Fine for Driving Without a Vignette: All 9 Countries Compared

ASFINAG, the state motorway operator, charges a substitute toll (Ersatzmaut) of €200 for a car or camper van and €100 for a motorbike for a missing or expired vignette, for offences committed from 1 January 2026 (previously €120 and €65). Only if that is not paid does an administrative penalty of €300 to €3,000 follow. It is an alternative, not an extra charge: under the Federal Road Toll Act (BStMG § 20 Abs 5), paying the substitute toll ends the offence.

Enforcement staff can collect it on the spot and, if a driver refuses, clamp the car or hold its documents. A written demand must be paid within four weeks of its date; a notice left on the vehicle, within two weeks.

The Austrian vignette is sold by ASFINAG at shop.asfinag.at, in the ASFINAG app and at outlets such as petrol stations. Mind the timing: a digital 2-month or annual vignette bought online is valid from the 18th day at the earliest; the 1-day and 10-day ones, and any bought in person, start immediately.

ASFINAG runs a standing warning about fake text messages, phishing emails and fake toll shops that claim an unpaid toll and ask for card details. Never pay through the link in such a message. Check your plate instead in ASFINAG's public register, the Vignettenevidenz (evidenz.asfinag.at), which shows the vignette on file for a plate and country of registration and its exact validity.

Bulgaria's National Toll Administration reads plates around the clock with 295 fixed cameras and 105 camera vehicles. A driver found without a valid e-vignette can pay a compensatory fee of €46.50 on the spot by card. If not, a violation report is drawn up, and the driver still has 14 days to pay the compensatory fee by bank transfer. After that, a penalty order follows with a €153.39 fine for a car.

During a police check the fee cannot be paid on the spot, and at a border crossing on exit, customs checks the vignette and the vehicle may leave only once the fee is paid. Durations and checkout are on our Bulgaria vignette page.

Under the Road Act (Act 13/1997, § 42a), driving a tolled motorway without a valid e-vignette can be settled on the spot for up to CZK 5,000 (about €200) by the police or customs. In administrative proceedings the fine can reach up to CZK 20,000 (about €800). The official eDálnice portal says checks use patrol cars with plate cameras, control gates, and inspections at rest areas. Durations and checkout are on our Czech vignette page.

Moldova's vinieta applies to foreign-registered vehicles. The official e-Vinieta FAQ cites article 287³ of the Contravention Code (no. 218/2008): a fine of 45 to 180 contravention units, MDL 2,250 to 9,000 (roughly €115 to €460). Paying the fine does not cancel the obligation, so you still pay the vinieta itself. Periods and checkout are on our Moldova vignette page.

Romania's rovinieta covers motorways, expressways and ordinary national roads. Under Law 226/2023, fully in force since 1 October 2026, the fine is two to four times the annual rovinieta tariff for the vehicle's category, and the amount is updated every year in line with consumer prices. Romanian-registered cars may pay for the current day until midnight of the next day, but foreign plates get no such window and are fined on the spot at a roadside check. Camera detections can also reach the owner of a vehicle registered elsewhere in the EU. Durations and checkout are on our Romania vignette page.

Slovakia's Act 488/2013 has two tracks. A driver caught without a vignette faces €100 to €500, or €50 to €200 settled on the spot with the police. When a camera records the offence, the vehicle keeper receives a fine order of €150 with the photograph and inspection record. If two thirds of it (€100) reach the account named in the order within 15 days of delivery, the fine counts as paid in full. The keeper can instead object within the same 15 days, with reasons and evidence. Once the fine is paid, an objection is rejected. If an objection fails, the fine can be set at €150 to €500, plus €30 in costs. Durations and checkout are on our Slovakia vignette page.

DARS, the Slovenian motorway company, says using a toll road without a valid e-vignette "is penalised with a fine of EUR 300". The payment order is sent by registered letter no later than one month after the offence, and drivers who live abroad can be required to pay on the spot when stopped. DARS advises buying an e-vignette for that plate as soon as possible, since the authority may treat the purchase as a mitigating circumstance.

Watch the class: a van or camper higher than 1.30 metres above the front axle needs class 2B, and a 2A vignette on such a vehicle is not valid. Classes and checkout are on our Slovenia vignette page.

Yes, but not on motorways or expressways. There, cars, motorbikes, vans, campers up to 3.5 tonnes and every trailer or caravan need a vignette; other roads do not. The official ch.ch portal is clear: "If you are driving without a vignette, you will be fined (CHF 200) and will also have to buy the vignette itself." A sticker taped up or left on the dashboard counts as no vignette.

At the border there is a narrow exception: the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security names only three customs offices, Basel St. Louis, Rheinfelden and Kreuzlingen, where you may drive to the first exit without one. The Swiss vignette is annual only and also covers Liechtenstein. Checkout is on our Switzerland vignette page.