How to buy a Bulgarian vignette
Every vehicle using Bulgaria's tolled road network pays, and the payment is tied to the number plate: no paper, no windscreen sticker, just a record in the system. This article is about the purchase and the enforcement. For what the vignette is, which roads it covers and what happens if it goes unpaid, see [the electronic vignette](/bilgi/bulgaristan-vinyet-sistemi).
Transport · Last reviewed: 2026-08-23
Work out which regime your vehicle falls under
The tolled network is priced under two different regimes and they are not interchangeable. Vehicles with a technically permissible maximum mass up to and including 3.5 tonnes pay by TIME: the electronic vignette. Vehicles above that threshold have been charged by DISTANCE TRAVELLED since 1 March 2020: the toll (National Toll Administration, toll page, retrieved 23 August 2026).
Classification follows the mass stated on the registration document, not the vehicle's appearance. Campervans caused confusion for years; today all campers pay an e-vignette rather than the toll (Road Infrastructure Agency announcement, retrieved 23 August 2026). If you tow a trailer the masses of the combination are considered together — read the figures off your documents before you set out.
| Vehicle | Charge type | How it is paid |
|---|---|---|
| Car up to 3.5 t | Time-based e-vignette | Online or at a point of sale, by plate and country |
| Campervan | Time-based e-vignette | Same channel as a car |
| Truck or coach over 3.5 t | Distance-based toll | Route card or on-board unit |
| Motorcycle | By mass category | Same rule; the class is read from the document |
Vignette durations
For vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes several durations exist: annual, three-month, monthly, a weekly one valid for seven calendar days, and a weekend vignette (National Toll Administration, e-vignette page, retrieved 23 August 2026). The most common miscalculation on a short trip is buying a weekend vignette for a stay that runs past its window. Comparing the duration against a calendar costs less than a single enforcement notice.
You can buy in advance
The plate field: one wrong character breaks everything
The e-vignette is bound to the plate and the match in the system is literal. The National Toll Administration makes exactly this point: it is important not to mistype the registration number when buying an electronic vignette. One wrong character means the money has left your account and your car still reads as unpaid.
- Read the plate off the car, not from memory.
- Select the country of registration correctly.
- Watch look-alike Latin and Cyrillic characters; they are different codes.
- In a rental car verify the plate against the vehicle, not the contract.
- Keep the confirmation: the plate is stored exactly as printed there.
Where to buy it
The official channel is the National Toll Administration's own website, alongside the sites and apps of authorised national service providers, self-service terminals, filling stations and points of sale at border crossings. The classic trap is an intermediary site that looks official and ranks high in search: it either adds a commission or sells nothing at all. Reading the domain in the address bar closes that risk in one step.
Above 3.5 tonnes the mechanics differ. A route card is valid for 24 hours from activation; registered users may buy it up to 7 days in advance and unregistered users up to 2 days (National Toll Administration, toll page, retrieved 23 August 2026). The alternative is declaring distance through an on-board unit, which is what regular hauliers use.
Verifying validity and checking for notices
Payment is not the end: the record has to appear in the system. The National Toll Administration's site allows a check by plate, and drivers can also check there whether electronic notices have been issued against them for unpaid road charges. That check earns its keep in two situations above all — a rental car and a recently purchased one, because the notice follows the plate.
Every day without a vignette is a separate record
The compensatory fee
The system leaves an exit before the penalty procedure begins: a compensatory fee. The logic is that the driver voluntarily pays for the road use and therefore does not face the heavier administrative sanction. If payment is made when the breach is established, or within 14 days of the administrative offence report being drawn up, the driver is released from administrative penal liability (National Toll Administration, questions and answers, retrieved 23 August 2026).
Payment can be made through the National Toll Administration's website, the national service providers' websites, in cash at desks located at the main border crossing points, at mobile teams equipped with card terminals, and by bank transfer. Amounts depend on the vehicle class and are periodically updated — read them from the official page rather than from an article. Once the 14 days lapse a penalty decree is issued and the sum grows appreciably.
Frequently asked questions
Should I buy at the border or in advance?
The online system allows purchase up to 30 calendar days before activation. Buying calmly at home, with the plate carefully typed, is safer than rushing in a queue. Border points do sell vignettes, but on busy days queuing and connectivity problems arrive together.
I mistyped the plate — what now?
The vignette sits on the wrong plate and your vehicle still reads as unpaid, which is precisely why the National Toll Administration stresses accurate entry. Contact the support line of the channel you bought from as soon as you notice; correction options depend on that channel.
How does the compensatory fee work?
Where a breach is established, paying the compensatory fee at the moment of detection or within 14 days of the offence report releases the driver from administrative penal liability, so the much higher fine is not imposed. Payment is accepted online, through national providers, in cash at the main border crossings, at mobile teams and by bank transfer.
Sources
The information on this page is based on the official sources listed below. Legislation changes — open the links and verify the current position.
- Национално ТОЛ управление (BG TOLL) — Е-винетка — https://www.bgtoll.bg/e-vinetka · 2026-08-23
- Национално ТОЛ управление (BG TOLL) — Контрол — https://www.bgtoll.bg/kontrol · 2026-08-23
- Национално ТОЛ управление (BG TOLL) — Тол такса — https://bgtoll.bg/dokumenti/tol-taksa · 2026-08-23
- Национално ТОЛ управление (BG TOLL) — Въпроси и отговори — https://www.bgtoll.bg/vaprosi-i-otgovori · 2026-08-23
- Агенция „Пътна инфраструктура“ — услуга 3140 (винетна такса до 3,5 тона) — https://www.api.bg/bg/1635244997.html · 2026-08-23
- Агенция „Пътна инфраструктура“ — всички кемпери заплащат е-винетка, а не тол — https://www.api.bg/bg/vsichki-kemperi-veche-zaplashchat-e-vinetka-a-ne-tol.html · 2026-08-23
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