PARF Rebate Explained: How Much You Get Back When You Deregister
When you deregister a car in Singapore, you may get money back. Two refunds can apply: the PARF rebate and the COE rebate. They’re often confused, so here’s how each one works.
What Is the PARF Rebate?
PARF stands for Preferential Additional Registration Fee. The PARF rebate is a partial refund of the ARF you paid when the car was registered.
The key conditions:
- It applies when a car is deregistered before it turns 10 years old.
- For a car registered with a normal COE, the rebate is typically 50% of the car’s OMV.
Because it’s based on OMV, a more expensive car (higher OMV) carries a larger PARF rebate.
The Crucial Catch: The 10-Year Cliff
The PARF rebate is only available before the 10-year mark. Once a car reaches the end of its 10-year COE, the PARF rebate is gone. This is the single biggest factor in the renew-versus-scrap decision: renewing a COE means forgoing any PARF rebate you might have captured by deregistering earlier.
PARF Rebate vs COE Rebate
| PARF Rebate | COE Rebate | |
|---|---|---|
| What it refunds | Part of the ARF | The unused portion of your COE |
| When it applies | Deregister before 10 years | Deregister with COE time remaining |
| At 10-year expiry | Not available | Zero (no COE time left) |
If you deregister, say, two years early, you could receive both a PARF rebate and a COE rebate for the remaining ~2 years of COE value.
Why This Shapes the Used-Car Market
The PARF rebate is essentially the car’s “scrap value floor.” It’s why dealers quote a car’s worth partly in terms of its rebate, and why some owners sell before the 10-year cliff rather than renew. It also feeds into how new and used cars are valued.
The Bottom Line
If your car is approaching 10 years, work out its PARF rebate before deciding to renew — because renewing forfeits it. Our PARF & COE rebate calculator estimates both in seconds. Knowing your numbers, alongside the current COE prices, makes the decision much clearer.
The free COE Price Tracker app helps you watch the COE side of the equation with live prices and trend history.
This article is for general information only and is not financial advice. For the exact PARF rebate rules and rates, refer to the LTA.
Related reading: COE Renewal vs Scrapping · What Is OMV?
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