If you’re getting ready to open a car or truck dealership in Victoria, you’ve probably already learned that a Licensed Motor Car Trader (LMCT) licence is non-negotiable. What catches a lot of first-time applicants off guard is discovering that the licence application and your premises’ planning status are tied together far more tightly than expected. Before Consumer Affairs Victoria (CAV) will seriously assess your paperwork, your business location often has to clear a planning permit hurdle first.
So, do you need a planning permit for an LMCT licence? In many cases, yes — but not always. It depends on your specific site, how it’s zoned, and how it’s been used in the recent past. Here’s how to figure out exactly where your situation falls.
What Does a Planning Permit Have to Do With an LMCT Licence?
An LMCT licence isn’t just a check on your character, finances, and paperwork. CAV also needs confidence that the physical site where you’ll display, store, and sell vehicles is legally approved for that purpose. That’s where local council planning schemes come in. Each municipality zones land for specific uses, and vehicle sales premises usually need to sit within a commercial or industrial zone that permits that activity.
If your council hasn’t already approved the site for motor vehicle trading, you may need to apply for a permit before your LMCT application can move forward. Skipping this step is one of the most common reasons applications stall.
When You Actually Need a Planning Permit
New or Never-Used Premises
If you’ve secured a site that has never operated as a vehicle dealership before, a planning permit is almost always required. Councils want proof that the location can handle the traffic, signage, and storage demands of a dealership before signing off.
Change of Use From a Previous Business
Moving into a space that previously ran a completely different type of business — a warehouse, a retail store, a café — usually counts as a change of land use. Even if the zoning looks broadly compatible, councils typically want a formal application confirming the new use is appropriate.
Premises That Have Sat Vacant
Here’s a detail many applicants miss: if a site was used for vehicle trading in the past but has sat vacant or been used for something else for more than six months, most councils treat it as though the trading use has lapsed. That means you’ll likely need a fresh permit, even if a dealership operated there years earlier.
When You Might Not Need One
If you’re taking over premises that have been continuously and lawfully used for motor vehicle trading, with no significant gap, you may be able to proceed without lodging a new permit application. That said, “may” is doing a lot of work in that sentence — it’s still worth getting written confirmation from your local council before you assume you’re in the clear. Relying on assumptions here is exactly how applications end up delayed.
How to Check If Your Site Needs a Permit
Rather than guessing, take these steps early:
- Contact your local council’s planning department and ask directly whether a permit is required for your intended use at that address.
- Request a written zoning certificate confirming the site’s current planning classification.
- Ask about the site’s trading history, particularly whether vehicle sales have operated there continuously.
- Get everything in writing. A verbal confirmation from a council officer won’t carry weight if questions come up later in your CAV application.
Doing this before you sign a lease or purchase agreement can save you from committing to a site that isn’t viable for your dealership.
What Happens If You Skip This Step
Applicants who assume their premises are fine — without confirming it — often find out the hard way. CAV can pause or reject an LMCT application if the required planning approval isn’t in place, and by that point you may have already signed a lease, ordered signage, or started marketing your opening. Understanding why council zoning certificates matter more than most applicants realise is worth exploring early, since it’s rarely the first thing new dealers think to check.
Planning Permits for Car Dealers vs Truck Dealers
The core planning requirement is the same regardless of what you’re selling, but the practical details can differ. Anyone opening a car dealership in Melbourne typically needs a standard commercially zoned site with enough space for display and customer access. Truck dealerships tend to face closer scrutiny, since starting a truck dealership usually means securing a larger, often industrial-zoned yard that can accommodate heavy vehicle movement, storage, and access roads. If you’re still deciding which direction suits your business, it’s worth comparing both paths before locking in a site.
Steps to Sort Your Planning Permit Before You Apply
- Identify your intended premises and confirm its current zoning.
- Contact the council to check whether a permit or a use confirmation is required.
- Lodge a planning permit application if needed, allowing time for assessment.
- Keep copies of all correspondence and approvals for your LMCT application.
- Only then proceed with lodging your LMCT licence application through CAV.
Understanding the full checklist of documents needed for your application alongside your planning status helps you submit a complete, well-prepared package the first time, rather than facing back-and-forth requests from CAV.
Set Your LMCT Application Up for Success
Planning permits aren’t just a council formality — they’re often the first real test of whether your LMCT application will move smoothly or stall for months. Reviewing what inspectors look for before approving a dealership premises and confirming your zoning status early gives you a much stronger starting position. And if you’re unsure why applications sometimes take longer than expected, it’s worth understanding why LMCT applications get delayed before you submit yours.
Getting this right from day one puts you in a far stronger position when your application lands on a CAV officer’s desk.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not necessarily. It depends on your premises’ zoning and trading history. Sites with an unbroken history of vehicle trading may not need a fresh permit, while new or repurposed sites usually do.
Contact your local council’s planning department and request written confirmation of the zoning classification and any conditions attached to it.
If a site hasn’t been used for vehicle trading in more than six months, most councils treat the trading use as lapsed, meaning a new planning permit is typically required.
Generally, residential zoning doesn’t permit commercial vehicle trading, so a dedicated commercially or industrially zoned site is usually required. For a closer look at this specific scenario, see running a dealership from home.
The planning permit process is similar, but truck dealerships often need larger, industrial-zoned sites due to vehicle size and manoeuvring requirements.
Timeframes vary by council, but it can take anywhere from several weeks to a few months, so it’s worth starting this process well before submitting your LMCT application.
It’s generally better to have planning approval secured first, since CAV may pause or delay your application if your premises’ status isn’t confirmed.
Your local council’s planning or statutory planning department is the right first point of contact for zoning and permit questions.
Significant changes to how a site is used, such as expanding storage areas or altering vehicle access, may require council approval, so it’s worth checking before making major changes.