Originally Posted by
Carbonfiberboy
RUSA membership is required to belong to any rando club which requires this concurrent membership for its own membership, such as mine.
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I've never heard of a fee being required for a permanent, though I suppose it's possible for a club not to accept your card without a fee. And of course club and therefore possibly RUSA membership are required for the club to take and process your card for the permanent.
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I've also never heard of an ACP brevet without a fee, though again I suppose it's possible for a wealthy club to simply waive the fees and pay the expenses itself.
Perhaps you could explain more clearly when and how you've seen fees charged and waived.
You do not need to be a RUSA member to ride a brevet. For it to 'count', yes, RUSA membership is required. I do think you are correct that to be a member of a local rando club, RUSA membership is required.
After a quick search I've found quite a few permanents that charge anywhere from $5 to $10 to $25 (BMB being at $25). Guess it depends on the length and the region.
I'm pretty sure some of the east coast riders have monthly 200k brevets (not sure if they are ACP) that you can ride just by showing up and signing the waiver.
(*Edit - checking the PA Randonneurs it looks like they are $10 a ride)