Motorcycles qualify for a Victorian club permit in their own right. They are a separate eligible category under the scheme, not an afterthought to cars, and the same 25 year age rule applies. Three things work differently for bikes: the import cut-off date, where you carry the logbook, and the number plate fee.
- Age requirement
- More than 25 years, measured by compliance plate date
- Roadworthy
- Required for bikes built on or after 1 January 1949
- Logbook
- Carried on you rather than on the bike
- VicRoads annual fee
- $91.50 for 45 days, $176.40 for 90 days. Same as a car
- VicRoads plate fee
- $22.10 one-off, half the car fee, because it is one plate
- Traf's Club membership
- $5 first year, then $50 a year. Separate from the VicRoads fee
- Imports
- May need VASS if built after 30 June 1975
Is your bike old enough?
More than 25 years old, measured from the compliance plate rather than the build date. A bike with a compliance plate reading 07/2001 becomes eligible on 01/08/2026.
That distinction matters more for motorcycles than for cars, because so many bikes on Victorian roads were imported. A grey import can carry a build date years earlier than its compliance date, and VicRoads works from the compliance plate.
Machines built before 1931 fall under the Veteran or Vintage categories instead, which have their own conditions.
What VicRoads charges
The VicRoads annual permit fee for a motorcycle is identical to a car. As of July 2026:
| 45-day | 90-day | |
|---|---|---|
| TAC | $60.50 | $117.70 |
| Permit | $27.60 | $55.30 |
| Logbook | $3.40 | $3.40 |
| Total a year | $91.50 | $176.40 |
The one place a bike is cheaper is the plate. A motorcycle takes one plate at $22.10, where a car takes two at $44.20. Exactly half, and it is a one-off cost paid to VicRoads when the permit is first issued rather than something you pay each year.
Slimline plates are not available for motorcycles. Car owners can pay $215 for a slimline set instead of the standard $44.20. There is no equivalent option for a bike, so $22.10 is what you pay.
What Traf's Club charges
Club membership is entirely separate from the VicRoads fees above. $5 for your first year, then $50 a year, the same whether you are permitting a motorcycle or a car, with additional vehicles at $10 each.
Imported motorcycles
This is the one eligibility rule that genuinely differs between bikes and cars.
For cars, a VASS approval certificate may be needed on imports built after 31 December 1968. For motorcycles the cut-off is later: 30 June 1975. If your bike was built before that date and has no prior Australian registration history, you are generally in simpler territory than the equivalent car owner.
If your import is already on full registration and unmodified, none of this applies. Get a roadworthy certificate and apply as normal.
Modified bikes
Modifications are often fine, provided they sit within the VicRoads Vehicle Standards Information guidelines, VSI 8 and VSI 33. Beyond those allowances you will usually need a VASS approval certificate.
If you modified the bike years ago and still hold the original VASS certificate or blue VASS plate, and have changed nothing since, you generally do not need a new one. That certificate does not have to fall inside the usual 30 day window.
The logbook, on a bike
Every club permit vehicle needs a logbook, and the rules are the same for motorcycles with one practical difference: the logbook needs to be on you rather than on the bike. Same as for a trailer. There is nowhere sensible to keep it otherwise, and it has to be produced if you are stopped.
The rest applies as it does to any club permit vehicle:
- An entry for every calendar day you ride more than 100 metres from the garage address
- Filled in before you ride, never after, and never in advance for a future day
- One entry per day, however many times you go out
- Non-erasable blue or black pen, never pencil
Riding to a club event is not a requirement. A club permit bike can be ridden for any leisure purpose at any time, as long as it is not used for hire or reward for carrying goods. A Sunday ride counts.
Applying for a bike
The process is the same as any other club permit application. Roadworthy first if your bike was built on or after 1 January 1949, then join an approved club, then one visit to a VicRoads Customer Service Centre with the signed paperwork.
If you are moving an existing club permit from another club, no roadworthy is needed and you keep your plates, permit number and renewal date.
If the online application form does not quite fit your machine, particularly for older or unusual bikes, get in touch directly and we will walk you through exactly what is needed.
Need a club to sign your application?
Traf's Club covers motorcycles the same as anything else. Everything is handled online, meetings are never compulsory, and it is $5 for your first year.