The short version
- Two separate rebates apply: PARF (if the car’s under 10 years old) and COE (if there’s still time on the COE)
- PARF rebate runs from 75% down to 50% of the original ARF, sliding down as the car gets older
- COE rebate is a pro-rated refund of unused COE, applicable only if you scrap before the COE expires
- Use an LTA-appointed scrapyard, not a random one. The whole thing wraps up in under a week
Scrapping a car in Singapore is more structured than people expect. There are two rebates you’re entitled to, a fixed process to follow at an LTA-appointed scrapyard, and a few details worth knowing before you sign anything. Here’s the full picture.
- Choose an LTA-appointed scrapyardOnly an authorised yard can put the deregistration through, and anywhere else costs you the rebates.
- Turn up with the paperworkBring the car, your NRIC, and the original logcard to the yard.
- The yard checks the carThe yard inspects the vehicle and confirms VIN match.
- You sign, the yard filesYou sign the deregistration paperwork; the yard submits to LTA on your behalf.
- Plates off, car broken downThe yard removes plates and dismantles the car (or processes it for export of parts).
- LTA pays outLTA processes the rebates and pays them to your bank account, usually within 2 to 3 weeks.
What money do you get back when you scrap a car in Singapore?
Scrapping a car in Singapore can trigger two separate refunds from LTA, depending on your situation.
Scrapping a car in Singapore can return two separate rebates from LTA. The PARF rebate refunds part of the ARF you paid at registration, available only if the car is under 10 years old. The COE rebate refunds your unused COE, pro-rated by remaining months, and only if you deregister before the COE expires.
| What you get back | How it is worked out | What sets the number |
|---|---|---|
| PARF rebate | 75% down to 50% of the original ARF, with no cap on COEs obtained before the 2nd February 2023 exercise and a $60,000 cap after that | The car’s age at deregistration, and nil once it passes 10 years. Cars on COEs from the 2 February 2026 bidding use the lower revised bands. |
| COE rebate | Quota Premium × unused months ÷ 120 | How many months are still left on the COE on the day you deregister |
The PARF rebate (Preferential Additional Registration Fee) is a refund of part of the ARF you paid when you first registered the car. It only applies if the car is deregistered before its 10th anniversary from first registration. The percentage you get back depends on the car’s age at deregistration, and the older the car, the smaller the percentage.
The COE rebate is a pro-rated refund of any unused COE. If your COE has six months left when you scrap, you get six months back as a percentage of the original COE cost. If your COE has already expired, the COE rebate doesn’t apply.
How much is the PARF rebate and how is it calculated by age?
The PARF rebate is a percentage of your car’s original ARF, sliding down with age: 75% at 5 years, then 70, 65, 60, 55, and 50% by 9 to 10 years. COEs obtained before the 2nd February 2023 exercise carry no cap; from that exercise to the 1st February 2026 exercise the cap is $60,000. Cars on COEs from the 2 February 2026 bidding drop to 30% down to 5%, capped at $30,000.
| Age at deregistration | Current rebate | Revised rebate |
|---|---|---|
| Not more than 5 years | 75% of ARF | 30% of ARF |
| Above 5, up to 6 years | 70% | 25% |
| Above 6, up to 7 years | 65% | 20% |
| Above 7, up to 8 years | 60% | 15% |
| Above 8, up to 9 years | 55% | 10% |
| Above 9, up to 10 years | 50% | 5% |
| More than 10 years | Nil | Nil |
| PARF rebate cap | $60,000 | $30,000 |
The current schedule applies to cars registered before the 2nd February 2026 COE bidding exercise. The revised schedule applies to cars registered with COEs from that exercise onward, and to COE-exempt cars and taxis registered on or after 13 February 2026.
Estimate only. Schedule detected from your registration date (revised from 13 February 2026). For a car registered around February to March 2026 the official rule depends on your COE's bidding exercise, so message us to confirm.
So if your ARF was $20,000 and you scrap the car at 7 years, you’d receive 65% back, $13,000. Run the same calculation at 9 years and you’re down to $11,000, still meaningful but lower.
The exact ARF amount on your specific car appears on the registration documents, and you can also check it via the OneMotoring portal under your vehicle records.
How is the COE rebate calculated when you scrap a car?
The COE rebate equals your Quota Premium multiplied by unused months, divided by 120. It refunds the COE time you have not used, so it only applies if you deregister before the COE expires. Scrap on the exact expiry date and the COE rebate is zero, since no months remain.
The COE rebate exists to refund the unused portion of your COE if you deregister before its expiry date. It’s calculated as a percentage of the original COE cost, pro-rated by remaining months.
If you scrap a year early, you get one year’s worth back as a percentage of the original COE, which can be substantial in a high-COE year.
The COE rebate is what makes early scrapping (or exporting) worth considering when a major repair lands on a high-COE-year car. The math sometimes favours cutting losses now and reclaiming the COE rebate, rather than spending the repair money to keep an aging car going.
How do you scrap a car at an authorised yard in Singapore?
You must use an LTA-appointed scrapyard, and LTA publishes the current list. Bring the car, your IC, and the log card. The yard handles deregistration with LTA, most owners finish in under an hour, and the rebate payment lands a couple of weeks later. Do not use an unauthorised yard.
Singapore requires you to use an LTA-appointed scrapyard. LTA publishes the current list on the OneMotoring website, and it is short, so check it before you book anything.
The steps at the top of this page are the whole sequence at the yard. Most owners are in and out in under an hour, and the rebate payment lands a couple of weeks later.
What happens to your car after you scrap it?
After deregistration, the yard either dismantles the car for usable parts or shreds the metal for recycling. Your involvement ends once the car is deregistered with LTA. You do not need to track or collect anything afterwards, and the rebate is paid to you separately by LTA.
The yard either dismantles the vehicle for parts (which get resold locally or exported) or shreds the metal for recycling.
Some cars get exported whole as parts donors for the same model abroad, which is why some scrap yards quote slightly higher than others, they have established parts buyers and can extract more value from the car than pure scrap metal would generate.
Either way, your involvement ends at the deregistration. The car can never be re-registered in Singapore once scrapped, and LTA’s records show the deregistration as final.
Should you scrap or export your car in Singapore?
Scrap when the car has no real export demand, or when a major repair would cost more than the rebates you would get back. Exporting often pays more for popular Japanese models under 8 years old in good condition. Note that renewing the COE instead forfeits the PARF rebate entirely.
That repair figure deserves a second opinion on a European car. A quote on a Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Audi, Volkswagen or Volvo often shrinks once the fault is traced to one part instead of a whole assembly, and that changes the sums against the rebates.
Scrapping makes sense
- The car has no realistic export demand
- A major repair would cost more than the rebates you’d recover
- You simply want the fastest, cleanest exit from the car
Run the comparison properly across all three options before you commit. The right answer depends on your specific car, the rebate amounts, current PQP, and whether anyone overseas wants to buy it.
Not sure which exit makes more sense?
We can do a proper assessment of your car and tell you what’s likely to fail, what the realistic export interest looks like, and what the renewal-vs-scrap-vs-export math actually says for your specific situation. WhatsApp us to set up a time.
We’re at Autobay @ Kaki Bukit, #02-61. Monday to Friday 9am to 6:30pm, Saturday 9am to 12:30pm.
