In a handful of European countries, you pay for motorway use up front with a vignette — a sticker or, increasingly, a digital registration — rather than stopping at a toll booth per journey. The absence of any barrier at the motorway entrance is exactly what makes vignettes so easy to forget, and exactly why they result in so many fines for foreign drivers. This guide covers every vignette country and how each system works.
What a vignette is
A vignette (from the French word for a small design or label) is a pre-paid access permit for the motorway network. In older schemes it is a coloured adhesive sticker fixed to the windscreen. In newer schemes it is an e-vignette: a digital registration linked to your number plate, with no physical sticker at all. Either way, the concept is the same — you pay a flat fee for a period of access, then drive the motorways freely within that period.
Unlike toll-booth systems (France, Italy, Spain), there is nothing to pay at the motorway on-ramp. Enforcement is by roadside cameras or spot checks by police, who can verify both physical stickers and digital registrations instantly. Driving on a vignette-required motorway without a valid vignette can result in a significant on-the-spot fine.
Austria
Austria's motorway vignette (Autobahnvignette) is compulsory on all motorways and expressways. It comes in annual, two-month and ten-day versions. The annual and two-month vignettes are physical stickers sold at Austrian petrol stations, motorway service areas, post offices, and border crossing points. You must adhere the sticker to the inside of the windscreen in the lower-left corner (or the specified position for your vehicle type) before using the motorway — a sticker sitting on the dashboard is not valid.
Austria also offers a digital vignette (Go-Box digital for light vehicles) that you buy online or via an app — your plate is registered and there is no sticker. The digital vignette becomes valid 18 hours after purchase, which matters if you are buying it immediately before crossing the border.
Separate tolls apply on some mountain sections and tunnels (Brenner, Tauern, Arlberg, etc.) regardless of which vignette you hold.
Switzerland
Switzerland's vignette (Autobahnvignette or Autobahnkleber) is one of the simplest in Europe: one size, one price, valid for the current and following calendar year (so a vignette sold in November is valid through the end of the next year). It is a physical sticker — there is no digital alternative for foreign visitors.
Vignettes are sold at Swiss petrol stations, border crossings, post offices and online (though buying online means waiting for postal delivery). They must be stuck directly to the glass, and a sticker removed from the windscreen and stuck to another surface is considered invalid. Switzerland is notably strict about enforcement, and the fines are stiff — plus you will be required to buy a new vignette on the spot.
Note that Switzerland is not in the EU and Schengen entry is separate; see the Schengen 90/180-day rule if your total trip involves multiple EU and non-EU European countries.
Slovenia
Slovenia uses a digital e-vignette only — there is no physical sticker. You register your number plate at a petrol station, border kiosk, or online via the DARS website before entering the motorway. Options include a seven-day, one-month or annual vignette. Enforcement is by ANPR cameras at motorway entry points. The process is quick and the cost modest, but you must complete it before the on-ramp, not after.
Hungary
Hungary's e-vignette (e-matrica) is also digital. You buy it online (the official motorway operator's website), via petrol stations or phone-based vending machines. It is linked to your plate number immediately upon purchase and is valid within minutes. Options run from one day through ten days, one month and one year. The motorway network is extensive, so even a brief transit through Hungary typically requires a vignette.
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic switched to a fully electronic system. E-vignettes can be purchased online at edalnice.cz, via the official mobile app, or at petrol stations. A one-month or annual vignette covers the full motorway and expressway network. The e-vignette is linked to your plate and active within about 15 minutes of purchase.
Slovakia
Slovakia operates a similar digital system (eznamka.sk), with one-day, ten-day, one-month or annual options. Registration is by plate number and is near-instant. Some sections of Slovak motorway are free, but most require a valid vignette.
Romania and Bulgaria
Both countries operate road-use taxes (rovinieta in Romania, vinietka in Bulgaria) payable for all public roads, not just motorways. Buy them online or at border crossings. These are enforced by police checks and cameras. Romania's system in particular has a broad road classification — check which roads require payment for your planned route.
Countries without vignettes: toll booths instead
France, Italy, Spain and Portugal all use traditional per-journey toll booths rather than vignettes. Greece has a mix. Germany has no motorway vignette for private cars (a scheme was proposed but scrapped). The UK, Ireland, Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway have no general motorway vignette system, though specific bridges and tunnels charge separately.
Tips for buying vignettes
- Buy digital vignettes (Slovenia, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia) in advance online to avoid queues at border petrol stations.
- For physical stickers (Austria, Switzerland), you can buy at the last petrol station before the border, but factor in queues during peak seasons.
- Keep receipts — they prove the purchase date if a camera captures an apparently invalid plate.
- If you are renting a car, ask whether the rental already includes a vignette. Austrian and Swiss rental cars based in those countries often do; cars rented elsewhere generally do not.
Frequently asked questions
Can I buy a vignette at the motorway on-ramp?
No, in all vignette countries there are no payment points at the on-ramp — that is the whole point of the system. You must purchase before entering the motorway, either online, at a border kiosk or at a petrol station.
What happens if my rental car already has an Austrian sticker from a previous renter?
An annual Austrian sticker is valid to the end of the calendar year and may cover your rental period. Check the expiry date on the sticker. Do not peel it off or re-stick it — that invalidates it. For digital vignettes, the plate is registered regardless of who is driving.
Does a Swiss vignette cover all motorways including mountain tunnels?
The vignette covers most Swiss motorways, but a few specific tunnels and mountain roads (such as the Great St Bernard Tunnel and the San Bernardino tunnel road) charge additional tolls.
Can fines for driving without a vignette follow me home to another country?
Within the EU and EEA, cross-border enforcement agreements allow fines from one member state to be pursued in another. Switzerland, though not in the EU, also has its own enforcement reach. Unpaid fines can be referred to debt-collection agencies in your home country.
Sources and further reading:
- Austria: ASFINAG (asfinag.at) — official motorway operator.
- Switzerland: Swiss Federal Roads Office (viasuisse.ch).
- Slovenia: DARS (dars.si/evinjeta).
- Hungary: Útdíjfizetési motorway operator (motorway.hu).
- Czech Republic: edalnice.cz.
- Slovakia: eznamka.sk.
- Country road rules overview: European Commission.