How to register for a car show

Most organisers share a direct registration link on Facebook, by email or on their club website. If you have that link, open it and skip ahead. If you only have the show page, look under Quick Links for Register your vehicle.

That button only appears while the show is open for registration, and it disappears once the show is full. If the show is full but you have the organiser's direct link, the form still opens and you join the waitlist (more on that below). Some shows only accept certain makes. If so, the form tells you which ones, and the Make list shows only those.

Photos. The registration form has no photo upload. The photos on your entry come from a car in your Garage, so if you want photos on your car page, set them up in your Garage first and register while signed in (see the Garage section below).

If the system thinks you have already entered the same vehicle, it shows a Duplicate vehicle detected warning with Register anyway and Cancel buttons. Cancel if it was a double click. Register anyway if you really are entering a second entry.

The price comes from the entry type you pick (or a fee set on the class). When a fee applies, a How will you pay? step appears. The payment methods offered are the ones the organiser has turned on: cash on the day, Venmo, Zelle, Cash App or card online. Once you pick a method you see the entry fee and the total. Paying by card online can add a platform fee line, and it takes you to a secure checkout page before you are registered. For the other methods the confirmation screen shows the organiser's payment instructions.

Full show, class or entry type. You can still register. The form says so, and you join the waitlist. You do not pay anything while you are waitlisted. If a space opens, the organiser confirms you and emails you.

As soon as you submit, a confirmation screen appears and an email follows. It lists your car number (when one has been assigned), the show, date, venue, your vehicle and class. A new entry is usually Pending until the organiser confirms it. If you are on the waitlist, you get a waitlist notice instead. Check your spam folder if it does not arrive.

The dash card is the placard that goes on your dashboard at the show. Registering needs no account, but viewing and printing your dash card needs a free account. The confirmation email, sent once your entry is confirmed, has a button that sets this up in a few seconds.

If you already have an account, the button says Sign in to view your dash card. Sign in and the card opens straight away. The link in the email lasts 30 days. After that, or if you lost the email, see Find my registration below. You can also sign in at any time, open My Entries and press Print dash card next to the entry.

On Expert shows, the card carries a QR code that opens your car's public page. On Basic shows the card has no QR code. Organisers can also print any card themselves, so if you cannot print at home, ask the organiser whether they will have one ready at the gate. Entries made before this account step was introduced keep their original link, which still opens without signing in.

Sign in and open My Entries. Under the entry, press Edit details. You can change the Trim / variant and the Description, then press Save. The description shows on your dash card and your car page. The option is available until the show is completed, and not for a withdrawn entry. To change anything else, such as the year, make or model, contact the organiser.

1. Open the show page and click Find my registration at the bottom.
2. Enter the email, first name and last name you registered with. All three must match.
3. Your registrations for that organiser's shows are listed.
4. Press Email me my dash card link. A fresh link goes to the address on the registration.

For privacy, the answer is the same whether or not anything matched. If nothing arrives, check the spelling of your details and your spam folder.

• ✓Bring your dash card (or your car number) and check in at the gate. On Expert shows staff can scan the QR code on your card. Either way, they can look you up by name or entry number.
• ✓Put the dash card on your dashboard once you are parked.
• ✓Visitors who scan the QR code land on your car's public page, with your details and, when the organiser has People's Choice voting on, a way to vote. No login or app is needed to scan or vote.
• ✓Send your car page link to family and friends before the day if you want them to vote for you. On Expert shows the confirmation screen reminds you to save it.

See how People's Choice voting works for the organiser's side.

If you enter more than one show, create a Garage. It is part of your free account. You build the car once, then register it again for any show without retyping it.

Registering a Garage car for a show

Open the show's registration form while signed in. Your name and email are filled in from your account, and a Your Garage box lists your cars. Choose one and the form fills in its year, make, model, trim / variant and description (the description only if the car has one). The car's cover photo, extra photos and Build story are attached to your entry as well. There are no boxes for them on the form, so you will not see them being copied.

Colour, state and plate are not filled in from the Garage, and you still choose the entry type, class and payment yourself. If the show only accepts certain makes, a Garage car that is not on the list is greyed out and marked Not eligible. Anyone can still register without signing in; they just type everything and have no photos.

Make your Garage public (optional)

Your Garage is private until you choose otherwise. To share it, give it a name, then switch on Make garage public in My Garage. You also choose which cars are public: the globe button on a car switches it between public and private. Public cars appear on your garage page and in the search on /garages, where the community browses builds. The page also features a model each week. A model needs at least three public, photographed cars from different owners to be picked, so photos help.

You can also switch on Let visitors message me. A Contact owner button then appears on your public garage. Visitors fill in a form and you get their message by email. Your email address and phone number are never shown to them. It is off by default and only appears once your garage is public.