Vehicle classes explained

Autovig EN operational reference on how European vignette systems classify cars, motorcycles, campers and vehicles with trailers.

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 or a wheel count — 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 → vignette at car rate. Above → GO-Box, distance-based

Switzerland

What the class is read from Maximum permissible weight

The threshold that matters Up to 3.5 t → the single annual vignette. Above → the lump-sum 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 → e-vignette, class 2A below 1.3 m and 2B above it. Over 3.5 t → DarsGo

Czech Republic

What the class is read from Four wheels or more, up to 3.5 t maximum permitted mass

The threshold that matters Motorcycles are outside the system. Plug-in hybrids ≤ 50 g CO₂/km pay 25%, CNG and biomethane 50%

Slovakia

What the class is read from Vehicle and trailer categories, entered at purchase

The threshold that matters Motorcycles are exempt. Trailers in categories O1 and O2 are charged separately

Hungary

What the class is read from Tariff categories D1, D1M and U

The threshold that matters D1M is cheaper for motorcycles on every product except the annual one, which is sold as D1

Bulgaria

What the class is read from Wheel count

The threshold that matters Fewer than four wheels — motorcycles, mopeds — pay nothing at all

Moldova

What the class is read from Tariff position from the Fiscal Code annex

The threshold that matters Position 8703 covers the car and its attached trailer together; dangerous goods pay double

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 → vignette at car rate. Above → GO-Box, distance-based

SwitzerlandMaximum permissible weightUp to 3.5 t → the single annual vignette. Above → the lump-sum heavy vehicle charge (PSVA)

SloveniaGross vehicle weight first, then height above the front axleUp to 3.5 t → e-vignette, class 2A below 1.3 m and 2B above it. Over 3.5 t → DarsGo

Czech RepublicFour wheels or more, up to 3.5 t maximum permitted massMotorcycles are outside the system. Plug-in hybrids ≤ 50 g CO₂/km pay 25%, CNG and biomethane 50%

SlovakiaVehicle and trailer categories, entered at purchaseMotorcycles are exempt. Trailers in categories O1 and O2 are charged separately

HungaryTariff categories D1, D1M and UD1M is cheaper for motorcycles on every product except the annual one, which is sold as D1

BulgariaWheel countFewer than four wheels — motorcycles, mopeds — pay nothing at all

MoldovaTariff position from the Fiscal Code annexPosition 8703 covers the car and its attached trailer together; dangerous goods pay double

The three 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, not the roof. Class 2B starts at 1.3 m measured above the front axle — not the total height of the vehicle. Converted panel vans routinely cross that line while factory-built coachbuilt motorhomes stay under it. A wrongly chosen class is treated as a missing vignette, not as an underpayment.

Trailers are not consistent across borders. Switzerland charges a trailer its own vignette. Austria and Slovenia cover it with the towing vehicle. Slovakia registers O1 and O2 trailers separately. 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.