Vehicle Log Card Singapore: What It Is and How to Check Yours on OneMotoring

The vehicle log card is the official registration document for every vehicle in Singapore. It's issued by the LTA and serves as the authoritative record of a vehicle's key details — registration number, ownership, COE expiry, road tax, and several financial figures that matter significantly when buying or selling a car. Here's what it contains and how to read it.

What Information Is on a Vehicle Log Card

A Singapore vehicle log card contains:

Registration details - Vehicle registration number - Vehicle make and model - Engine number and chassis number - Engine capacity (cc) - Year of manufacture - Registration date (this is crucial for PARF calculation) - Country of origin

Ownership information - Current registered owner's name and address - NRIC/UEN of owner - Number of previous owners

COE information - COE category (A, B, C, D, or E) - COE expiry date - Whether the COE has been renewed and for how long

Financial figures - Open Market Value (OMV) - Additional Registration Fee (ARF) paid - PARF rebate value (the government cash-back available if deregistered now) - Outstanding loans (encumbrances) — critical when buying used

Road tax - Road tax expiry date - Road tax amount payable

How to Check a Vehicle Log Card via OneMotoring

You don't receive a paper log card for most transactions — it's a digital record accessible through OneMotoring.

For your own vehicle: 1. Go to onemotoring.lta.gov.sg 2. Log in with Singpass 3. Select "Vehicle" → "Enquire Vehicle Details" 4. Your registered vehicles appear automatically, or enter the registration number

For a vehicle you're considering buying: 1. You don't need Singpass to check basic details on a third party's vehicle 2. On OneMotoring, select "Vehicle" → "Search Vehicle" 3. Enter the registration number 4. The public view shows: registration date, COE expiry, road tax expiry, vehicle make/model

The full log card view (including OMV, ARF paid, PARF value, and encumbrances) requires logging in with Singpass and viewing via the "Enquire Vehicle Details" section — but this only shows your own vehicles.

For used car due diligence: Sellers are required to disclose the log card to prospective buyers. Ask to see the full log card either on their OneMotoring account or the physical printed version. The information on the log card should match the listing. Cross-reference: - Registration date (which PARF regime applies?) - COE expiry (how much entitlement remains?) - Number of previous owners (more owners = more uncertainty about condition history) - Encumbrances (outstanding finance = cannot transfer ownership until cleared)

The Most Important Log Card Fields When Buying a Used Car

Registration Date

This single date determines which PARF schedule applies. Cars registered before 13 February 2026 use the old (more generous) PARF rules. Cars registered from that date use the new (much lower) rules.

A car registered in January 2026 with 6 years remaining COE carries materially higher PARF value than a car registered in March 2026 with the same remaining entitlement and condition. The log card registration date is the only way to verify this — it cannot be faked or amended.

COE Expiry Date

The COE expiry date tells you exactly how many years of entitlement remain. The price of a used car should reflect the pro-rated value of remaining COE based on the current Prevailing Quota Premium (PQP).

A quick sanity check: divide the current PQP by 10 (years). That's roughly what one year of COE entitlement costs in the open market. Multiply by remaining years to get the approximate embedded COE value in the car.

ARF Paid and PARF Rebate

These two figures allow you to verify the car's deregistration value independently: - ARF paid: the original tax you or the first owner paid at registration - PARF rebate: what you'd receive back from LTA if you deregistered today

A seller quoting a PARF value can be checked against these figures. The PARF percentage for the car's current age (using the applicable old or new schedule) applied to the ARF paid should match the stated PARF rebate within small rounding differences.

Encumbrances

An encumbrance means a bank or finance company has a legal claim on the vehicle — there's an outstanding loan. The registered owner cannot legally sell or transfer the car while it's encumbered. The loan must be fully settled before a transfer can proceed.

When you see "encumbrance: nil" on a log card, the seller owns the car outright and can transfer it. When encumbrance is listed, the seller's financing must be discharged — either from the sale proceeds or separately — before you can take ownership. Never pay the full purchase price before the encumbrance is cleared and transfer proceeds.

Log Card vs. Vehicle History Report

The log card is a government record — it's accurate but limited. It shows the official ownership and financial data, not the physical history of the car.

For a full picture, complement the log card with: - LTA accident history check via OneMotoring: shows declared accidents and insurance-reported incidents - Independent workshop inspection: a pre-purchase inspection (~S$100–150) covers mechanical condition, rust, structural integrity

A clean log card with no encumbrances and appropriate COE remaining doesn't mean the car is mechanically sound. The log card confirms the paperwork is correct; the inspection confirms the car is what it claims to be.

Physical vs. Digital Log Card

Older vehicles may have a physical log card — a laminated card that came with the car. This physical version is no longer issued for new registrations, which are entirely digital. If you're buying an older vehicle and the seller presents a physical log card, cross-reference it against the OneMotoring digital record to ensure they match.

If a physical log card has been lost, it can be replaced via OneMotoring. The digital record is the authoritative version — the physical card is a print of the same data.

Log Card at Point of Sale Transfer

When you complete a vehicle purchase and transfer ownership: 1. Both buyer and seller must be present (or authorise via representative) 2. Transfer is done at LTA Customer Service Centre or via OneMotoring for eligible transactions 3. The log card is updated immediately with new owner information 4. New owner's road tax obligation begins from the transfer date 5. New owner must have valid motor insurance in place before transfer can complete

Transfer fee is S$220 for private transactions. Dealers typically handle the paperwork as part of the sale, but verify the log card update has been completed and the encumbrance cleared before handing over any payment.

For anyone navigating a used car purchase in Singapore and trying to make sense of log card data — including how to calculate PARF value, evaluate remaining COE, and model the true total cost of ownership — the Singapore COE Navigator covers all these calculations in a single structured reference.