As of 1st March 2020, the motor vehicles with a total technically permissible maximum weight of over 3,5 tonnes shall be charged when using the paid sections of the republic road network on the grounds of the distance travelled. The toll road charges have replaced the electronic vignettes.

The amount of the toll road charges depends on the total technically permissible maximum weight of the motor vehicle, its ecological category and the number of axles as well as the type of the road – motorways, first-class or second-class roads.

The registering and the payment of the kilometres travelled may be done in two ways – by means of a contract with the company – a national service provider or through the route card.

With the first option, the company which is a national service provides shall provide an on-board device for each of the lorries or the buses which will register the toll segments travelled. The conditions and the frequency of the payment shall depend on the provisions of the contract.

In case the motor vehicle has a GPS tracker and the owner wishes to use it for the toll charging, he/she needs to check if the company that has provided the GPS tracker has signed a contract with the company which is a national service provider. If it has, he/she may sign a contract for toll charging with the respective company. Information about the use of on-board devices and GPS trackers is provided by the partners of the Road Infrastructure Agency – the national service providers for toll charging. The register of the national service providers that have signed a contract with the Road Infrastructure Agency can be found in the “About us” section of the website www.bgtoll.bg.

The route card is a prepaid service – the carrier chooses the initial and the final point of the distance to be travelled as well as up to four interim points at his/her discretion. The driver shall strictly follow the set route and he/she will have 24 hours from the moment of the activation of the route card to travel the distance.

More details and additional information can be found in the “Questions and answers” section of the website bgtoll.bg.

Categories of motor vehicles for which toll charging is applicable.

* The images are illustrative.

Options for paying a toll charge

The motor vehicles with a total technically permissible maximum weight of over 3,5 tonnes have the following options for paying the necessary charges when using the paid republican road network:

Through a GNSS-based on-board device

The registering of the toll charges is performed by means of an on-board device mounted inside the motor vehicle which generates data (toll declarations) necessary for the calculation of the due charge. The data is processed by the national providers of services for collecting road charges (NSP) or by the providers of a European service for electronic collection of charges (ESECC providers), with which the user and the person collecting road charges, the Road Infrastructure Agency, have signed contracts. Upon the processing of the data, the service providers (NSP and ESECC) shall send it to the Road Infrastructure Agency. The charge due for the respective motor vehicle shall be calculated by the Road Infrastructure Agency and the service providers shall guarantee its payment by the final user.

Through a GPS device

In case the user of the pain republican road network has chosen to use a GPS device, he/she shall sign a contract with a provider of declared data (the so called confidential data) that has been entered into a publicly announced list of the Road Infrastructure Agency. The provider of declared data shall sign a contract with a national service provider, to which they shall submit the generated “rough” data from the GPS device. After the processing of the data, the service providers shall send it to the Road Infrastructure Agency. The charge due for the respective motor vehicle shall be calculated by the Road Infrastructure Agency and the service providers shall guarantee its payment by the final user.

Route card

The owners and the users of the motor vehicle with a total technically permissible maximum weight of over 3,5 tonnes which do not have on-board or GPS devices can use the paid road network after the purchase of a route card. The route card is issued as driver willing to use the paid republican road network specified the initial and the final points of the itinerary as well as up to four interim points along the specified route and also the technical characteristics of the motor vehicle (registration number, nationality of the motor vehicle, the category of the motor vehicle, the emission class, the number of axles taken from the Certificate of registration of Part I of the motor vehicles). This is a prepaid service. The route card gives its user the right to use the road to travel the specified itinerary once.

The route cards can be purchased from the Road Infrastructure Agency through the popular channels for the sale of electronic vignettes:

  • at the cash desks of the district road administrations – by means of a cash payment, card payment, including through the fuel card.
  • at the self-charging terminal – by means of a card payment, including through the fuel card.
  • online – on the website www.bgtoll.bg and the mobile application

The issue of a route card is related to preliminary calculation and payment of the due toll charge. It is valid for 24 hours from the moment of its activation and can be purchased up to 7 days in advance by registered users (the registration can be made via the electronic mailbox through the platform for purchasing route cards) or two days in advance – by unregistered users (for the present day or by 23:59 on the following day). 

Tariffs and scope of the road network

With Ordinance No. 495 the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria has approved a change of the road tariffs which are collected for travelling and using the republican road network. This change substitutes the rates of the toll charges accepted in June 2022.

The following toll charges are valid as of 1st July 2023:

Motor vehicles

Paid road infrastructure

Amount of the toll charge lev/km

Motorways

1st class

2nd class

A truck with a total technically permissible maximum mass over 3.5 t - up to 12 t inclusive

EURO VI, EEV

0,10

0,06

0,04

EURO V

0,11

0,07

0,05

EURO III and IV

0,12

0,07

0,05

EURO 0, I, II

0,13

0,09

0,07

 

 

 

 

 

Truck with total technically permissible maximum mass over 12 t with 2-3 axles

EURO VI, EEV

0,26

0,22

0,19

EURO V

0,27

0,24

0,21

EURO III and IV

0,28

0,24

0,21

EURO 0, I, II

0,30

0,25

0,23

 

 

 

 

 

A truck with a total technically permissible maximum mass over 12 t with 4 or more axles

EURO VI, EEV

0,35

0,32

0,29

EURO V

0,36

0,33

0,30

EURO III and IV

0,37

0,35

0,32

EURO 0, I, II

0,43

0,39

0,37

 

 

 

 

 

Road vehicles intended for the transport of passengers, with a total technically permissible maximum mass over 3.5 t - up to 12 t inclusive

 

EUROS VI, EEV

0,04

0,03

0,02

EUROS V

0,05

0,04

0,03

EUROS III and IV

0,06

0,05

0,04

EUROS 0, I, II

0,08

0,07

0,05

 

 

 

 

 

Road vehicles intended for the transport of passengers, with a total technically permissible maximum mass of more than 12 tons

EUROS VI, EEV

0,05

0,04

0,03

EUROS V

0,06

0,05

0,04

EUROS III and IV

0,07

0,06

0,05

EUROS 0, I, II

0,09

0,08

0,06

 

When the paid road network is used by motor vehicles weighing over 3,5 tonnes and using alternative fuel as the only source, a charge for the distance travelled shall be paid – a toll charge amounting to 50% of the price determined for the respective type of motor vehicles for category EURI VI, EEV.

 

With Decision No. 110 of the Council of Ministers dated 20.02.2020, a List has been adopted of the republican roads for which a charge for the distance travelled is collected – a toll charge.

For the purpose of reducing the number of cases of discrepancy of the data declared by the user of the paid road network and the data contained in the Certificate of registration of Part I of the motor vehicle, the users of the paid road network shall declare data about the motor vehicle weighing over 3,5 tonnes as follows: up to 12 tonnes; for lorries over 12 tonnes with 2 axles;  for lorries over 12 tonnes with 3 axles; for lorries over 12 tonnes with 4 axles; for lorries over 12 tonnes with 5 or more axles. The users shall declare the total number of axles that the motor vehicles have, by specifying the number of the axles of the truck and those of the towed motor vehicle.

CONTROL

If the motor vehicle is driven along the paid road network without a preliminarily purchased route card for the respective section or does not have an on-board device or a valid GPS tracker or they have not been included and do not transfer aby data in real time, the electornic system shall register this violation. The driver is obliged to stop when an alert from the mobile toll control is submitted, in accordance with articlev167a, paragraph 2, item 1 of the Road Traffic Act.

The control authorities offer payment of a compensation fee, which can also be paid with a bank card trough via a POS terminal. Its payment allows the violator to avoid any administrative punishment for the respective violation.

The amount of the compensation fees is as follows:

Lorry from over 3,5 tonnes to 12 tonnes

150 BGN

77 Euros

Lorries over 12 tonnes with 2-3 axles

450 BGN

230 Euros

Lorries over 12 tonnes with 4 and more axles

750 BGN

383 Euros

Motor vehicles for carrying passengers with more than 8 seats up to 12 tonnes

150 BGN

77 Euros

Motor vehicles for carrying passengers with more than 8 seats over 12 tonnes

150 BGN

77 Euros

 

If the driver refuses to pay a compensation charge, an act will be drawn up to establish an administrative violation. He/she shall also pay the so called minimum toll to continue driving. The amount depends on the total technically permissible maximum weight of the motor vehicle and its ecological category.

In this case, the compensation charge can be paid within 14 days by means of a bank transfer, as the payment order shall specify the number of the acts for establishing an administrative violation. If this does not happen, the violator shall be issued a penal decree and shall owe a fine.

If there is no declared data to establish the distance travelled, the sanction for the driver shall amount to 1800 BGN and for incorrect declared data, for example, an attempt to commit a fraud involving the emission class, the category or the number of axles of the lorry, the fine to be paid by the owner shall amount to 2500 BGN.

The electronic system establishes the violations automatically and in case you are not stopped by toll control on the road, the owner of the vehicle will receive and electronic ticket by post. He/she shall pay the compensation charge within 14 days by means of a bank transfer. If this does not happen, a fine shall be due as well as the respective maximum toll charge.