HGS Vehicle Classes: How Turkey Prices Its Tolls

Türkiye sorts every vehicle into one of six HGS classes. The class decides what you pay at every bridge, tunnel, and motorway gantry in the country. The line between the two commonest classes isn’t size or weight. It’s wheelbase: under 3.20 m is Class 1, and 3.20 m or more is Class 2.

That one measurement can add 27% to a bridge toll, and considerably more over a long motorway run. It also decides which Bosphorus bridges you may use.

What the class controls:

• The fee at every gantry, bridge, and tunnel in the country
• Which İstanbul crossings you’re permitted to take
• Whether a mismatch can get your plate blacklisted

Here’s how the six classes work, where ordinary vehicles fall, and why guessing isn’t worth it.

Key Takeaways

• Class 1 is two axles under a 3.20 m wheelbase, covering nearly all ordinary cars, while Class 2 starts at 3.20 m and catches long vans, minibuses, and larger campervans.
• Classes 3 to 5 are set purely by axle count, and motorcycles sit in Class 6 at half the Class 1 rate on KGM roads.
• KGM warns that repeatedly using a label that doesn’t match the vehicle leads to blacklisting.

The Six Classes

The definitions come straight from KGM, and they’re used identically by the private operators.

Class	Definition	Typical vehicles
1	Two axles, wheelbase under 3.20 m	Cars, small vans, most SUVs
2	Two axles, wheelbase 3.20 m or more	Long-wheelbase vans, minibuses, larger campervans
3	Three axles	Coaches, three-axle trucks, car and caravan combinations
4	Four or five axles	Articulated lorries
5	Six or more axles	Heavy freight combinations
6	Motorcycles	All motorcycles

Source: Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü, verified 20 July 2026.

Note what’s missing from that table: weight. Turkish toll classification runs on axles and wheelbase, never on how heavy the vehicle is. An empty long-wheelbase van pays exactly what a loaded one pays.

What the Class Difference Costs

The gap’s small on the older Bosphorus bridges and dramatic on the newer crossings.

Crossing	Class 1	Class 2	Class 3
15 July Martyrs / Fatih Sultan Mehmet	59 TL	75 TL	168 TL
Yavuz Sultan Selim	110 TL	145 TL	270 TL
Osmangazi Bridge	1,170 TL	1,870 TL	2,225 TL
1915 Çanakkale Bridge	1,170 TL	1,465 TL	2,635 TL
İstanbul to Ankara, full motorway	338 TL	390 TL	522 TL

Source: KGM 2026 tariff schedules, valid July 2026.

Crossing Osmangazi in a long-wheelbase van costs 700 TL more than in a car. Over a two-week tour with several major crossings, your class can move the total by thousands of lira. The full tariff set is in our 2026 toll price guide.

Where Ordinary Vehicles Actually Fall

Most people never have to think about this. A few should:

Vehicle	Usual class
Car or SUV	Class 1
Short-wheelbase van	Class 1
Long-wheelbase van or minibus	Class 2
Coachbuilt motorhome	Class 2
Car plus caravan	Class 3
Motorcycle	Class 6

Cars and SUVs. Class 1, almost without exception. Even large estates and seven-seat SUVs sit under the 3.20 m line, so you’re unlikely to be caught out.

Vans. This is the real boundary, and it’s worth checking rather than assuming:

• Short-wheelbase van: usually Class 1
• Long-wheelbase version of the same model: often Class 2
• Hired van for a move or a surf trip: ask the desk for the wheelbase

Campervans and motorhomes. Panel-van conversions are Class 1 or Class 2, depending on the base vehicle. Coachbuilt motorhomes on a long chassis are usually Class 2. Height matters separately, because anything over 2.8 m is banned from the Eurasia Tunnel.

Car plus caravan. Adding a caravan adds axles, so you’re in Class 3 at most crossings. It changes where you can go too, because caravans are fine on the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge but banned from the tunnel. Our İstanbul bridge tolls guide has the detail.

Motorcycles. Class 6, and it’s the cheapest way across anything. Since 24 October 2015 they’ve paid 50% of the Class 1 rate on KGM roads and bridges.

Why the Wrong Class Causes Problems

For a Turkish resident with a physical label, using one bought for a different class is a compliance issue. KGM’s published position is that repeated mismatches get the vehicle blacklisted, which turns every later crossing into a dispute.

For a foreign-plated driver the mechanism differs, but the outcome is similar:

What happens	Consequence
You register the wrong class	The wrong fee is deducted
The system reads a mismatch	The crossing is flagged and re-billed
You want it corrected	You deal with KGM, not the seller

The practical advice is simple:

• Check the wheelbase on your vehicle documents before you register
• Towing? Register the combination you’ll actually be driving
• Renting? Ask the desk which class the vehicle falls into

Our registration walkthrough shows where the class is selected.

Class and Bridge Access Are Linked

Class doesn’t only set the price. In İstanbul it sets your route too, which catches drivers out.

Class	Where it may cross the Bosphorus
1	Anywhere, including the tunnel
2	Fatih Sultan Mehmet, and the tunnel only if a minibus within the limits
3 to 5	Yavuz Sultan Selim only
6	The bridges, subject to the tunnel’s own rules

So a Class 3 combination isn’t just paying 168 TL instead of 59 TL. It’s driving north to a different bridge.

The Short Version

Turkish tolls run on six classes. The one that matters to most visitors is the 3.20 m wheelbase line between Class 1 and Class 2. Cars sit comfortably in Class 1, while long vans, larger campervans, and anything towing move up. The price gap grows sharply at the newer bridges.

Before you register a plate, run through this:

Check	Why
Wheelbase on the vehicle documents	Sets Class 1 or Class 2
Axle count, including any trailer	Pushes you to Class 3 or higher
Height, if over 2.8 m	Bans you from the Eurasia Tunnel
Class on the registration	A mismatch risks blacklisting

Getting it right at registration beats correcting it later.

You can register a foreign plate with the right class in a few minutes. The 2026 tariff list shows what each class pays, and how the HGS system works covers the basics if you’re new to it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Class 1 in the Turkish HGS system?

Class 1 covers two-axle vehicles with a wheelbase under 3.20 m, which includes nearly every car and SUV. It’s the cheapest class apart from motorcycles, and the only one permitted on every İstanbul crossing.

Is my campervan Class 1 or Class 2?

It depends on the wheelbase, not the body. Panel-van conversions on a short chassis are usually Class 1, while coachbuilt motorhomes are commonly Class 2. Check the documents, and remember the 2.8 m tunnel height ban.

What class is a car towing a caravan?

Adding a caravan adds axles, which normally puts the combination into Class 3. It also restricts your route, because caravans can use the Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge but are banned from the tunnel.

Do motorcycles pay full toll in Turkey?

No. Motorcycles are Class 6 and pay 50% of the Class 1 rate on KGM roads and bridges, a rule in force since 24 October 2015. That’s 25 TL for the older Bosphorus bridges.

What happens if I register the wrong vehicle class?

The wrong fee is deducted, and the crossing gets flagged when the system reads a mismatched vehicle. KGM warns that repeated mismatches lead to blacklisting, and corrections go through KGM rather than the seller.

Does vehicle weight affect Turkish toll prices?

No. Classification is based on axle count and wheelbase only. An empty long-wheelbase van pays the same as a fully loaded one of the same dimensions.

Sources

• Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü – HGS
• Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü – 2026 motorway and bridge toll tariffs
• Karayolları Genel Müdürlüğü – motorway restrictions and prohibitions