Caught without a vignette in Europe

What happens if you drive without a vignette in Europe. Fines by country, how ANPR enforcement works, and what to do if a notice arrives.

Caught Without a Vignette in Europe 11 Oct 2026

No vignette country lets you drive first and pay whenever you like, and none sets a minimum distance — ten kilometres of motorway without a valid vignette is the same offence as a thousand. The few exceptions are narrow rules, not grace periods: Hungary imposes no surcharge for a camera check made in the 60 minutes before a correctly bought e-vignette starts, Bulgaria lets you close a case with a compensatory fee, and Moldova expects foreign drivers to pay on entry at the border.

How does enforcement work?

Vignette countries enforce mainly through Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR): fixed cameras on gantries and bridges, and mobile camera units. The plate is checked against the national e-vignette database; if no valid vignette is found for that plate on that date, the case is opened without anyone stopping you.

Cameras are backed by roadside checks — by the operator's control teams, the police or customs — and, in some countries, by checks at the border on the way out. How a case is settled then depends on the country, which is why the table below matters more than a general rule.

What happens after you’re caught — by country

The procedures differ: some countries send an automated payment demand, others settle the case at a roadside check, and Moldova does it at the border before you leave.

Country	First-stage amount (car)	If unpaid	Payment deadline	Grace period
Austria	€200.00 substitute toll	Up to €3,000.00 administrative fine	4 weeks (written demand)	None
Switzerland	CHF 200 fine + €42.74 (CHF 40) vignette = CHF 240 total	Administrative criminal proceedings	30 days (fixed-penalty procedure)	None
Hungary	HUF 27,790 surcharge	HUF 95,730 after 60 days	60 days	60 minutes, camera checks only
Slovenia	€300.00 fine, plus an e-vignette invoiced for the day of the offence	Ban on using toll roads until every invoice is paid	Stated on the invoice	None
Czech Republic	Up to CZK 5,000 on the spot	Up to CZK 20,000 in administrative proceedings	Set in the penalty order	None
Slovakia	€150.00 camera order to the vehicle operator	€100.00–€500.00 for the driver in administrative proceedings	Two-thirds counts if paid in 15 days	None
Romania	RON 456–RON 1,320	Administrative enforcement	Half the minimum within 15 days	None
Bulgaria	€46.50 compensatory fee	€153.39 (BGN 300) administrative fine	14 days	None
Moldova	MDL 2,250–MDL 3,000 if unpaid for up to 7 days	MDL 3,000–MDL 4,500 or MDL 4,500–MDL 6,000 for longer	Before leaving the country	None — the vinieta is due on entry

Austria

First-stage amount (car) €200.00 substitute toll

If unpaid Up to €3,000.00 administrative fine

Payment deadline 4 weeks (written demand)

Grace period None

Switzerland

First-stage amount (car) CHF 200 fine + €42.74 (CHF 40) vignette = CHF 240 total

If unpaid Administrative criminal proceedings

Payment deadline 30 days (fixed-penalty procedure)

Grace period None

Hungary

First-stage amount (car) HUF 27,790 surcharge

If unpaid HUF 95,730 after 60 days

Payment deadline 60 days

Grace period 60 minutes, camera checks only

Slovenia

First-stage amount (car) €300.00 fine, plus an e-vignette invoiced for the day of the offence

If unpaid Ban on using toll roads until every invoice is paid

Payment deadline Stated on the invoice

Grace period None

Czech Republic

First-stage amount (car) Up to CZK 5,000 on the spot

If unpaid Up to CZK 20,000 in administrative proceedings

Payment deadline Set in the penalty order

Grace period None

Slovakia

First-stage amount (car) €150.00 camera order to the vehicle operator

If unpaid €100.00–€500.00 for the driver in administrative proceedings

Payment deadline Two-thirds counts if paid in 15 days

Grace period None

Romania

First-stage amount (car) RON 456–RON 1,320

If unpaid Administrative enforcement

Payment deadline Half the minimum within 15 days

Grace period None

Bulgaria

First-stage amount (car) €46.50 compensatory fee

If unpaid €153.39 (BGN 300) administrative fine

Payment deadline 14 days

Grace period None

Moldova

First-stage amount (car) MDL 2,250–MDL 3,000 if unpaid for up to 7 days

If unpaid MDL 3,000–MDL 4,500 or MDL 4,500–MDL 6,000 for longer

Payment deadline Before leaving the country

Grace period None — the vinieta is due on entry

Do fines follow you home?

Within the EU, increasingly yes. Directive (EU) 2019/520 on the interoperability of electronic road toll systems and facilitating cross-border exchange of information on the failure to pay road fees lets Member States exchange vehicle registration data to identify the holder of a vehicle whose road fee was not paid, and to send that holder a notice. Romania, for example, fines EU-registered vehicles after camera detection on that basis. Slovakia sends its camera order with an information form also in an official language of the registration state for EU and EEA vehicles.

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Camera scan

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Registry lookup

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Fine notice

Outside the EU — for vehicles registered in the UK or Switzerland, or for Moldova and Switzerland as the countries of the offence — those EU rules do not apply, and what happens depends on national law and bilateral arrangements. An unpaid case can still resurface at a roadside or border check on a later trip.

The three most common reasons drivers get caught

Transit assumption

Assuming "just passing through" a country doesn’t require a vignette. Any motorway use — even 10 km — requires a valid vignette, and transit routes are exactly where cameras are concentrated.

Expired vignette

Driving on the first day after a vignette expires. No vignette country extends a vignette beyond its end date. The ANPR system checks the exact date — yesterday’s vignette is worthless today.

Wrong plate number

Buying a vignette with a single typo in the plate number. The vignette exists in the system — but for a different plate. Your car has no coverage, and the fine is identical to having nothing at all.

What to do if a fine notice arrives

Don’t ignore it

unpaid fines escalate in every country. Austria’s €200.00 becomes a fine of up to €3,000.00. Hungary’s HUF 27,790 becomes HUF 95,730. Ignoring the notice never makes it go away.

Quick questions

Can I contest a vignette fine?

Yes, but only if you had a valid vignette at the time of the alleged offence. Contact the operator with your confirmation email, reference number, and plate details. If the system made an error, the fine will be cancelled. If you genuinely didn’t have a vignette, a camera image showing your plate on a tolled road is hard to dispute.

I was only on the motorway for 5 minutes — does that count?

Yes. There is no minimum distance or time threshold. Any use of the motorway network requires a valid vignette, regardless of duration.

My vignette expired yesterday — is there a grace period?

No. No vignette country offers a grace period after expiry. If your vignette expired at 23:59 yesterday and you enter the motorway at 00:01 today, you are driving without a valid vignette.

I’m from the UK — will the fine actually reach me?

The EU exchange of vehicle data on unpaid road fees does not cover UK-registered vehicles, so a notice by post is less certain than within the EU. That does not make the offence go away: some operators use international debt collection, and an unpaid case can resurface at a roadside or border check on a later trip.