Essential Guide to the Austrian Vignette: Avoid Penalties on Your Journey! – Travel Tyrol Blog

The Austrian vignette is a toll sticker or digital permit required for driving on the motorways in Austria. If you fail to purchase the vignette, you could face an on-the-spot fine of at least €120. To sidestep this penalty, familiarize yourself with the vignette options, prices, and locations to purchase it before hitting the road in Austria.

The funds generated from the sale of the Austrian vignette are reinvested into the operation, construction, maintenance, and road safety of the country’s extensive motorway and expressway network.

Additionally, there are specific tolls for routes that require higher maintenance costs, such as the Brenner Pass toll.

At just €96.40 for an annual vignette, driving on Austria’s toll roads is relatively inexpensive compared to Italy and France. The annual vignette is valid for 14 months — from December 1 of the preceding year until January 31 of the following year.

Tourists can also choose a 10-day or 2-month vignette at a reduced cost compared to the annual rate. Starting in 2024, a new one-day vignette will be available for €8.60.

What Is a Vignette?

A vignette is a toll pass. Instead of encountering toll booths that disrupt your journey on Austrian motorways, you need to purchase either a toll sticker or an electronic toll pass, collectively referred to as a vignette.

Previously, the vignette in Austria only existed as a window sticker. However, since 2018, a digital vignette linked to your vehicle’s license plate has also been available.

Unfortunately, buying the digital vignette online is not a viable option for many tourists, particularly those renting cars from outside Austria, for reasons outlined below.

How Much Does the Austrian Vignette Cost?

Here are the 2024 prices for an Austrian vignette for standard vehicles or camper vans:

The annual vignette remains valid until the end of January in the following year. By February 1, everyone is expected to have a vignette for the new calendar year.

Where Can I Buy an Austrian Vignette?

Toll Sticker

The Austrian toll sticker is available at most petrol stations, post offices, newsstands, and tobacconists throughout Austria. If you’re entering Austria from another country, you can find the vignette at gas stations near the border.

Asfinag toll booths, such as those at the Brenner Pass between Italy and Austria, also sell the vignette. Refer to the section on sectional tolls for more details.

Digital Vignette

The digital vignette, which is linked to your car’s registration number, can be purchased online prior to your trip. This option is particularly convenient for those driving their own vehicles.

However, keep in mind that the digital vignette is only valid after 18 days from the date of online purchase, so make sure to buy it well in advance!

A disadvantage for renters from countries like Germany, Italy, or Switzerland is that, unlike Austrian rental cars, their vehicles may not come with a valid vignette.

Consequently, without knowing the registration number in advance, they cannot buy the digital vignette online before their trip.

The good news is that the digital vignette can now be purchased from most locations that sell the toll sticker. Unlike with online purchases, the validity is immediate when bought in-store. This is how we acquired our vignette since 2021.

What’s the Fine for Driving Without a Vignette in Austria?

If you cannot present a valid vignette while in Austria, you’ll incur a spot fine of €120. If it’s determined that you tampered with a toll sticker, the fine increases to €240.

• If you think about ignoring the fine after receiving it in the mail, reconsider. If you don’t pay in time, administrative penalties can range from €300 to €3000.

What Is a Sectional Toll?

Some roads in Austria that are costly to construct and maintain feature individual toll stations where additional sectional tolls must be paid. These can be found on the following motorways:

• A9 Pyhrn
• A10 Tauern
• A11 Karawanken
• A13 Brenner
• S16 Arlberg

You can pay sectional tolls for either a single trip or an annual permit using cash or a card (credit, debit, or fuel) directly at the toll gate. Digital passes are also available for purchase. The advantage of a digital pass is that it grants access to the fast lane, where the toll gate opens automatically as you approach.

Sectional Toll Prices

Most tourists are unlikely to require an annual sectional toll pass; thus, only single trip rates for 2021 are provided below.

• Drivers with an annual Austrian vignette receive a significant discount when purchasing annual sectional toll passes. For example, we purchase the Brenner Pass toll ticket because we often hike or ski at the Stubai Glacier or take day trips to South Tyrol.

Who Checks for Validity of the Austrian Vignette?

Police and Control Officers

In the twelve years we’ve lived in Austria, our vignette has only been checked once by a police officer, who stopped me for speeding unknowingly going 100 km/h in an 80 km/h zone near the Arlberg Tunnel. I had to pay a fine for speeding and was reprimanded for sticking our vignette too high on the large panoramic windscreen.

That said, spot checks do exist. We often see officers pulling vehicles over when they exit the motorway at Hall in Tirol.

In addition to police officers, the toll operator Asfinag employs around 100 control officers authorized to conduct toll checks on Austrian motorways.

Cameras

On multi-lane toll roads in Austria, cameras monitor vehicles for vignettes. You might notice them on gantries spanning the motorway. According to Asfinag, the nine camera systems in operation are relocated every seven to fourteen days.

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