What the Code means by a financial member
The Code defines a financial member as a person who pays monetary membership fees to a recognised motor vehicle club, or who is deemed to be a financial member under the club’s constitution. A financial member can be an individual or an organisation, provided the club’s constitution permits it (Definitions).
There are two routes to being financial, then:
- Paying: the member has paid the membership fees the club charges.
- Being deemed financial: the constitution says this kind of member counts as financial, whether or not they pay each year. Life and honorary memberships are the usual examples.
Everything else, including when fees fall due, when an unpaid member stops being financial, and which membership types are deemed financial, comes from the club’s own constitution. Clause 2.1b says this directly: whatever membership types the club offers (annual, multi-year or life), it must ensure a member who owns a conditionally registered vehicle is a financial member as outlined in the club’s constitution.
Why it matters
Financial membership is one of the three foundations of the Scheme, alongside an eligible vehicle and use within the conditions (the Code’s Introduction). It is checked or relied on at almost every step.
| Point in the Scheme | What depends on financial status | Clause |
|---|---|---|
| Entering the Scheme | The authorised person certifies on the MR334 that the applicant is a financial member | Definitions, 2.8, 3.1 |
| Issuing a log book | The club must ensure the applicant is financial before issuing | 2.27 |
| Using the vehicle | The owner must keep a financial membership of a recognised club at all times | 3.5a |
| Renewing registration | No club approval is needed, but the owner must still be financial | 4.7 |
| Losing financial status | The owner must not drive the vehicle or let anyone else drive it | 3.11 |
| The yearly report | The club reports members with Scheme vehicles who are no longer financial | 2.33 |
| Choosing elected officials | The president and secretary are elected by a vote of the financial members | Definitions |
Financial status also matters well beyond the Scheme, for voting and club benefits. This guide sticks to the Scheme side.
Your constitution sets the details
The Code leaves the mechanics of financial membership to each club’s constitution, and the club must keep a constitution approved by the Registrar (clause 2.1a). That makes the constitution’s membership rules part of how the club meets its Scheme duties.
A constitution that works well for a Scheme club answers these questions clearly:
| Question | Why it matters for the Scheme |
|---|---|
| When are fees due each year? | Sets the date from which an unpaid member may lapse |
| When does an unpaid member stop being financial? | Decides when the clause 3.11 rule applies and who goes on the yearly report |
| Is there a grace period, and how long? | A grace period is a club decision, not a Scheme rule; the constitution should say whether members are still financial during it |
| Which membership types are deemed financial? | Life and honorary members may pay nothing but still count |
| Can organisations be members? | The Code allows it only if the constitution permits |
| When does a new member’s membership start? | Decides when an authorised person can certify them on an MR334 |
If your constitution is vague on any of these, the committee should agree a working rule, minute it, and apply it consistently until the constitution can be updated. Because the Registrar approves the constitution (clause 2.1a), check with the Registrar before changing membership rules that affect the Scheme.
Membership types
The Code accepts any membership type, provided Scheme owners are financial under the constitution (clause 2.1b). The common types each raise a slightly different question.
| Type | Financial how? | What to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Annual | Pays fees each year | The most common source of lapses; the renewal date matters most |
| Multi-year | Pays several years in advance | Record the paid-through date clearly so the member is not chased early or missed when it ends |
| Life | Deemed financial under the constitution | Confirm the constitution actually deems them financial |
| Honorary | Deemed financial under the constitution, if it says so | Same check as life members |
| Family or joint | Depends on the constitution | Each Scheme owner must be a financial member in their own right where the vehicle is jointly owned (clause 3.1) |
Joint ownership
If a vehicle is registered in joint ownership, all owners must be financial members (clause 3.1). A couple who own a car together both need financial memberships, not just the one who drives it most. Clubs that offer a family or couple membership should check their constitution treats each person covered as a financial member.
Registration and membership run on different clocks
Scheme registration and club membership are renewed separately, and the club only sees one of them.
Registration can be renewed for one, two or three years (clause 4.8). The renewal invitation goes straight to the owner, generally five to six weeks before expiry (clause 4.6), and renewing does not need the club’s approval (clause 4.7). A member can therefore hold three years of registration on a one-year membership.
This is why the duty sits with the owner to stay financial at all times (clause 3.5a), and why the club’s yearly report to the Registrar matters (clause 2.33). The club does not sign off each registration renewal, so its own membership records and the yearly report are how it meets its duties under clauses 2.1b and 2.1c.
Authorised persons and their own membership
An authorised person cannot certify their own financial membership or approve their own vehicle (clause 2.11). Their appointment also lasts only while they remain a member of that club (clause 2.12).
A practical consequence: an authorised person who lets their own membership lapse loses their appointment if they cease to be a member, and an elected official must tell the Registrar in writing within 14 days (clause 2.13). Committees should make sure their authorised persons renew on time, like everyone else.
When someone stops being financial
If a vehicle owner stops being a financial member while the vehicle is registered, they must not drive it or let anyone else drive it until they are verified as a financial member of a club again or have taken out standard registration (clause 3.11). They must also cancel the conditional registration and return the log book to the issuing club for cancellation (clause 3.5j), and the Registrar may suspend or cancel the registration (clause 3.13).
The club’s part is to include them in the yearly report to the Registrar (clause 2.33) and to follow up. How to do that fairly, including reminders and grace periods, is the subject of the guide to lapsed members who still hold log books. Due dates for the report are in the guide to the yearly Scheme reports.
Situations that need a decision
Some cases come up in every club sooner or later. The Code settles some of them; the rest are for the committee, guided by the constitution.
| Situation | What the Code says | What the club decides |
|---|---|---|
| A Scheme vehicle is registered to a member’s company or trust | A financial member can be an organisation if the constitution permits (Definitions) | Whether the constitution allows organisation members, and who acts for the organisation |
| A member resigns but wants to keep driving until the registration runs out | Once they are no longer financial they must not drive the vehicle (clause 3.11), and the club cancels the log book on resignation (clause 2.29) | Nothing to decide on the rule itself; the club explains it clearly in writing |
| A member is expelled | The Code does not mention expulsion, but an expelled member is no longer a financial member, so clauses 3.5j and 3.11 apply | How the expulsion is handled under the constitution |
| A member dies | When the vehicle changes hands, registration is cancelled and the issuing club cancels the log book (clause 4.9) | How and when the club contacts the family, with care |
| A member pays after their membership has lapsed | Once verified as financial again, the clause 3.11 restriction ends | Whether a late payment reinstates the old membership or starts a new one, under the constitution |
The last row is worth thinking through before it happens. If the member has already cancelled their registration and returned the log book under clause 3.5j, rejoining the club does not restore the old registration; getting back on the Scheme follows the entry procedure again (clause 3.1).
Checking status in practice
The club cannot watch every member every day, and the Code does not ask it to. It asks the club to check at the points where it acts, and to keep records good enough to show who was financial and when (clauses 2.1g, 2.39).
Sensible checkpoints, each a club practice rather than a separate Code rule:
- Before an MR334 is signed: the authorised person confirms the applicant’s fees are paid or they hold a deemed-financial type.
- Before a log book is issued or replaced: the same check (clause 2.27).
- At the end of renewal season: list members with Scheme vehicles who have not renewed, before they become a reporting problem. The guide to running membership renewals covers the season itself.
- Before the yearly report: confirm the list against payments received.
Each check is quicker if one record holds the member’s type, paid-through date and Scheme vehicles together, rather than three people each holding part of it.
How MemberCrew helps
MemberCrew records each member’s membership type and status and tracks renewals by club year, so the committee can see who has paid and who is outstanding. Life and honorary types are set up as deemed financial and do not renew, and multi-year memberships are supported. Each member’s vehicles and log books sit on the same record, which is what the yearly report to the Registrar draws on. See memberships and renewals in MemberCrew.