Tolls in Croatia and Slovenia: e-vignette, prices and fines

The essentials first: what you need to do

Anyone driving through Slovenia to Croatia has to deal with 2 completely different toll systems. In Slovenia you pay by time: before you join a motorway or expressway, a valid e-vignette must be registered in the system for your registration number. In Croatia you pay by distance: you take a ticket on entry or use an electronic device, and you pay at the toll plaza.

In practice this means:

• Buy the e-vignette for Slovenia online before you set off, with the correct registration number, country of registration and the right toll class.
• Have cash or a card ready for the Karawanken Tunnel between Austria and Slovenia, as it is not covered by the e-vignette.
• Keep cash or an accepted payment card to hand for Croatia.

Slovenia: e-vignette for all vehicles up to 3500 kg

According to the motorway operator DARS, every motor vehicle with a maximum permissible weight of up to 3500 kilograms must have a valid e-vignette in the appropriate toll class when it joins a toll road. It allows you to use all motorways and expressways in the Republic of Slovenia during its period of validity. It is expressly not a distance-based toll.

The e-vignette is the digital successor to the sticker vignette. You do not need to stick anything on the windscreen or remove anything once it expires. Instead, the vignette is linked to the vehicle registration number. If the registration number stored in the system does not match the vehicle on the motorway, the toll is treated as unpaid. The customer alone is responsible for entering it correctly.

Toll classes 1, 2A and 2B

For light vehicles, DARS distinguishes the following toll classes:

• Toll class 1: single-track motor vehicles, meaning vehicles whose track is no wider than 50 cm, in practice motorcycles.
• Toll class 2A: vehicles up to 3500 kilograms whose height above the first axle does not exceed 1.3 metres. This includes most cars, people carriers, off-roaders, SUVs and pick-ups.
• Toll class 2B: vehicles up to 3500 kilograms with a height above the first axle of more than 1.3 metres, such as most combi vans and light vans.

The DARS website has a tool in which you select the make and model. If your vehicle is not listed there, DARS says it belongs to toll class 2A.

E-vignette validity periods

There are 4 validity periods. You choose the first day of validity yourself when you buy.

• Weekly e-vignette: valid for 7 consecutive days, with the first day included. If it starts on Friday 11 April 2025, DARS says it is valid up to and including Thursday 17 April 2025.
• Monthly e-vignette: valid until the end of the same calendar day in the following month. If that day does not exist, it ends on the last day of the month. Example from DARS: starting on 31 May 2025, ending on 30 June 2025.
• Half-yearly e-vignette: valid for 6 months until the end of the same day, but available only for toll class 1, meaning motorcycles.
• Annual e-vignette: valid until the end of the same day in the following year. If it starts on 29 February of a leap year, it ends on 28 February of the following year.

Important: the law does not allow an e-vignette to be extended. Each e-vignette is a separate product with a fixed start and end. Once it expires, you buy a new one.

How much are tolls in Slovenia?

DARS shows the current e-vignette prices for each toll class and period in its online shop at evinjeta.dars.si. Check the amount there just before you buy, as DARS does not state on its information pages the date from which the prices apply.

DARS does, however, publish specific amounts for the Karawanken Tunnel:

• Single transit in toll class R1, meaning all vehicles up to 3500 kg: EUR 9 (EUR 7.38 excluding VAT).
• Points card for 14 transits: EUR 40.40 (EUR 33.11 excluding VAT), valid for 30 days from issue.

The points card is linked to the registration number and is not transferable. It may not be used for several vehicles at the same time. Charges are made according to the price list in force at the time, which may change while the card is valid. You can buy the card only at the Hrušica toll station, where the cashier will also tell you the remaining balance. DARS advises not to expose the card to heat or magnetic fields and not to bend it.

Exemptions: where the e-vignette does not apply or is not needed

According to DARS, some sections of the Slovenian network do not require an e-vignette:

• Gorenjska motorway (A2) at the Karawanken Tunnel: between the Austrian border and the Hrušica junction, the toll is paid together with the tunnel toll. It applies between the first junctions on either side of the border: Hrušica in Slovenia and Podrožca, Rosenbach in Austria.
• Coastal expressways H5 and H6: from the Škofije border crossing via the Srmin turn-off to Koper (Škocjan area), and from Koper (Slavček area) through Žusterna to Jagodje near Izola. These roads have been reclassified as main roads.
• Maribor expressway (H2): between Pesnica and Tezno, following its reclassification as a regional road.

Buying and paying for the e-vignette

You can get the e-vignette from the DARS online shop, at DARS sales points (DarsGo servis) and from authorised retailers such as petrol stations. Online you need the registration number, an email address and a payment card. If you pay by debit or credit card, the e-vignette can become valid immediately after purchase. Instalment payments are not possible in the online shop or at DarsGo servis.

You can also buy the e-vignette in advance: the first day of validity may be up to 30 days after the day of purchase. If you buy via a quote with later payment, act early, as the e-vignette is then valid at the earliest from the date the quote was issued plus 4 working days.

How to enter the registration number correctly:

• German and Austrian plates: where the coat of arms or the sticker sits on the plate, type a hyphen, for example M-REG1 or G-297T.
• Plates from all other countries, including Spain, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Italy: no spaces, hyphens or other characters.

DARS also lists typical sources of error when buying online: many customers have not installed the banking app for approving online payments, even though it is mandatory. Other reasons are insufficient funds or incorrectly entered card details. If you buy on a smartphone, you must keep the evinjeta.dars.si page open in the background until the purchase is complete, otherwise the transaction will be cancelled. If no e-vignette was created despite the payment being taken, you do not have a valid vignette and must buy again. DARS will refund the excess amount after checking.

You may also buy the e-vignette for your partner’s, children’s or friends’ car, provided you know the registration number and toll class. DARS recommends passing on the invoice and proof of purchase.

Wrong registration number entered: what now?

If you have bought an annual or half-yearly e-vignette for the wrong registration number, you must first buy an e-vignette of the same type for the correct number. You then apply for a pro rata refund using an online form. You must attach the purchase confirmations and invoices for both e-vignettes, your contact details and your IBAN. Under the Toll Act the invoice is mandatory, and without it the application is incomplete. If DARS approves the application, an administration fee of EUR 6.00 is deducted.

Checks and fines in Slovenia

According to DARS, registration numbers are recorded by cameras on the motorway network, at checkpoints and in toll enforcement vehicles. If a valid e-vignette exists for the vehicle, the data are deleted immediately.

Anyone using toll roads without a valid e-vignette commits an offence under the Toll Act, punishable by a fine of EUR 300. The offence is dealt with only by authorised officers of the police, the tax authority or the DARS toll enforcement centre. Remember: an e-vignette with the wrong registration number or the wrong toll class counts as no e-vignette at all.

The DARS call centre answers questions round the clock on every day of the year on +386 (0)1 518 8 350, or by email at evinjeta@dars.si.

Croatia: tolls by distance driven

There is no vignette for cars in Croatia. According to Hrvatske Autoceste (HAC), tolls on the company’s motorways and tolled structures are calculated according to the distance driven between 2 toll points and the vehicle category. The prices include VAT. They are set by HAC with the approval of the Minister of the Sea, Transport and Infrastructure, on the basis of Article 87, paragraph 2 of the Roads Act.

Croatia uses 2 systems:

• Open system: the toll plaza is both entry and exit. You pay directly at that station.
• Closed system: on motorways with several entries and exits. On entry you take a toll ticket or have your ETC device registered. At the exit you hand in the ticket or have the device or SMART card read, and pay according to the stored data.

Users of the ENC electronic toll system do not take a ticket; they drive through a dedicated lane and pay via the on-board unit.

Each time you join an HAC motorway, a usage contract is deemed to be concluded, of which the General Terms and Conditions form part. They cover use, payment, rights and obligations, and the procedure for offences. HAC does not give specific fine amounts on its toll page; the details are in these General Terms and Conditions.

Paying in Croatia

At its toll plazas HAC accepts:

• Cash
• ETC, meaning the ENC device
• Diners, Mastercard, Maestro and Visa cards
• the INA card and the MOL Group card

These cards are accepted wherever the toll plaza displays them as a means of payment. In the closed system, keep the ticket safe, as it is the basis for the calculation at the exit.

Travelling via Austria: buying the vignette in Slovenia

If you are returning via Austria, DARS says you can also buy the Austrian vignette in Slovenia, at the Hrušica toll station and at the Gruškovje and Obrežje border crossings. The DARS price list including VAT:

• Cars and vehicles up to 3.5 t: annual vignette EUR 106.80, two-month vignette EUR 32.00, ten-day vignette EUR 12.80, 1-day vignette EUR 9.60.
• Motorcycles: annual vignette EUR 42.70, two-month vignette EUR 12.80, ten-day vignette EUR 5.10, 1-day vignette EUR 3.80.

For details, DARS refers to the Austrian operator ASFINAG.

Checklist before you travel

• Check your toll class: 1, 2A or 2B, using the DARS tool if in doubt.
• Buy the e-vignette for Slovenia no more than 30 days before the desired start and choose the first day of validity correctly.
• Enter the registration number exactly: German and Austrian plates with a hyphen where the coat of arms sits, all others without spaces or characters.
• Install the banking app for approving online payments.
• Keep the invoice and proof of purchase.
• Budget EUR 9 in cash or by card for the Karawanken Tunnel, or consider the points card if you travel often.
• Keep cash or an accepted card ready for Croatia and store the ticket safely in the closed system.
• If returning via Austria, remember the Austrian vignette.