Hungarian motorways are subject to tolls. There are some specific rules regarding toll payment in Hungary. Also, you might want to consider for how long and for what vehicle category you would like to purchase entitlement.
In Hungary, driving onto highways is only and exclusively allowed if you have a highway vignette, that is, payment must be performed before entering the toll road.
What vehicle categories are there in Hungary?
No matter what category vehicle you own, you need to pay if you wish to enter a toll road. However, the amount of money to be paid is determined by the period of time and the vehicle category you intend to buy entitlement for. Lets take a closer look at the latter aspect, and see the different vehicle categories in the Hungarian system.
• Motorcycles fall into category D1M. This means that you are required to buy a highway vignette when travelling on toll roads by motorcycles. However, it is important to note that there are only two types of e-vignettes available for this vehicle category: a ten-day vignettes and monthly stickers. This is due to the fact that the motorcycle season lasts from spring to autumn, that is, they are not used all year long. This is the reason why there are no annual e-vignettes for motorcycles. However, if you need an annual vignette for your motorbike, you can buy annual vignette D1, which can also be used for motorcycles.
• What types of vehicles are included in category D1? The category includes passenger cars with a maximum authorised weight of 3.5 tons, and up to 5+2 (altogether 7) seats. Passenger cars with the above mentioned gross weight and the number of seats may also have a trailer, that is, no further payment is required in that case. If your car falls into vehicle category D1, and you use a trailer, you don’t need to pay for those combinations of vehicles as they are included in category D1 vignettes. Open your registration certificate and check out field J. Code M1 refers to category D1.
• Vehicle category D2 includes all vehicles that do not fall into any other vehicle category, and there is no specific legislation, that would identify them as HU-GO tolled motor vehicles. RV-s, minibuses and smaller trucks generally fall into this category. Thus, the code referring to this category in field J of your registration certificate might be M1 or N1. It may be M1 because it is designed to carry more than 7 persons, or N1 as it can be considered a lorry, but may not exceed the maximum gross weight of 3,5 tons.
• Category B2 includes buses. In this case the code in field J of the registration certificate may be both M2 and M3. This category includes motor vehicles designed to carry passengers, that is, there are more than 9 permanent seats including the driver.
• What does category U stand for? If you attach a trailer to your category D2 or B2 vehicle, the trailer is also subject to charges on toll roads. That is, a separate digital vignette must be purchased and the price is determined by category U.
What are the different types of e-vignettes in Hungary?
There are four different type of e-vignettes in Hungary (except for vehicle category D1M):
• weekly e-vignette (actually valid for 10 days)
• monthly e-vignette
• annual regional e-vignette (toll roads of a specific county can be used throughout the year)
• annual national e-vignette (no restrictions, all toll roads are available throughout the year).
The price depends on the length of time you need to use the toll road for. The longer the period, the more expensive it is.
When should I purchase the highway sticker?
According to Hungarian legislation e-vignettes must be purchased prior to entering the toll road section. Road users without a valid e-vignette at inspection must pay a fine. Luckily, the company operating motorways believes that toll road users without entitlement only forgot to purchase a vignette before entering toll roads of Hungary or happened to enter them accidentally. Thus, they act in good faith, which means that you still have 60 minutes to purchase an e-vignette after entering a toll road. If you successfully complete the transaction within 60 minutes of entering the toll road section, you will not be fined and there will be no negative consequences. However, not having a valid highway vignette within 60 minutes will definitely result in a fine.
You can easily purchase your e-vignette online while travelling using your smart phone. Do not purchase the sticker while driving. Ask a passenger to help you or stop your car before starting the transaction.
Also, make sure to check all the data before confirming your purchase and paying the specific amount. The most important data to be checked are: the registration number, the country code, the vehicle category and the validity period.
Once you have completed the purchase, a confirmation message will be sent to you with all the relevant data and the vignette ID. Please, keep the confirmation message for two years after expiry.
