LTA car plate bidding is how you get a vehicle registration number (VRN) you actually chose instead of the random one LTA hands out for free. You bid through OneMotoring, the minimum is $1,000 inclusive of GST, and every bid carries a non-refundable $18.53 service fee. It is a closed-bid system, so you never see what anyone else offered, which is exactly where most people overpay. A few hundred dollars buys an unremarkable number; a clean lucky combination can run into five figures, and the all-time record sits at $335,000. This guide walks through the schedule, the full fee list, how to price a number before you commit, and the retention rules that let you carry a plate to your next car.
Every car registered in Singapore needs a vehicle registration number. If you do nothing, LTA assigns one for free from the current running series. Bidding is the opt-in route for drivers who want a specific number, whether that is a birthday, a lucky combination, or a clean low digit. The bid does not change anything about the car itself, only the plate it wears.
Numbers are released in series tied to a letter prefix, such as the SLP or SLQ runs for cars. Light goods vehicles use a G prefix, heavy goods vehicles a Y, and motorcycles, buses and trailers each have their own. You can only bid within the series LTA is currently offering, and the list of available numbers for each exercise is published at least one working day before bidding opens.
A handful of combinations are off limits. LTA reserves blocks like SBS and MINDEF for government and operator use, and screens out anything it deems distasteful. Everything else in the active series is fair game.
The headline number is the $1,000 minimum bid, but that is not the whole cost. Knowing every line before you start keeps the budget honest. Run a number through the car cost calculator alongside COE and you will see how a plate fits into the wider spend.
All figures below are inclusive of GST and current as of June 2026, taken from LTA's OneMotoring VRN pages.
| Item | Amount | Refundable? |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum bid | $1,000 (rises in $1 steps) | Refunded if you lose |
| Service fee per bid | $18.53 | No, never |
| Successful bid | Your full bid amount | No |
| Retain number on a new car (via dealer) | $100 upfront | Part of a $1,300 / $1,200 mechanism |
| Retain number (direct, not via dealer) | $1,300 upfront, $1,200 refunded later | Partial |
| 6-month validity extension | $1,000 + $42.51 admin | No |
| Replace the number on an existing car | $327 | No |
LTA runs two overlapping exercises. The main exercise opens when a fresh series launches and runs from 1am Friday to 4:30pm the following Wednesday. After it closes, leftover numbers roll into weekly exercises that run from 1am Friday to 4:30pm the following Monday. Bidding pauses between midnight and 1am every day. Results are posted at noon on a Wednesday, the week the exercise closes for weekly bids, or a week later for the main bid.
It is a sealed bid. You submit your offer and never see anyone else's, so there is no live price to react to. If you win, you pay exactly what you bid, not a penny less, even if the runner-up was far behind. That single rule is why discipline matters more here than in an open auction.
Each bid lets you list up to three combinations of the same prefix type, in order of preference. Only the second and third choices are optional. If more than one of your choices is winnable, LTA awards just one VRN, following your stated order. Lose on all of them and your bid amount comes back to you, minus the $18.53, via GIRO or PayNow.
You do not need to own the car yet to bid. Dealers often bid on a buyer's behalf as a registered service agent, which is the smoother path if you are buying new and want the number ready at registration.
Most plain numbers clear at or near the $1,000 floor because few people fight over them. The premium kicks in when a combination carries meaning. Eight sounds like huat (prosper) in Hokkien, so 8, 88 and 8888 draw crowds. 168 reads as prosperity all the way, 6868 as smooth sailing, and short low numbers like a single or double digit are scarce by design. Those can run from a few thousand into five figures.
The extreme end is rare and usually old. The most expensive Singapore plate on record, S 32 H, changed hands for $335,000 in 2016, a vintage number rather than a fresh LTA-bid one. Treat figures like that as folklore, not a benchmark for your own bid.
Because the bid is sealed, the only way to avoid overpaying is to research recent sales before you commit. Secondary-market listings on SGCarmart, Carplatemart and Carousell show what comparable numbers are being asked for, and dealers quote indicative ranges for popular patterns. Set a ceiling, bid once, and walk away if it clears. A car plate is a discretionary spend, so it belongs in the same conversation as the rest of your personal budget rather than an open-ended impulse.
Here is the catch most first-time bidders miss. You cannot transfer an awarded VRN to another person, and the number you win is yours to use for one year. If you scrap or sell the car later, the number does not automatically follow you. To carry it to your next vehicle you use retention, a separate process.
Retaining a number costs $1,300 upfront if you apply directly, with $1,200 refunded once you put it on a new car. If a dealer handles it as your service agent and the number goes straight onto your new car, you pay just $100 upfront and skip the refund wait. A retained number stays valid for 12 months, extendable in six-month blocks at $1,000 plus a $42.51 admin fee. You apply before the old car is transferred or deregistered, or within one month after, and fit the plates within three days of approval.
If you want the same digits on the car you already drive without scrapping it, that is a replacement rather than a retention, and it costs $327. Owning a car is a stack of recurring costs beyond the plate, from road tax to insurance to the COE itself, so weigh a five-figure number against those.
For a number you genuinely want, yes, because the alternative is paying a dealer a markup on the secondary market for the same thing. The free LTA-assigned number works perfectly well and costs nothing, so the only reason to bid is sentiment or resale belief. Lucky combinations do hold value, and some owners recover their outlay years later, but that is speculation, not a guarantee.
The financially sane version is simple: decide your maximum, factor in the non-refundable $18.53, bid once at a researched price, and accept the free number if you lose. People get burned by re-bidding week after week on the same digits, each attempt adding another service fee and nudging the budget higher. The COE and the car already cost enough, as the COE bidding guide makes clear, so treat the plate as the small luxury it is.
The minimum bid is $1,000, inclusive of GST, and you can raise it in whole-dollar steps. On top of the bid you pay a non-refundable service fee of $18.53 for each bid submission, whether or not you win the number.
Yes. If your bid is unsuccessful, LTA refunds the full bid amount through GIRO or PayNow. The only money you do not get back is the $18.53 service fee, which is charged per submission regardless of the outcome.
No. LTA runs a closed-bid system, so you never see competing offers and there is no live price to react to. The only way to gauge a fair amount is to research recent secondary-market listings on sites like SGcarmart or Carplatemart before you submit.
Not directly, because an awarded VRN cannot be transferred to another person and is tied to your use. To carry it to a new vehicle you apply for retention, which costs $1,300 upfront with $1,200 refunded, or just $100 upfront if a dealer registers the new car with it.
The main exercise runs from 1am Friday to 4:30pm the following Wednesday when a new series launches. Leftover numbers go to weekly exercises from 1am Friday to 4:30pm the following Monday. Results are released at noon on a Wednesday.
This is general financial information for Singapore, not personal financial advice. Figures change — verify current rates against the official sources above before acting. See our full disclaimer.