Frequently asked questions about European vignettes

No. Each country issues its own vignette through its own operator. There is no combined pass, no EU-wide system, and no single vignette that covers multiple countries. You need a separate vignette for every vignette country you drive through.

Nine countries currently use a vignette system. Seven are EU member states: Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Romania and Bulgaria. Two sit just outside the EU: Switzerland (an EFTA country surrounded by EU member states) and Moldova (an EU candidate on the Union’s eastern border, where the e-vignette applies to foreign-registered vehicles). All other European countries either use toll barriers (France, Italy, Spain, Croatia, Norway, Greece) or have free motorways for cars (Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Scandinavia).

A vignette is a time-based motorway charge linked to your vehicle’s licence plate number. In all nine countries you can buy it digitally: your plate is registered in the system and cameras verify it automatically as you drive, so you do not stop at a barrier. Switzerland still sells an adhesive sticker alongside the e-vignette, and 2026 is the last year Austria offers a sticker.

A vignette gives unlimited motorway access for a fixed period (1 day, 10 days, 1 month, 1 year etc.) for one upfront price. A toll road charges per section — you pay as you go, either at a barrier or electronically. France, Italy, Spain and Croatia use toll roads. Austria, Switzerland and Hungary use vignettes.

The vignette requirement applies to any use of the motorway or expressway network, including transit. If your route uses the motorway even briefly — for example driving through Austria on the way from Germany to Italy — you need a valid Austrian vignette for that day. There is no transit exemption.

Cars, vans up to 3.5 tonnes and motorhomes up to 3.5 tonnes need a vignette in all nine vignette countries. Motorcycles need one in Austria, Switzerland, Hungary and Slovenia, but not in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria or Romania; Moldova sets no vinieta rate for motorcycles, and its official portal sells no motorcycle product. Trailer rules differ by country — see the trailer question below. Vehicles over 3.5 tonnes switch to distance-based heavy-vehicle tolls in Austria (GO-Box), Switzerland (LSVA), Slovenia (DarsGo), Hungary (HU-GO), the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Bulgaria and Romania; in Moldova the vinieta itself has higher rates for buses and lorries.

The official operator website is the reference channel for the current tariff and registration rules. Autovig links to that portal from every country guide; verify the plate, country and validity start before confirming.

It depends on the country. The Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria let you buy up to 30 days before the start date, and Slovakia up to 60 days within the vignette’s edition year. Austria’s annual vignette has a fixed window instead: the 2026 product runs from 1 December 2025 to 31 January 2027. Check the country guide for the exact rule before you plan around it.

In some countries, yes. Bulgaria sells e-vignettes at staffed desks at its main border crossings, and Moldova expects payment on entry, with payment points at every border crossing. For Austria you can also buy at petrol stations and ASFINAG sales points near the border. Elsewhere, buy online before you reach the first road that needs the vignette.

In most countries yes — Hungary, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Moldova activate immediately. Austria is the exception: 1-day and 10-day vignettes activate immediately, but 2-month and annual digital vignettes are only valid from the 18th day after the online registration is completed. Plan ahead if you need the Austrian annual vignette for a near-term trip.

Yes. When completing the registration, you enter the destination vehicle’s licence plate number. The vignette is registered to that plate, not to the person completing the request. There is no requirement that the driver and the person arranging it be the same.

Only for the country the car is rented in, and even then not always. A car registered in Switzerland needs the Swiss vignette to use the motorways, so Swiss rentals normally have it; elsewhere it depends on the company. Cars rented in Germany, France or the UK rarely include vignettes for neighbouring countries. Ask the rental desk explicitly before you cross a border, and get the answer in writing.

If your vehicle weighs up to 3.5 tonnes it falls under the car vignette category in all nine vignette countries and the same prices apply. Over 3.5 tonnes, different rules apply — in Austria you need a GO-Box, in Switzerland a separate heavy vehicle charge (LSVA). Check your vehicle registration document for the precise weight (permissible maximum laden mass).

The vignette is linked to the vehicle’s licence plate number, not to the driver. If you change vehicles — for example switching to a hire car mid-trip — you need a new vignette for the new plate. If the plate changes or the car is sold, whether the vignette can be moved depends on the operator’s rules, so check them before relying on it.

In Switzerland, a trailer or caravan towed behind a car requires its own vignette — you need two. In Austria, by contrast, a light trailer is covered by the towing car’s vignette (up to 3.5 t combined). In Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Romania the car vignette also covers the trailer, and so does a Hungarian D1 car vignette (a trailer behind a D2 van needs its own U e-vignette). In Slovakia and Bulgaria the trailer needs its own vignette only when car and trailer together exceed 3.5 t. In Moldova, the published car tariff explicitly covers the vehicle and an attached trailer. Always verify this for the specific country before you travel.

Yes in seven of the nine vignette countries, at the same price as a petrol or diesel vehicle: Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria and Moldova set the tariff by vehicle category — weight, height, seats or use — never by drivetrain, and their official tariff tables have no electric rate. Two countries differ. The Czech Republic exempts electric and hydrogen vehicles, but a vehicle registered abroad must file an exemption notification on edalnice.gov.cz before it uses the motorway. Romania still requires a rovinieta for an electric car, at its own and lowest tariff: €42.61 (RON 228) for 12 months against €47.47 (RON 254) for a Euro 6 car.

For short-term vignettes (1-day, 10-day, 1-week) you typically specify a start date during the registration flow, or it activates immediately. For Austrian annual and 2-month vignettes, validity begins on the 18th day after the online registration is completed — you cannot activate them immediately. For Swiss, Hungarian, Slovenian, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Bulgarian, and Moldovan vignettes, you set the start date during registration and it activates on that date.

In most countries you choose the start date during registration, within a set window — up to 30 days ahead in the Czech Republic, Romania and Bulgaria, up to 60 days in Slovakia. Setting it to your planned border-crossing day before you leave home is the safest approach. Austria is the exception: 2-month and annual digital vignettes bought online by consumers only become valid on the 18th day, whatever start date you enter.

You need a new one before continuing on the motorway. There is no grace period: if your vignette expired yesterday and a camera or a roadside check records you on a tolled road today, you are driving without one.

The Austrian annual vignette (Jahresvignette) is valid for 14 months, not 12. The vignette for a given year runs from 1 December of the previous year through 31 January of the following year, so the 2026 vignette ends on 31 January 2027 whether it is arranged in December 2025, January 2026 or March 2026.

Yes. One Swiss vignette (€42.74 (CHF 40)) covers the whole network of national roads subject to the charge. Although it is sold as an annual vignette, it is valid from 1 December of the previous year through 31 January of the following year — 14 months, like the Austrian annual.

Cameras and roadside checks look for a valid vignette for your plate. In Austria the substitute toll is €200.00; if it is not paid, an administrative fine of up to €3,000.00 can follow. In Slovenia the fine is €300.00, and the missing e-vignette is invoiced on top. Within the EU, Directive (EU) 2019/520 lets Member States exchange vehicle data on unpaid road fees, so a case does not disappear when you cross the border. The caught-without-a-vignette guide compares every country.

Mostly by camera, but not only. ANPR cameras on gantries, bridges and mobile units check plates against the vignette database, and the operators’ control teams, the police and customs also stop vehicles. In Bulgaria and Slovakia many cases are settled at a roadside check, and in Moldova at the border before you leave. Where a camera detects the offence, the first sign is usually a payment demand by post.

In many countries the vignette applies only to motorways and expressways, so yes — but it usually adds hours to a transit and raises fuel costs. It does not work everywhere: in Bulgaria the vignette also covers class I, II and III republican roads, in Romania the national roads, and in Moldova a foreign car needs it for its whole stay. For a short transit, even Switzerland’s annual vignette (€42.74 (CHF 40)) usually costs less than the detour.

Do not use the motorway until you have one. Pull over at the first safe opportunity before the motorway starts (or take the next exit if you’ve inadvertently entered). Arrange it online immediately on your phone — most countries activate within minutes. In Austria you can also get one at petrol stations. Do not continue on the motorway without a valid vignette hoping to sort it out later.

No. German motorways (Autobahnen) are free for cars and motorcycles. There is no vignette and no toll for private vehicles. Heavy goods vehicles pay the LKW-Maut (truck toll), but this does not apply to cars, vans, or motorhomes under 3.5 tonnes.

Croatia uses toll roads, not a vignette. Tolls are paid per section at barriers operated by HAC, Autocesta Zagreb–Macelj and Bina-Istra — take a ticket on entry, pay by card or cash on exit, or use an ENC transponder for discounts. A nationwide electronic free-flow system (Crolibertas) is announced for 2027; until it launches, expect classic toll barriers. Full details in the Croatia toll guide.

Yes. The main route from Germany to Italy via the Brenner uses the A12 Inn Valley motorway, which needs a valid Austrian vignette, and then the A13 Brenner motorway, which charges its own section toll (€12.50) instead. The 1-day vignette (€9.60) is the minimum for a pure transit; the 10-day vignette (€12.80) suits a short stay. There is no transit exemption.

Yes, for some tunnels. The vignette covers the national roads, but the Great St Bernard and Munt la Schera tunnels charge their own tolls. The Gotthard road tunnel is part of the national road network and needs only the vignette. Check the specific tunnel before you travel.