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Everyone in Singapore has an opinion about the Certificate of Entitlement. Far fewer of us have sat down with the actual figures, so we plotted them.
Where COE prices stand right now
The most recent round closed on 23 September 2026, and every single category went down. Huzzah!
It's the first round since 4 February 2026 where all five categories fell together. It's also a small dip. Cat A is only $1,119 off the record it set a fortnight earlier, and still $2,890 above the old $129,000 mark from 8 July 2026. On the previous 9 September round, Cat A closed at $133,009, an all-time high and the first time the category had ever crossed $130,000. That exercise came after a three-week gap, because August 2026 had five Mondays, and LTA pointed to the longer wait as the reason premiums stayed elevated.
Cat A drew 1,708 bids on 9 September and 1,507 this time, for almost exactly the same number of certificates. Across all five categories, 4,210 bids went after 3,229 certificates. Motor traders told Motorist that orders had been soft after several weeks of rising premiums, so the dip didn't surprise them. Several categories are still some way off their peaks. Cat C's $92,144 sits below the $95,000 record from 8 July 2026, and Cat B and Cat E remain under their October 2023 highs of $150,001 and $158,004. Cat D is $988 short of its all-time peak of $13,189 from November 2022.
Two records fell earlier this year, both on 8 July 2026: Cat A at $129,000 and Cat C at $95,000, the highest either has ever closed. Cat D crossed $11,000 for the first time on 19 August 2026. Categories B and E are high but still short of their October 2023 peaks of $150,001 and $158,004.
What the five categories cover
Your car's category is decided by its engine:
- Cat A takes cars with an engine up to 1,600cc and maximum power up to 97kW, plus fully electric cars with maximum power up to 110kW
- Cat B takes everything above either of those thresholds
- Cat C is for goods vehicles and buses
- Cat D is motorcycles
- Cat E is the open category, covering everything except motorcycles
Cat E works differently from the rest. You bid without committing to a specific vehicle type, which suits buyers who want to keep their options open. Because a Cat E certificate can go toward a Cat A or a Cat B car, its premium usually tracks just above Cat B.
How bidding works
COE bidding is a uniform price auction. You submit a reserve price (the most you're willing to pay). While the window is open, the system nudges your live bid up in one-dollar steps, stopping when it hits your reserve. When bidding closes, the lowest successful bid becomes the quota premium, with every successful bidder paying that same figure. Those who get outbid get their deposit refunded: $10,000 for Categories A, B, C, and E, $1,500 for Cat D.
Once you’ve won your bid, congrats! You’ve got your COE. For ten years from the day the car is registered, that is. After that, you’ll have to either deregister the car or you renew.
Recent spikes in COE pricing
September 2025 and the electric vehicle rush
On 8 September 2025, LTA announced that electric vehicle rebates would shrink from 1 January 2026, with higher surcharges on less energy-efficient cars. Predictably, buyers rushed to get in the door for cheaper rebates while they still could. Nine days later, on 17 September, Cat A jumped $11,114 in a single round to close at $119,003, and by 8 October it had reached $128,105. Once the rush passed, Cat A dropped back to $110,002 on 5 November 2025.
February 2026 and the depreciation reset
PARF is what you get back when you deregister a car before its COE expires, which makes it the number sitting behind every depreciation figure in a used car listing. Shrink it, and a newly registered car loses more value over its life than the same car bought a fortnight earlier.
At Budget 2026 on 12 February, the Government cut the PARF rebate by 45 percentage points and halved its cap from $60,000 to $30,000, effective the very next day. As a result, ownership became more expensive, as depreciation became that much more pricey.
What to expect over the next few rounds
Will premiums keep climbing? Most people will tell you “um, yeah duh,” but anyone who can say for sure is guessing.
What we do know is the supply. The current quota period, from August to October 2026, offers 19,085 certificates, which is just a mere 0.2% up compared to the previous quarter. Out of this number, Cat A supply fell around 4% while Cat B rose around 6%, which kiiiinda explains why Cat A has been the stronger performer lately.
Note that:
- October brings the quota announcement for November 2026 to January 2027. A meaningful increase in Cat A or Cat B would be the first real sign of supply loosening
- The Early Adoption Incentive stops after 31 December 2026, so there's a fair chance of another pre-deadline rush in the final quarter. That's an expectation rather than a forecast, and September 2025 is the closest precedent we have
See you on the road,
Amanda 💙
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