How much does a club permit cost in Victoria?
Three payees, one of them us. VicRoads charges $135.70 for a 45-day car permit or $220.60 for 90 days, Club Plate Co membership is $99 a year, and a licensed tester sets the roadworthy price. Here is every line, with the VicRoads source.
Updated 5 September 2026. Written and checked by Sam and Riley, the named officials who run Club Plate Co.
Club permit fees Victoria 2026
This is the largest of the three costs and the one people mean when they ask what a club permit costs. VicRoads charges it once, at the counter, when your permit is issued, and again each year at renewal. The amount depends on whether you take 45 or 90 days of use and on the vehicle type. Every figure below is quoted from the VicRoads permit fees page.
| Item (car) | 45-day permit | 90-day permit |
|---|---|---|
| TAC charge | $60.50 | $117.70 |
| Permit fee | $27.60 | $55.30 |
| Logbook | $3.40 | $3.40 |
| Number plates (pair, standard) | $44.20 | $44.20 |
| Total paid to VicRoads | $135.70 | $220.60 |
Motorcycles pay the same TAC charge, permit fee and logbook fee as a car. The only difference is the plate: one plate instead of two, at half the price.
| Item (motorcycle) | 45-day permit | 90-day permit |
|---|---|---|
| TAC charge | $60.50 | $117.70 |
| Permit fee | $27.60 | $55.30 |
| Logbook | $3.40 | $3.40 |
| Number plate (single) | $22.10 | $22.10 |
| Total paid to VicRoads | $113.60 | $198.50 |
Why the TAC charge is the biggest line
Look at the table again and the pattern is clear: the TAC charge is roughly twice the permit fee itself, and it is the only line that changes much between 45 and 90 days. That is because it is injury insurance priced by exposure. A 90-day permit buys twice the days on the road, so it carries roughly twice the charge.
It is also the reason a club permit is so much cheaper than full registration. Full registration prices a TAC charge for a whole year of unlimited driving; a club permit prices 45 or 90 days of it. The permit fee and the logbook are almost incidental next to that difference. Worth knowing too: the TAC charge covers injury, not damage. It is not a substitute for insurance on the vehicle.
Plate fees
The totals above already include a pair of standard club permit plates for a car, or a single plate for a motorcycle. Club permit plates have white characters on a maroon background with the words “club permit” along the top, which is why people call them red plates. Slimline plates are available for classic and historic permit vehicles and are bought from a VicRoads Customer Service Centre when you apply. Replacement plates are priced separately:
| Replacement plates | Single plate | Pair |
|---|---|---|
| Standard size | $40.90 | $81.80 |
| Slimline size | $105.90 | $211.80 |
| Mixed (standard + slimline) | N/A | $146.80 |
Admin fees
VicRoads does not publish a separate fee for the paperwork changes people ask about most. Its modify, update or transfer page sets out how to change your club and how to update your details, and names no charge for either. Note that a club permit cannot be transferred at all: changing clubs is its own process, not a transfer.
| Change | VicRoads fee |
|---|---|
| Change your club | VicRoads publishes no fee for this |
| Update your address, the vehicle particulars or the garage address | VicRoads publishes no fee for this |
| Slimline plates ordered with a new permit | Not published — ask when you lodge the application |
| Replacement plates (lost, damaged, stolen) | See the replacement plate table above |
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.
Club Plate Co membership: $99 a year
$99 a year is the only amount you pay us, and it is the whole amount. There is no joining fee, no inspection fee, no per-renewal charge and no levy for a second vehicle’s paperwork that appears after you have committed. It buys membership of a VicRoads-approved club, which is what makes you eligible to hold a club permit at all, and it covers the work the club does under the scheme:
- The eligibility check on your vehicle, done before you pay anything
- Signing the Vehicle eligibility and standards declaration and the club section of your application
- Endorsing every annual renewal for as long as you stay a member
- Your digital membership certificate and signed documents, kept in your account
- Live chat and email support from the people who run the club
Membership renews annually and you can turn auto-renewal off from your account at any time. The fee is charged when your application is complete, so you can open an application, wait for a roadworthy booking and pay nothing in the meantime.
One condition worth knowing: your permit is only valid while your club membership is current. If membership lapses, the permit lapses with it. That is a VicRoads rule, not ours, and it applies at every approved club.
Roadworthy and other one-off costs
A vehicle built on or after 1 January 1949 needs a current certificate of roadworthiness from a licensed vehicle tester before a club official can sign your declaration. Testers set their own inspection prices and any repairs needed to pass are on top, so there is no figure we can honestly print here. Ring two or three testers near you, ask for a quote, and ask whether they are used to older vehicles.
A vehicle built on or before 31 December 1948 does not need a roadworthy certificate at all. A club official can inspect it and declare it safe for road use instead. Street rods, light trailers and plant-based special purpose vehicles are also exempt from the roadworthy requirement.
Costs that only apply sometimes
- VASS approval certificate — for a vehicle modified outside the guidelines, an individually constructed replica, a first-time street rod, or an imported vehicle built between 1969 and 1988. Priced by the signatory, not by VicRoads. See eligibility for when one applies.
- Australian Street Rod Federation inspection — for street rods seeking SR plates, priced by the Federation.
- Additional vehicles — one membership covers one person; each further vehicle on your membership carries a smaller additional fee, shown before you add it.
Insurance is separate again and is not part of the permit. Most insurers price a limited-use classic policy well below a daily-driver policy, but it is a quote, not a published fee.
What you actually pay in year one
Take a 1995 sedan going onto a 45-day permit. You pay us $99. You pay VicRoads $135.70 at the counter. You pay a tester for the roadworthy. That comes to $234.70 plus the roadworthy for the first year, and nothing else.
The same car on a 90-day permit is $99 plus $220.60, so $319.60 plus the roadworthy. A motorcycle on 45 days is $99 plus $113.60, so $212.60 plus the roadworthy.
Year two onwards
From the second year there is no roadworthy to repeat unless VicRoads asks for one, and no plates to buy: the $44.20 plate line is a one-off. What you pay again is our $99 membership and the VicRoads renewal. VicRoads publishes an issue-time fee table only, not a renewal total, and prints the exact amount on your renewal notice — so treat that notice as the figure, and check the current lines on the VicRoads permit fees page.
Once the period of use has started, renewal fees are non-refundable. That is VicRoads’ stated policy, so time a renewal you are unsure about rather than paying early.
Is 45 or 90 days better value?
The step from 45 to 90 days costs $220.60 instead of $135.70 for a car — about $85 more for double the driving. The extra is almost entirely the TAC charge, which scales with the days you take.
A day is a day, not a trip: three drives on a Sunday use one logbook day. Forty-five days is a weekend drive most fortnights plus a dozen shows, which suits most members. Ninety days makes sense if the car does a run every weekend through summer, or if you would rather not count. You choose the period at the counter, and you can change from 45 to 90 days at renewal.
What neither option buys is daily use. If the honest answer is that you want the car available any day, full registration costs more but is the right tool, and no club can change that.
What the fee does not cover
- Repairs to pass the roadworthy. Rust, tyres, brakes and lights are where older vehicles fail. Get the car looked over before you book the test.
- Insurance. A club permit is not insurance. The TAC charge in the fee is injury cover only, not damage to your car or anyone else’s.
- Anything to do with buying the car. Motor vehicle duty is administered by the State Revenue Office, not by the club permit scheme. Ask the SRO how it applies to your purchase. Buying a car already on club plates? The seller’s permit is cancelled on sale, so budget for a new one at the fees above.
- Days beyond your allowance. There is no top-up. Driving past 45 or 90 logged days is driving an unregistered vehicle.
Club permit cost questions
How much does a club permit cost in Victoria?
A 45-day club permit for a car costs $135.70 to VicRoads, or $220.60 for 90 days. Both figures include the TAC charge, the permit fee, the logbook and a pair of plates. Add $99 a year for Club Plate Co membership and the price a licensed tester charges for the roadworthy certificate.
How much is club rego in Victoria?
Club rego is the same thing as a club permit, so the price is the same: $135.70 or $220.60 to VicRoads for a car, depending on whether you take 45 or 90 days of use, plus a club membership. VicRoads does not use the word “rego” for the scheme, but the fees you are asking about are the club permit fees above.
How much does it cost to register a club permit in Victoria?
$135.70 for 45 days or $220.60 for 90 days, paid to VicRoads at the counter when the permit is issued. That covers the TAC charge, the permit fee, the logbook and the plates. It is a permit rather than a registration, so there is no separate registration fee to pay on top.
What is the cheapest car club in Victoria?
There is no single answer, because clubs set their own fees and change them. VicRoads publishes the full list of approved clubs and associations, and the honest way to compare is to open a few and check three things: the annual fee, whether there is a joining or inspection fee on top, and whether you have to attend anything. Club Plate Co is $99 a year with no joining fee and no attendance requirement.
Is a club permit cheaper than full registration?
It depends on how often you drive the vehicle. Full registration buys unlimited use for a full year; a club permit buys 45 or 90 days for a fraction of that, because the TAC charge is scaled to the days you take. For a car that comes out on weekends and to shows, the permit wins easily. For anything you need on a Tuesday morning, full registration is the honest answer and we will tell you so. Is a club permit worth it? works the comparison through in full.
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.