Get a Club Permit in Victoria: Join Online
A Victorian club permit lets you drive a vehicle more than 25 years old for 45 or 90 days a year instead of paying full registration. VicRoads issues the permit, but only after an approved club endorses your application. Club Plate Co is that club: $99 a year, joined online in minutes, with no meetings, runs or attendance requirements.
How to get a club permit in Victoria, step by step
VicRoads sets out four key steps to get a club permit, and one of them is the club. Its words: “Before you can get started on your application, make sure you’re a member of an approved VicRoads vehicle club or association.” That is step zero, and it is the part Club Plate Co handles.
- Join an approved club. Sign up to Club Plate Co online and pay the $99 annual membership. No meeting, no interview, no waiting period.
- Check your vehicle is eligible. 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 recorded as a statutory write-off or already listed on another club permit. See eligibility.
- Get the documents your vehicle needs. A roadworthy certificate if the vehicle was made on or after 1 January 1949; a VASS approval certificate for modified, individually constructed and certain imported vehicles; an ASRF inspection report for street rods. Our roadworthy and inspection guide covers which applies to you.
- Get club approval. Upload your documents and photos to us. Our authorised officer signs the vehicle eligibility and standards declaration and the club permit application. VicRoads is strict on timing here: you have 30 days from the date on the declaration to lodge, and a roadworthy certificate is valid for 30 days from issue.
- Lodge with VicRoads and pay. Take the originals to a VicRoads Customer Service Centre. VicRoads: “When you apply at the service centre, you will be given a club permit right away if you meet all applicable requirements.” You leave with number plates, a logbook, a club permit certificate and windscreen labels.
Then keep it right: the certificate goes inside the logbook cover, the label goes on the windscreen, the plates go on the vehicle, and every trip more than 100 metres from the garage address is logged before you drive. The rules and logbook guide explains the conditions of use, and the forms guide names every form.
What $99 a year of car club membership includes
One price, one year, one card. Membership is what makes you eligible for a club permit in Victoria; the permit fees themselves are VicRoads charges and are paid to VicRoads, not to us.
| Included in the $99 membership | Paid to VicRoads or a third party |
|---|---|
| Financial membership of a VicRoads-approved club for 12 months | VicRoads club permit fee for your 45-day or 90-day period |
| Eligibility check against the VicRoads club permit rules | Club permit number plate fee |
| Endorsement of your vehicle eligibility and standards declaration | Logbook fee |
| Endorsement of your club permit application form | Roadworthy certificate (a licensed vehicle tester sets the price) |
| Endorsement of your renewal notice each year | VASS approval certificate if your vehicle needs one |
| Endorsement when you add a vehicle or move one to us | TAC charge on a car or motorcycle permit |
The VicRoads side is published, so you can budget it exactly. These are the totals on the VicRoads permit fees page, which include the number plate and logbook charges for a new permit:
| Vehicle type | 45 days total | 90 days total |
|---|---|---|
| Car | $135.70 | $220.60 |
| Motorcycle | $113.60 | $198.50 |
| Trailer | $52.35 | $80.80 |
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.
So a car on a 45-day permit is $135.70 to VicRoads plus $99 to us, and on a 90-day permit $220.60 plus $99, before the roadworthy. Our pricing page walks through each line and what drives it.
No meetings, no runs, no attendance requirements
Traditional car clubs are built around events, and many make attendance a condition of endorsing a club permit: a probation period, a meeting to attend, a committee to meet. That is a perfectly good way to run a club. It is not what we do.
Club Plate Co exists to do the club’s part of the Club Permit Scheme well and nothing else. We confirm your membership, check the vehicle against the VicRoads rules, and endorse your forms. There are no meetings, no club runs, no working bees, no raffle tickets and no committee positions to fill. If you want the social side of car ownership, join a marque club as well; nothing stops you belonging to both.
We are on the VicRoads list of approved car clubs and associations, which is the only list that matters when VicRoads assesses your application. Read more about us or see how it works.
How Club Plate Co compares with other Victorian car clubs
Every club below is a Victorian club that offers club permit endorsement. Prices are the figures each club published on its own site when we checked. Clubs change their fees; confirm the current price with the club before you join.
| Club | Year one | Renewal | Extra vehicles | Meetings or attendance | Inspection |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Club Plate Co | $99 | $99/yr | No surcharge | None | Online, from your photos |
| Traf's Club | $5 first year | $50/yr | $10 per vehicle | None published | Included |
| Resto My Ride Club | $198 ($99 join + $99) | $99/yr | $25 admin per extra car | None published | Concierge |
| Machine Alley | $75 + $55 per vehicle | $75/yr | Unlimited vehicles | None published | In person, Collingwood |
| Hartwell Motorcycle Club | $50 social membership | $50/yr | Not published | Not required | Club |
| BMW Drivers Club Melbourne | $60 | $60/yr | $35 additional | Marque club | In person, by appointment |
| Honda Club of Victoria | $45 ($65 family) | $45/yr | Not published | Marque club | Club |
| Toyota Car Club of Australia (Vic) | Not published | Not published | Not published | Event attendance policy | $50 inspection |
Club prices checked: 4 September 2026 from each club’s published pages.
Two things the table cannot show. First, a marque club gives you people who know your car, which is worth more than the price difference to a lot of owners. Second, the number that actually decides the cost of a club permit is the VicRoads fee, not the club fee, and that is the same whichever club endorses you. A longer write-up is on compare car clubs in Victoria.
Who can join Club Plate Co
Anyone in Victoria with a vehicle that fits the VicRoads club permit categories. VicRoads groups eligible vehicles as veteran (made before 1 January 1919), vintage (made after 31 December 1918 and before 1 January 1931), and classic and historic (made after 31 December 1930 but more than 25 years old, replicas included). It adds that this “also applies to trailers, heavy vehicles, modified vehicles like street rods and motorbikes.”
We take all of them. In practice that means:
- Cars of any make, Australian-delivered or imported, standard or modified within the standards for their year.
- Motorcycles, including bikes covered by VSI 4.
- 4WDs and utes that have turned 25.
- Trucks, trailers, caravans and motorhomes that meet the same age and standards tests.
- Street rods, replicas and modified vehicles with the VASS or ASRF paperwork VicRoads requires.
More than one vehicle is fine and costs nothing extra. Members join from all over the state, from Melbourne to the regions, and the process is identical wherever you are: see regional Victoria.
Car club membership questions
Is there a cheaper club than Club Plate Co?
It depends what you count. Some clubs advertise a low first-year price and charge more at renewal; others add a per-vehicle inspection fee. Club Plate Co is $99 a year with no joining fee, no inspection fee and no per-vehicle surcharge, so year one and year five cost the same. Compare the published figures in the table above before you join, and what a club permit costs in Victoria for the full breakdown.
Which car club is the best?
For a club permit, the best club is whichever approved club endorses your paperwork quickly and accepts your vehicle. A marque club is the better choice if you want events, technical help and a community for one make. An online club like Club Plate Co is the better choice if you only need the endorsement and do not want meetings or attendance requirements.
Is there a Holden Commodore car club in Victoria?
Yes, Victoria has several Holden and Commodore clubs, and VicRoads lists the approved ones on its approved car clubs and associations page. You do not need a make-specific club to get a club permit. Club Plate Co accepts any eligible vehicle, Holdens included, and you can belong to a marque club as well.
How do car club memberships work for a club permit?
VicRoads will not issue or renew a club permit unless you are a financial member of an approved club. The club confirms your membership and signs the vehicle eligibility and standards declaration and the club permit application. If your membership lapses, the permit is no longer valid, so renewing your membership and renewing your permit go together.
Is there a minimum membership period or waiting period?
Not at Club Plate Co. Some clubs require months of membership, or attendance at a meeting or event, before they will endorse a club permit application. We endorse as soon as your membership is paid and your vehicle documents check out. Transport Victoria only asks that a gap between clubs is no longer than 14 days.
Can one vehicle be listed with two clubs?
No. A vehicle is linked to one approved club at a time, and VicRoads will not issue a club permit for a vehicle that is already listed on one. You can be a member of as many clubs as you like, but the permit names a single endorsing club. Moving it is a club transfer.
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.