Club Permit Trucks, Trailers & Motorhomes Victoria
The Club Permit Scheme is not a car scheme. VicRoads says the age categories apply to vehicles generally, and adds: “This also applies to trailers, heavy vehicles, modified vehicles like street rods and motorbikes.” A 25-year-old Bedford, a vintage box trailer and a 1990s bus conversion are all assessable. What stops most owners is finding a club that will endorse the application, not the VicRoads rules.
Which trucks, trailers and motorhomes qualify
The tests are the same for every vehicle type: more than 25 years old by build date, standards met for its year of manufacture, a VIN or chassis number clearly stamped on it, and not recorded as a statutory write-off. Body style changes the paperwork, not the eligibility.
| Vehicle | Roadworthy certificate | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Light trailer | Exempt | VicRoads lists light trailers among the RWC exemptions. Trailer is its own club permit vehicle type. |
| Caravan | Depends on the trailer class | Permitted in its own right, or registered separately if towed by a club permit vehicle. |
| Truck | Required if made on or after 1 January 1949 | A heavy vehicle by VicRoads wording; licence class applies to the driver. |
| Bus or bus conversion | Required if made on or after 1 January 1949 | Assessed on age and standards like any other heavy vehicle. |
| Motorhome or campervan | Required if made on or after 1 January 1949 | A body conversion may bring it under the modified vehicle rules. |
| Tractor or mobile plant | Exempt | VicRoads exempts plant-based special purpose vehicles such as a tractor. |
| Ex-military vehicle | Required if made on or after 1 January 1949 | Imported examples may need a VASS approval certificate. |
For anything made on or before 31 December 1948, VicRoads allows a club official to inspect the vehicle and declare it safe instead of a roadworthy certificate. Check the details on the VicRoads get a club permit page and our eligibility guide.
Trailers and caravans
A trailer is its own vehicle under the scheme. VicRoads lists Trailer as a separate club permit vehicle type on its plates page, issued one standard plate, and light trailers are on the roadworthy exemption list alongside street rods and tractors. That makes an old box trailer or vintage caravan one of the simpler applications in the scheme.
It is also the cheapest, because a trailer pays no TAC charge. VicRoads publishes a trailer total of $52.35 for 45 days and $80.80 for 90 days, made up of the permit fee, the logbook and a single plate.
Fees checked 5 September 2026 against the VicRoads permit fees page. VicRoads sets and revises these figures, normally each July — confirm the current amount before you pay.
The rule people miss is about towing. Transport Victoria: “You can tow a trailer or caravan using a vehicle with a club permit. The vehicle you are towing must be registered, and the driver must follow their licence conditions.” So a club permit tow car does not legitimise an unregistered trailer. Either register the trailer normally or, if it qualifies on age, put it on a club permit of its own with its own logbook and plates.
Trucks, buses and licence class
VicRoads names heavy vehicles as part of the scheme, so a historic truck or bus is assessed on age and standards like anything else. Two practical points sit on top of that.
- Licence class. Every driver of a club permit vehicle must follow their own licence conditions. A club permit does not lower the licence class needed to drive a truck or bus, so check what your licence covers before permit day.
- Carrying goods for money is out. Regulation 186 of the Road Safety (Vehicles) Regulations 2021 makes it an offence for a club permit vehicle to be used “for hire or reward for the carriage of goods or freight”, or to provide a commercial passenger vehicle service. The penalty is 10 penalty units. Transport Victoria also lists commercial use as a reportable breach.
On cost, VicRoads publishes three club permit fee categories on its permit fees page — car, motorcycle and trailer — and no truck, bus or motorhome category. The permit fee itself does not vary with the vehicle: Schedule 2 item 18 of the regulations sets one amount for every club eligible vehicle, 1.6 fee units for 45 days and 3.2 for 90. What does vary by vehicle is the TAC charge and the number of plates, so ask at the counter what your vehicle attracts rather than assuming the car total.
Motorhomes, campervans and bus conversions
Motorhomes are the most common heavy-vehicle question on the scheme, and the answer is encouraging with one caveat. The vehicle qualifies on the usual age and standards tests. The caveat is the conversion: a bus turned into a motorhome has been modified, so it is measured against VSI 8 and VSI 33 and may need a VASS approval certificate. See modified vehicles.
The day allowance matters more for a motorhome than for a show car. A three-week trip is roughly twenty-one logged days, because a day is a calendar day and every travelling day needs an entry, including days you cross a border. Two trips like that will exhaust a 45-day permit. If you tour, choose 90 days, and read the rules and logbook guide before you go.
Getting a heavy or towed vehicle permitted
The process is the standard one. Join a VicRoads-approved club, get a roadworthy certificate if the vehicle needs one, have the club sign the Vehicle eligibility and standards declaration and the club permit application, then lodge both at a VicRoads Customer Service Centre within 30 days of the date on the declaration form.
The part that trips owners up is the club. Marque and car-only clubs frequently will not endorse a truck, a bus or a trailer, which is why the forums are full of people asking who takes them. Club Plate Co endorses any vehicle VicRoads would permit, for the same $99 a year, online, with no meetings. Get your club permit or read how it works.
Trucks, trailers and motorhomes FAQ
Can you put a 1970s trailer on a club permit without taking it to VicRoads for a roadworthy?
A light trailer does not need a roadworthy certificate. VicRoads lists light trailers among the vehicles exempt, with street rods and plant-based special purpose vehicles such as a tractor. You still need club membership, the signed forms and a visit to a VicRoads Customer Service Centre to lodge the application and collect the plates.
Can I put a 25-year-old bus or motorhome on club rego, and which club takes them?
Yes, if it is more than 25 years old and meets the standards for its year of manufacture. VicRoads extends the scheme to heavy vehicles by name. Not every club will endorse one; Club Plate Co takes any vehicle VicRoads would permit, including buses, motorhomes and trucks, on the same $99 membership.
Does a motorhome on a club permit need a logbook entry for every day away?
Yes. The logbook rules do not change for a long trip. Complete an entry every time you drive more than 100 metres from the garage address, one entry per calendar day, and “if your trip spans before and after midnight, put an entry in your log book for each day”. Days parked do not count.
Do clubs cover trailers, caravans and trucks, or only cars?
VicRoads covers them; individual clubs choose their own scope. The scheme “also applies to trailers, heavy vehicles, modified vehicles like street rods and motorbikes”, and VicRoads lists Trailer as its own club permit vehicle type. Marque and car-only clubs often decline them, which is usually why owners end up looking for another club.
Does my caravan need its own permit if I tow it with a club permit car?
It needs its own registration or its own club permit. Transport Victoria says: “You can tow a trailer or caravan using a vehicle with a club permit. The vehicle you are towing must be registered, and the driver must follow their licence conditions.” The tow vehicle’s permit does not cover what is behind it.
Can an ex-military or ex-government vehicle get a club permit?
Yes, on the same tests as anything else. The scheme is defined by age and standards, not by who owned the vehicle first. It must be more than 25 years old, carry a stamped VIN or chassis number, meet the standards for its year of manufacture, and not be a statutory write-off. Imported examples may also need a VASS certificate.
Start whenever it suits. Pay only when everything’s in.
Your classic deserves to be driven. Begin your application now and it waits for your roadworthy — we don’t charge you until it’s all in hand. Not sure you’re eligible? It’s just the build date: 25 years or older and you’re in.