Germany is a destination often frequented by Romanians, whether it is for work, vacation purposes or to carry out a transport. To drive on German roads, however, you must take into account the costs for the Germany vignette.
Traffic in Germany is managed efficiently, but breaking traffic rules results in very high fines.
Before you hit the road, we tell you everything you need to know about the Germany vignette and Germany road taxes
Free Germany vignette for small cars
A very big advantage is that in Germany if you drive your own car, you don’t need to buy a German vignette, because driving on German roads is free for cars.
So, if you go as a tourist in Germany with your personal car, you can rest easy about paying road taxes.
Germany vignette for trucks
Instead, a German road tax is charged for trucks of at least 7.5 tonnes.
Tolls apply on all highways (including gas stations and parking lots), on federal roads and some locality roads, included in a road network of over 51,000km.
You can find the map of toll roads here.
How to pay road tax in Germany
However, the Germany vignette can be paid both online and in person. So, you can easily pay the road tax Germany trucks and avoid the big fines.
Pay Germany vignette online
You can purchase Germany vignette online by visiting the official website here.
You create your account and you can pay the German road tolls online with a login no more than 24 hours in advance.
You can pay either with a credit card or with a fuel card on the website.
In addition, you can make the payment by:
- Bank transfer;
- toll collect direct debit;
- bank cards;
- fleet cards;
Careful! Payment is made in euros!
Pay Germany motorway tolls physically at terminals
There are two ways you can physically pay the toll for using the motorways in Germany: with a toll card or with a portable payment device (Pkw-Maut).
Toll cards are available in different variants, depending on the type of vehicle you have and the length of validity you want. These cards can be purchased at one of the maut outlets or online through the official maut website. After purchasing a toll card, you must attach it to your vehicle’s windshield and activate it before using the highways.
Portable payment devices (Pkw-Maut) are available for all types of vehicles and can be purchased at maut sales points or online. These devices must be attached to the windshield of the vehicle and must be activated before using the highways. Payments are made via a credit card or bank account linked to the device.
You can find a list of terminals at the entrance to Germany here.
How much does Germany vignette cost?
Tolls in Germany are calculated based on the distance traveled and a toll rate per kilometer.
This tax rate is calculated according to:
- Highway infrastructure costs;
- Vehicle pollution standard;
- Share for noise pollution.
How much is the road tax in Germany?
Germany road tax differs depending on the vehicle category. As I mentioned before, only trucks of at least 7.5 tons must purchase a Germany vignette, according to the following categories:
- Vehicles between 7.5 – 11,999 T;
- Vehicles between 12 T – 18 T;
- Vehicles over 18 T;
To see the costs related to each vehicle category, access this link.
Fines for non-payment of road taxes in Germany
If you do not pay the German vignette payment and you are a carrier, you will be fined up to 20,000 euros.
We suggest you pay the Germany road toll and inform yourself properly in advance, because it is extremely important to know the traffic details of each country you pass through.
Our road toll payment solutions
Because we know how important it is to set out on the road informed, you can find information on the payment of road taxes and vignettes for European countries on our website.
Moreover, we guarantee the installation of toll payment equipment from Hungary, Bulgaria or Poland, so that you can work much more efficiently and practically.
And if we talk about the management of your car fleet, CargoTrack provides you with the eTMS management service to manage to be at the top of the market and to streamline your administrative process.
