a date.
There is also no COE rebate after a renewal. Before renewal, deregistering a vehicle early can return part of the COE you paid. Once you have renewed, that is gone — the renewed COE has no rebate value whether you keep the vehicle for five years or five months.
That single fact is what makes renew-or-replace a real decision rather than an obvious one.
Paying for it
Most operators borrow the PQP rather than pay it outright. The loan tenure is capped by the term you chose: up to 60 months on a 5-year renewal, up to 84 months on a 10-year one.
The rate is set by the bank, not by us, and approval depends on the business rather than the vehicle. What we can do is arrange the loan for you and work out the monthly figure both ways before you commit to either.
Legion arranges COE renewal loans. The calculator on that page uses this month's published PQP and shows the monthly payment for a 5-year renewal against a 10-year one, so you can compare the two before deciding. The bank sets the rate and the final approval.
When to start
About a month before the COE expires. That leaves room for the payment and the paperwork to clear while the vehicle is still road-legal.
Leave it later and you are not choosing any more — you are reacting. A vehicle that has to come off the road is a vehicle that is not earning.
Check it yourself
The official sources for everything above. Rules change — these are the pages that will be right when this one has gone stale.
- Today's COE renewal figures and a monthly calculator
The live PQP for Cat A, B and C, and the instalment for 5 years against 10. Updated with every bidding result — this is the page to check for the actual number.
- COE renewal loans — work out the monthly payment
Legion arranges the loan. Tenure caps at 60 months on a 5-year renewal and 84 on a 10-year one; the bank sets the rate and the approval.
- Financing to buy a vehicle instead
A different product from a renewal loan. This is the page if replacing the vehicle is on the table.
- LTA OneMotoring — official COE and PQP information
The government source. Renew your COE and check your own vehicle's details here.
If you want the figure for your own vehicle rather than the general rule, send Kimi your number plate on WhatsApp. She will come back with this month's PQP for your category and the monthly instalment both ways — 5 years and 10 — so you can see the two side by side before you decide anything.
Message Kimi on WhatsApp