If you are a Motorsport UK Affiliated Club and you are organising an event, you need a Permit or Certificate of Exemption. Permits cover competitive events. Certificates of Exemptions cover other motoring activities such as Touring Assemblies and Treasure Hunts.

A Certificate of Exemption is a pre-paid type of permit issued by Motorsport UK to exempt the event from the judicial regulations contained within the Motorsport UK Yearbook, which indicates that there is no right of appeal to the Motor Sports Council and that provided Motorsport UK has granted specific approval, members of unrecognised clubs or members of the public may participate, but not officiate, at such events. The following events may be run under a Certificate of Exemption:

• Touring Assembly
• Road Safety Event
• Procession for Historic Purpose
• Procession for Charitable Purpose
• Veteran Rally or Run
• Gymkhana
• Treasure Hunt
• Concoursd’Elegance.
• Certificates of Exemption for Motorsport UK approved Marshal’s Training are also available at no charge.

If you are the Secretary, Competition Secretary or Treasurer, you can apply online using the club login details. If you do not have these details you can use the Organising Permit Application Form, which can be downloaded from the Resource Centre.

If you have forgotten your club login details, you can contact the Competitions and Clubs Department.

Taster Events are entry-level competitions designed to encourage first-time participation in motorsport, and are ideal for StreetCar events. All entrants and passengers must sign-on and take out a free RS Clubman licence as required for a non-Taster event.

If the activity is at a public event such as a show, you will need to supply full details including; safety plan/risk assessment and test diagrams, showing; barriers, position of spectators and distances.

Taster Events can be stand alone events or part of an existing event, and generally consist of:

• An introduction to motorsport, What the sport is about, Events, Paperwork, Signing on, Regulations, Licence, Membership, Scrutineering etc
• Car preperation
• A demonstration/passenger ride
• Safety
• Tuition
• Have a go
• A competitive activity
• Results/awards

Taster Events can be organised for any of the following event types, and will be run at Clubmans permit status.

• Car, Sporting and Classic Reliability Trials
• Autotests & AutoSOLOs
• Cross Country Untimed and Tyro Trials
• Veteran Car Rally (Or Run) (R.17.3)
• 12 Car Rallies & Navigational Scatters
• Navigational Rallies limited to 20 cars not being part of a championship.

To apply for a Taster Event, please apply online and add the words ‘Taster Event’ to the Event Description/Title of Event. If the event is part of a dual permit, then the Taster Event must be included in the Supplementary Regulations and in the title of the application, such as ‘Autotest – To include Taster Event’.

Competitors and Passengers do not require an RS Clubman licence if the event has a Certificate of Exemption unless specifically required by Motorsport UK.

A Gymkhana is a series of fun games or tests where no test is determined solely by the speed or skill of the driver controlling the vehicle.

The types of activity include balancing objects on the car bonnet, collecting items from cones and wheel changing. It is not an Autotest. You may time some activities but not to an accuracy of less than 5 seconds. There must not be more timed tests than untimed.

There is an overlap area of similarity between these two types of events, and this was designed to help clubs who may wish to take advantage of the Motorsport UK Insurance, which is only available with a Touring Assembly.

Definitions of these types can be found below – Generally, a Touring Assembly is an event which is more about the route, and a Social Run is more about where you are going. If you organise one of these events as a Motorsport UK Club you should make sure the event is advertised/defined correctly as either a Touring Assembly or Social Run to avoid confusion.

Social Run – Definition

A non-competitive run for likeminded participants where there is no other purpose than the camaraderie of motoring in company to a predetermined point and which is not within the jurisdiction of the Motorsport UK.

Social Runs were created to help the one make/marque car clubs, who organise these types of activities, and already have their own insurance cover. They are social gatherings that involve driving to a location rather than a motoring event.

Social Runs do not require a permit or exemption and are not covered by Motorsport UK insurance policies.

A route may be included, but the activity is more about where you are going or finishing. As an example: a trip to a Motor Museum, meeting up at Clubhouse about 9am leaving 9.30 expect to arrive at museum 12.30 for lunch, everybody welcome. You can suggest a route for entrants to follow but there is no: timing/ awards /penalties/treasure hunt problem solving/competition / requirement to visit controls. There is no requirement to contact the Route Liaison Officer (RLO) as it is not a Motorsport UK permitted event, but it maybe wise to notify them for information, especially you are using narrow single track roads to avoid clash with other events etc.

There is no limit on the number of vehicles, as it is no different than any other use of the public highway and organisers are not required to notify Motorsport UK of these events. We would recommend notifying the Police Authority out of courtesy especially if the event may affect local traffic.

Touring Assembly – Definition

An activity organised with the primary object of assembling tourists at a point determined beforehand.

In a Touring Assembly:
(a) a prescribed route may have to be followed.
(b) pre-arranged points may be provided for in the event’s itinerary,
(c) no limits of speed may be laid down,
(d) no requirement to visit prearranged points, other than a requirement to report at a final point not later than a specified time, are permitted
(e) no awards of any description, other than those in relation to activities arranged at the finishing point may be made or given.

Where any or all of the above points become a mandatory part of the itinerary the Event will be subject to the requirements of Route Authorisation (Motor Vehicles (Competitions and Trials) Regulations).

The Regulations for the event must be clearly endorsed ‘Touring Assembly’, and before publication the consent in writing of Motorsport UK and its approval of the regulations for the Touring Assembly have first been obtained, by issue of a Certificate of Exemption, and where the route runs through the territory of an ASN other than Motorsport UK, that R.1.3 of these Regulations has been complied with.

The programme of a Touring Assembly may include additional events (other than speed) provided that they are held only at the place of final assembly.

No prize money may be allocated in respect of Touring Assemblies.

Touring Assemblies must comply with Motorsport UK Regulations D5 and require a Certificate of Exemption (permit), which includes the Insurance cover to protect the club, officials and Motorsports UK. Clubs can apply online for a Touring Assembly Permit, club secretaries will have the login details, please apply a minimum of four weeks before the event after you have contacted the RLO. If members of the public are invited to the event this must be noted on the application.

Organisers will also have to consult the Motorsport UK Route Liaison Officer within good time, who checks for clashes with other events and ensures that the route does not infringe on any recorded map sensitive areas. If required, the RLO may request you contact the Police Authority. Contacting the Police is a courtesy, different areas have different requirements which the RLOs can advise on. There is no limit to the number of vehicles on Touring Assemblies, subject to RLO approval.

Once a Permit has been issued the Motorsport UK Public Liability insurance will be in place during the event to protect the club and landowners and Motorsport UK Officials, but please remember that on the public highway an individual’s RTA insurance is active, not the Motorsport UK policy. Details of Insurance cover can be found in Appendix 2 of the Motorsport UK Yearbook. Motorsport UK Regulations also require drivers, passengers and officials to be signed-on. This is for insurance purposes. The signing-on forms can be obtained from the Motorsport UK Resource Centre.

Note – The ‘Exemption’ part of the Certificate of Exemption is the exemption from the Motorsport UK judicial process, this indicates that there is no right of appeal to the Motor Sports Council, which means if a protest was made by a driver at the event, the driver cannot appeal to the MSC, the buck would stop with the Clerk (in the case of a Touring Assembly).

The term ‘12 cars’ originates from the Motor Vehicles Competitions and Trials Regulations, 12 cars is only related to competitive events and has nothing to do with non competitive Social Runs or Touring Assemblies.

Summary

If your club’s touring events are already adequately covered by insurance they can be organised as Social Runs, however if the club are not protected we would recommend you apply for a Certificate of Exemption and run events as Touring Assemblies as this will be covered by Motorsport UK Insurance Policies.

Touring Assemblies and Social Runs are not competitions so Authorisation under the Motor Vehicles (Competitions & Trials) Regulations 1969 is not required.

For Touring Assemblies there must not be any timing or requirement to visit pre-arranged points, other than the finish where a specified time ‘window’ may be included. No prize money may be allocated nor any awards given, except those in relation to activities off the public highway at the finish. Motorsport UK Clubs will require Certificate of Exemption to cover the event.

Details of the route for all events traversing the public highway whether wholly of partly must be supplied to the Route Liaison Officers (RLOs) within sufficient time and their advice acted upon. Please note where there is no route; details of the event must include the points to be visited. It is suggested that the contact be made with the Route Liaison Officers at the time of submission to the Permit Section of your application. (R2.1). An up to date list of RLO contacts can be obtained from the Document Library.

Social Runs do not require a Permit or Route Authorisation and it is not a requirement to contact the Route Liaison Officer.

If you are organising an event and you are unsure whether you need to apply for a Permit and/or Route Authorisation, please click here.

A 20/20 is a Navigational Rally that restricts entries to a maximum of 20 vehicles, and the RLO can agree to a lower level of PR work. At Clubmans grade you may invite up to 15 clubs, and the Regulations are covered by R16 and D4.5L.

The difference to a 12 Car Rally is for a 20/20 you have to apply for Route Authorisation as there are more than 12 cars. Route Authorisation complies with the Road Traffic Act and must be applied for a minimum of two months before the event.

For more information please refer to Events on the Public Highway

To apply for a 20/20 Navigational Permit, you’ll need to apply online for a Navigational Rally and add “to include 20/20” in the title.

Online applications for Certificate of Exemptions can be made up to a week before the date of the event. Postal applications for Certificate of Exemptions must be received no less than four weeks prior to the event.

For all other events, please see below:

• Clubmans – 4 weeks
• Interclub – 6 weeks
• National – 8 weeks
• International – 8 weeks

Any application for an event which requires a Motorsport UK Steward should be made as early as possible in order to fit in with the Motorsport UK Stewards’ quarterly pre-allocation periods.

Certain types of event (excluding Certificate of Exemption) require Supplementary Regulations to be submitted along with the application form. The outline and order for what must be contained within these SRs are detailed in the Motorsport UK Yearbook under Regulation D10.1. It is essential that ALL the required information is included in the correct order.

To assist with writing up your Supplementary Regulations, a template can be be downloaded from the Resource Centre.

The most common cause of this problem is that the SRs are not in the correct file format. To upload SRs when making an application online, they must be saved as a PDF file. Microsoft Word documents, TXT files and Microsoft Excel documents will not work. If you are unable to upload your SRs as a PDF file, please attach the original document in an email to competitionsandclubs@motorsportuk.org and they will be able to convert them into PDF file format for you.

Firstly, you must ensure that you are making your application with enough notice before the date of the event. Secondly, permit applications can only be made when logged in as the organising club. Logging in as a competitor/official will not allow you to make permit applications. Online permit applications can only be made in the name of the Club Secretary, Competition Secretary and Treasurer.

When logged in as the club you are able to apply for permits, add your club’s fixtures to our site, edit club details and edit club officials’ details.

There are two types of permit; Certificates of Exemption and Event Permits.

Certificates of Exemption are paid for prior to the event (when the application is made, whereas an Event Permit is paid for after the event (within 14 days), with an insurance fee and a permit fee charged per competitor.

All the up to date fees for permits can be found in the Resource Centre.

There are three ways to pay for permits:

1. Bank Transfer

To pay by bank transfer, login as the club in the members’ area and go to the ‘Fixtures and Permits’ page. Click the ‘Pay’ button to bring up the list of the Club’s outstanding Permits, followed by the [+] icon on the Permit you would like to pay. A popup will show providing details of where to send the payment. Click ‘Confirm’.

Please note it is important the Permit is returned to Motorsport UK as it contains the competitor numbers used to process the Permit fee.

2. Credit/Debit Card

The second option allows you to pay by credit or debit card via the Motorsport UK website. Follow the same procedure to pay by bank transfer, but instead of clicking ‘Pay by bank transfer’, click ‘Pay by Card’. Enter the number of competitors and check whether you have submitted post-event paperwork to the Competitions and Clubs department. Click the “Proceed” button and follow the on-screen instructions to enter your card details.

Motorsport UK accepts the following cards: Visa; Delta; EurocardMastercard; Switch and JCB. Regrettably, we DO NOT ACCEPT Electron; American Express; Diners Club or Solo.

If paying online the Permit does not need to be returned back to Motorsport UK.

3. Cheque

Alternatively, you can pay by cheque made payable to ‘Motorsport UK’. Fill in the box at the bottom of the permit with the number of competitors and multiply this by the figure to the right of “competitors @”. Add any other charges such as Stewards fees or late fees and enter the total in the adjacent space. Return the permit, along with a cheque for the total amount and all post-event paperwork to:

Motorsport UK
Bicester Motion
OX27 8FY

PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE THE TOP HALF OF THE PERMIT.

All permits must be paid in full within 14 days of the event being held. After this period for every week the permit is left unpaid, a late fee is added and an email sent to the Secretary and Treasurer of the Club from our automated email system.

If you have paid your Permit by bank transfer and returned the Permit by email/post and have still received a late fee email, please contact the Competitions and Clubs Department.

Any changes to permits after they have been issued (venue, date, etc.) must be notified in writing (e-mail is acceptable) to the Competitions and Clubs Department with revised Supplementary Regulations if necessary.

It is vital that Motorsport UK are notified of the cancellation of any event as soon as possible, particularly where a Motorsport UK steward is assigned. This can be done by either logging in as the Club and cancelling the Permit on the system, or by emailing Competitions and Clubs.

If you have been advised that a Motorsport UK Steward has been appointed, please also notify them directly.