Fines for driving without a vignette in Austria

How checks work

The vignette is digital and held against your number plate. Enforcement is automatic: camera gantries above the carriageway read plates, and mobile teams patrol as well. Nothing is stuck to the windscreen any more, yet coverage is nationwide, at night and at weekends included.

A substitute toll, not a parking ticket

A vehicle stopped without a valid vignette is first asked to pay a substitute toll. It works as a retrospective toll and closes the matter if paid on time. Cars and motorcycles have different rates; the current amount is shown in the info card on the Austria country page.

If the substitute toll goes unpaid

Administrative proceedings follow, and the range of penalties is a multiple of the substitute toll. Notices are served to keeper addresses abroad, and financial penalties above a certain amount can be enforced across the EU. Living in Germany or Poland is no protection.

The four most common reasons

First, simply forgetting. Second, a typo in the plate — the entry then covers a different vehicle and yours is unpaid. Third, the wrong category, such as a car vignette for a motorcycle. Fourth, assuming that paying at the Brenner toll station replaces the vignette.

What actually has to be paid on top is set out in the guide section tolls in Austria.

How to stay on the safe side

Order before you join the motorway, check the plate on the final step and keep the confirmation email. A normal holiday trip is usually covered by the 10-day vignette; every period and price is listed on the Austria country page.