Unregistered Vehicle Permit vs Club Permit: Which Do You Need?

A club permit is for a vehicle more than 25 years old that you want to drive on a limited number of days each year. An unregistered vehicle permit is for a one-off need — moving a vehicle, or preparing it for registration. Comparing an unregistered vehicle permit vs club permit comes down to whether the use is ongoing or a single job.

What each permit is for

The two permits solve different problems.

The club permit

A club permit lets you drive the vehicle up to 45 or 90 days per year, anywhere in Australia, with a logbook entry every time you drive it more than 100 metres from the garage address. The vehicle has to be at least 25 years old, and you have to be a member of an approved VicRoads vehicle club or association before you apply.

The unregistered vehicle permit

An unregistered vehicle permit — a UVP — lets you drive an unregistered vehicle on the road when, in the Victorian Government's words, "it is impractical or unreasonable to have the vehicle registered". VicRoads lists the situations: preparing the vehicle for registration in Victoria, moving a vehicle from place to place on a one-off basis, or using a construction or tracked vehicle. The VicRoads UVP page sets no age requirement and involves no club.

The restrictions that separate them

The Victorian Government sets three limits on a UVP in its unregistered vehicle permit guidance that do not apply to a club permit.

• A UVP "must not be used as a replacement for full registration".
• A UVP "can only be issued for trips commencing in Victoria".
• A UVP cannot be used for "social or domestic purposes".

A club permit carries none of those three. It is an ongoing arrangement, it covers driving anywhere in Australia, and social use is the point of it. What a club permit restricts instead is the count: 45 or 90 days a year, and commercial use is a breach.

So the drive to a Sunday show is a club permit day and is not a permitted UVP trip. The tow-free drive home from the seller's shed, on the afternoon you buy the car, is a UVP job.

How you get each one

The application routes are different in a way that matters when you are in a hurry.

A UVP is applied for online. You decide which permit type you need and how long you need it, have your personal and vehicle information ready — including the VIN, chassis or engine number — fill out the form, and download the permit once payment is confirmed. Construction equipment, rally vehicles and carnival floats are handled by phone or at a Customer Service Centre instead.

A club permit application is lodged in person. You need club membership first, a signed vehicle eligibility and standards declaration, a roadworthy certificate if the vehicle was made on or after 1 January 1949, and a visit to a VicRoads Customer Service Centre to lodge the documents and collect plates and a logbook.

What each one costs

The club permit has published figures. At the time of writing (12 October 2026), the VicRoads permit fees page lists a car club permit at $135.70 for 45 days and $220.60 for 90 days, each made up of a TAC charge, the permit fee, a $3.40 logbook and $44.20 number plates.

A UVP has no published flat fee. VicRoads calculates it during the application, and the cost depends on the length of time you need it, the type of vehicle and the garaged address. Our breakdown of what a club permit costs in Victoria works through the club permit side line by line.

One further difference is worth knowing before you buy. A UVP can only be cancelled, changed or refunded before the start date. After that it is fixed.

Which one fits your situation

Three common cases sort themselves quickly.

You have bought a car that is 30 years old and want to drive it on weekends. That is a club permit. A UVP cannot substitute for ongoing use.

You have bought a car and need to get it home once. That is a UVP, applied for online before you move it.

You are restoring a car and need to drive it to a tester. Preparing a vehicle for registration is a listed UVP use. Once the car is on a club permit, that drive is a logged day instead.

If the car will be driven often enough that the days run short, our comparison of the club permit against full registration is the more useful one to read.

Where Club Plate Co fits

Club Plate Co is a VicRoads-accredited club under the Club Permit Scheme. We endorse club permit applications and renewals; membership is $99 a year. Unregistered vehicle permits are applied for directly with VicRoads, with no club involved, so there is no endorsement for us to give.

Common mistakes comparing the two permits

• Using a UVP as a stopgap. The Victorian Government states it must not be used as a replacement for full registration.
• Assuming a UVP covers a drive to a show. Social or domestic purposes are excluded.
• Expecting a refund after the start date. A UVP can only be cancelled, changed or refunded before it starts.
• Applying for a club permit online. New club permit applications are lodged in person at a Customer Service Centre.
• Thinking age matters for a UVP. The 25-year rule belongs to the club permit; the VicRoads UVP page sets no age requirement. Our guide to how old a car needs to be covers it.

Questions people ask about unregistered vehicle permit vs club permit

Can I use a UVP instead of joining a car club?

No. The Victorian Government states a UVP must not be used as a replacement for full registration and cannot be used for social or domestic purposes. Ongoing recreational driving of an eligible older vehicle is what the club permit exists for.

Can I drive interstate on a UVP?

A UVP can only be issued for trips commencing in Victoria. A club permit, by contrast, covers driving up to 45 or 90 days per year anywhere in Australia.

Do I need a roadworthy for either permit?

For a club permit, VicRoads requires a roadworthy certificate if the vehicle was made on or after 1 January 1949. The UVP pages set out permitted uses and the online application rather than a roadworthy rule.

Can I get a UVP to take a car to its roadworthy test?

Preparing an unregistered vehicle for registration is one of the uses the Victorian Government lists for a UVP.