Most category mistakes come from the same assumption: that the class follows what the vehicle looks like, or what it currently weighs. It rarely does. Every system in this guide decides the class from a document field, a measured dimension, a wheel count or the engine — and getting it wrong is usually treated as having no valid vignette at all.
What actually decides your class, country by country
Austria
What the class is read from Field F.2 on the registration document (technically permissible maximum laden mass)
The threshold that matters Up to 3.5 t → one category B vignette for cars, vans and motorhomes; motorcycles have their own category A. Above → GO-Box, distance-based
Switzerland
What the class is read from Maximum permissible weight
The threshold that matters Up to 3.5 t → one annual vignette for every vehicle, motorcycles included; a trailer needs its own. Above → heavy vehicle charge (PSVA)
Slovenia
What the class is read from Gross vehicle weight first, then height above the front axle
The threshold that matters Up to 3.5 t → class 2A under 1.3 m, 2B from 1.3 m at twice the price; homologated motorhomes are 2A whatever their height. Over 3.5 t → DarsGo
Czech Republic
What the class is read from Four wheels or more, up to 3.5 t — and the fuel
The threshold that matters Standard tariff for petrol, diesel and LPG; CNG, LNG and biomethane 50%; plug-in hybrids ≤ 50 g CO₂/km 25%; electric and hydrogen exempt. Motorcycles are outside the system
Slovakia
What the class is read from Two-track vehicles up to 3.5 t and every M1 car
The threshold that matters One price for cars, vans and motorhomes; motorcycles exempt; an O1/O2 trailer pays only when the combination exceeds 3.5 t
Hungary
What the class is read from Category D1, D2, D1M or U from the registration document
The threshold that matters D1: M1 cars with up to 7 seats, trailer included. D2: N1 vans and vehicles with 8+ seats, at a higher price. D1M: motorcycles. U: trailer of a D2 vehicle
Bulgaria
What the class is read from Maximum permissible weight and wheel count
The threshold that matters One tariff for every vehicle up to 3.5 t; fewer than four wheels pay nothing; a trailer pays only when the combination exceeds 3.5 t
Romania
What the class is read from Category A–D and the EURO class on the registration document
The threshold that matters A: cars with up to 9 seats; B: goods vehicles up to 3.5 t; C and D: buses. Each is priced in four bands — Electric, Euro 6, Euro 4–5, Euro 0–3
Moldova
What the class is read from Tariff position from the Fiscal Code annex
The threshold that matters Position 8703 covers a car and its attached trailer; goods vehicles up to 3.5 t have their own, higher tariff; dangerous goods pay double; motorcycles have no tariff at all
CountryWhat the class is read fromThe threshold that matters
AustriaField F.2 on the registration document (technically permissible maximum laden mass)Up to 3.5 t → one category B vignette for cars, vans and motorhomes; motorcycles have their own category A. Above → GO-Box, distance-based
SwitzerlandMaximum permissible weightUp to 3.5 t → one annual vignette for every vehicle, motorcycles included; a trailer needs its own. Above → heavy vehicle charge (PSVA)
SloveniaGross vehicle weight first, then height above the front axleUp to 3.5 t → class 2A under 1.3 m, 2B from 1.3 m at twice the price; homologated motorhomes are 2A whatever their height. Over 3.5 t → DarsGo
Czech RepublicFour wheels or more, up to 3.5 t — and the fuelStandard tariff for petrol, diesel and LPG; CNG, LNG and biomethane 50%; plug-in hybrids ≤ 50 g CO₂/km 25%; electric and hydrogen exempt. Motorcycles are outside the system
SlovakiaTwo-track vehicles up to 3.5 t and every M1 carOne price for cars, vans and motorhomes; motorcycles exempt; an O1/O2 trailer pays only when the combination exceeds 3.5 t
HungaryCategory D1, D2, D1M or U from the registration documentD1: M1 cars with up to 7 seats, trailer included. D2: N1 vans and vehicles with 8+ seats, at a higher price. D1M: motorcycles. U: trailer of a D2 vehicle
BulgariaMaximum permissible weight and wheel countOne tariff for every vehicle up to 3.5 t; fewer than four wheels pay nothing; a trailer pays only when the combination exceeds 3.5 t
RomaniaCategory A–D and the EURO class on the registration documentA: cars with up to 9 seats; B: goods vehicles up to 3.5 t; C and D: buses. Each is priced in four bands — Electric, Euro 6, Euro 4–5, Euro 0–3
MoldovaTariff position from the Fiscal Code annexPosition 8703 covers a car and its attached trailer; goods vehicles up to 3.5 t have their own, higher tariff; dangerous goods pay double; motorcycles have no tariff at all
When the engine changes the price
Two countries charge the same vehicle differently depending on what moves it. Romania, since 1 October 2026, prices by the EURO class on the registration document: electric cars pay least, Euro 0–3 cars most, and hybrids — plug-in included — pay by their EURO class. The Czech Republic prices by fuel: CNG, LNG and biomethane pay half, plug-in hybrids with at most 50 g CO₂/km a quarter, and electric and hydrogen vehicles nothing — but a car registered abroad must file an exemption notification before it uses the motorway.
The traps that produce most fines
Austria reads a document, not a scale. Since 1 December 2023 the decisive value is the technically permissible maximum laden mass in field F.2, not the vehicle's actual load and not its plated weight. A 3.4-tonne motorhome loaded light still needs a GO-Box if F.2 says more than 3,500 kg. Vehicles registered before that date with an F.2 above 3.5 t but a lower maximum permitted weight keep a transitional exemption until 31 January 2029.
Slovenia measures a height — except for motorhomes. Class 2B starts at 1.3 m measured above the front axle, not at the total height of the vehicle. Vehicles homologated as motorhomes stay in class 2A whatever their height; a converted panel van still registered as a van does not, and usually lands in 2B at twice the price. A wrongly chosen class is treated as a missing vignette, not as an underpayment.
Hungary reads the registration category, not the body. A van registered as N1 is category D2 even with five seats, and so is any vehicle with eight seats or more. Driving one on a D1 e-vignette makes you liable for a surcharge on the difference.
Trailers are not consistent across borders. Switzerland charges a trailer its own vignette. Austria, Slovenia, the Czech Republic and Romania cover it with the towing vehicle, and so does Hungary behind a D1 car. Slovakia and Bulgaria charge the trailer only when the combination exceeds 3.5 t. Moldova bundles the trailer into the car's tariff position. There is no European rule here — only national ones.
Check the class on the country guide before you pay: Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova.
