The Netherlands has no vignette and free motorways, which is exactly why the A24 catches people out. The Blankenburgverbinding, which opened on 7 December 2024 between Rozenburg and Vlaardingen just west of Rotterdam, is the country's first free-flow tolled motorway for cars. It runs through the Maasdeltatunnel and the Hollandtunnel, and there is nothing at the roadside to stop for.
The operator's own description of the mechanism is blunt: a camera photographs your number plate, and you do not have to stop or slow down. The charge then sits against that plate on a clock. You have seven days before the trip and 72 hours after it to settle it, and a foreign plate is treated no differently from a Dutch one.
A24 Toll Prices
Light Vehicle < 3.5t
Heavy vehicles > 3.5t
Charged per passage, in each direction. Trailers and caravans add nothing to the price. Rates are raised by the operator on 1 January each year.
How to Pay the A24 Toll Online
Enter your number plate
Exactly as it appears on the vehicle. The A24 charge attaches to the registration, not to a ticket or a transponder, which is why a foreign-registered car goes through the same route as a Dutch one.
Pay for the passage
No account and no subscription is needed for a one-off crossing. Keep the confirmation, because it is your evidence the trip was settled inside the window.
Drive the A24
Nothing happens at the road. There is no barrier to lift and no booth to queue at, and you do not slow down. If you paid in advance, the camera read simply matches the payment already on file.
The window opens before you drive, not just after
This is the part worth planning around. The operator allows payment up to seven days in advance as well as 72 hours afterwards. If you know your route crosses the Maasdeltatunnel on the way to the ferry or the airport, dealing with it the night before removes the only realistic way to get this wrong.
Who Has to Pay the A24 Toll
Every vehicle that passes through pays, in each direction, on every trip. There is no daily cap and no return built into a single passage.
The light class, defined by the operator as vehicles up to 3,500 kg. Motorcycles sit in the same class as cars here rather than getting a reduced rate.
An electric vehicle stays in the light class up to 4,250 kg rather than 3,500 kg. That extra 750 kg exists because battery packs push an otherwise ordinary van or camper over the normal line, and it is the kind of detail that decides which of the two rates you actually pay.
Towing adds nothing. The operator charges by the towing vehicle, so a caravan behind a car does not move you up a class or add a second charge. That is unusually generous: on the Rio-Antirrio bridge in Greece the same caravan would re-class you into a lorry band.
Anything above 3,500 kg, or above 4,250 kg if electric, sits in the higher class. That includes large motorhomes as well as lorries, so check the plated weight rather than judging by the shape of the vehicle.
Handled the same way, through the plate, with the same windows and the same rates. There is no separate procedure and no exemption for being a visitor.
Who Is Exempt from the A24 Toll?
The exemption list is short, closed, and aimed at emergency and funeral services rather than at ordinary drivers.
Police vehicles, fire brigade vehicles and ambulances
Hearses, when used only to transport the deceased and equipped for it
Three conditions matter. The exemption, which the operator calls a dispensation, is not automatic: it has to be applied for, although applying is free and a decision normally arrives within five working days. While the application is pending you still pay the toll. And it is tightly drawn: cars following in a funeral procession are explicitly not eligible, and each vehicle type qualifies only when used exclusively for its purpose. Foreign-registered vehicles apply on a paper form rather than through the Dutch online identity systems.
There is no exemption for ordinary drivers
No dispensation exists for electric cars, hire cars, residents or foreign plates. The electric-vehicle rule earlier on this page is a higher weight limit, not a discount, and it certainly is not an exemption. If you drove the A24, the plate owes the toll.
What Happens If You Miss the Payment Window
Nothing stops you at the road, so the consequence arrives by post. Once 72 hours have passed, the operator looks up the keeper of the vehicle and sends a payment reminder. Its own wording on the point is worth knowing: your details are only requested if you are late.
The reminder carries a €9.00 fee
Reminders sent from 7 December 2025 onwards carry a reminder fee of €9.00 on top of the toll itself. For a single light-vehicle passage the fee runs to several times the charge it is chasing, which is what makes this worth two minutes of attention rather than none.
Two practical notes. You can pay for up to four trips at once, so a weekend that crossed the tunnel repeatedly does not mean four separate errands. And payment is by iDEAL, Wero or credit card, which matters if you are abroad and reaching for a card the Dutch system may not recognise.
Does the Netherlands Have a Vignette?
No, and it never has. Dutch roads are funded from general taxation, so there is nothing to buy before the border and no camera looking for a missing sticker. Two things generate the confusion.
The first is the old Eurovignette, which was never a car product in any case: it was a heavy goods vehicle charge, and it ended for the Netherlands on 1 July 2026, replaced by a per kilometre truck toll. The second is "road tax", the motorrijtuigenbelasting, which is an ownership tax on Dutch-registered vehicles paid by residents. A visitor on foreign plates owes none of it.
So the clean answer for a car, motorcycle, motorhome or caravan combination is: nothing to buy, nothing to display, and exactly one tolled motorway to keep track of.
The Other Dutch Tolls
Beyond the A24, the list is short and none of it needs arranging in advance.
| Crossing | What a car pays |
|---|---|
| Kiltunnel (Dordrecht to Hoeksche Waard) | A small toll of roughly €2, paid at the booth by card or tag. A conventional barrier, so there is no deadline to miss. |
| Westerscheldetunnel | Free for cars and motorcycles since 30 December 2024, for vehicles under 3 m in height. Taller vehicles still pay. |
| Everything else | Free. No motorway tolls, no bridge tolls and no city congestion charge anywhere in the country. |
Guides still charging you for the Westerscheldetunnel are out of date
It was tolled for years and a great deal of published advice still says so. Since the end of 2024 a car under three metres crosses free. The height threshold is the thing to check: a tall camper with a roof box can find itself in the category that still pays.
Trucks are a separate world. Since 1 July 2026 the Netherlands has charged goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes a per kilometre toll, running from about €0.022 to €0.425 per kilometre depending on weight, emission class and CO2 band, on motorways and selected regional roads. It requires a working on-board unit obtained through a toll service provider, and it is what replaced the Eurovignette here.
Driving in the Netherlands
The daytime 100 trap is the biggest gotcha for foreign drivers
Almost every Dutch motorway is 100 km/h between 06:00 and 19:00, and only rises to 120 or 130 at night where it is signed. Drivers arriving off a ferry or across the German border habitually set 130 and are then 30 over, in a country with heavy average-speed enforcement. A handful of trajectories do run 130 all day, including the A7 across the Afsluitdijk, but they are the exception and they are signed.
Outside that, the numbers are conventional: 80 km/h on rural roads, 50 km/h in built-up areas, and 100 km/h on N-road expressways unless signed lower. Towing changes things: a car with a caravan or trailer up to 3,500 kg is limited to 90 km/h on the motorway and 80 outside built-up areas.
Two more worth knowing. Dutch cities are steadily moving to a 30 km/h default, with Amsterdam having dropped roughly 80% of its streets to 30 in December 2023 and other cities following, so the old "50 in town" assumption is increasingly wrong. And several cities run milieuzones, low-emission zones that restrict older diesels and are camera-enforced, with rules set city by city rather than nationally.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long do I have to pay the A24 toll?
72 hours after the trip, and you can also pay up to seven days in advance. Paying beforehand is the simplest approach, because nothing at the road reminds you afterwards.
Where exactly is the A24 toll?
On the Blankenburgverbinding between Rozenburg and Vlaardingen, just west of Rotterdam, which opened on 7 December 2024. It carries you through the Maasdeltatunnel and the Hollandtunnel. It is the only tolled motorway a car meets anywhere in the Netherlands.
Is there a toll booth on the A24?
No. It is free flow: cameras photograph the plate and you neither stop nor slow down. That is precisely why the payment deadline exists and why so many drivers never realise they owe anything.
What happens if I do not pay in time?
The operator traces the vehicle keeper and posts a payment reminder. Reminders issued from 7 December 2025 carry a €9.00 reminder fee on top of the toll, which on a light vehicle is several times the charge itself.
Do foreign-registered cars have to pay the A24 toll?
Yes, on exactly the same terms. The charge follows the number plate, the windows are the same, and no reduced rate or exemption exists for visitors.
Do I pay extra for a caravan or trailer?
No. The operator charges by the towing vehicle and states that no extra payment is needed for trailers and caravans. Towing does not move you into the heavier class either.
My camper is electric and heavy. Which rate applies?
Electric vehicles stay in the light class up to 4,250 kg, where a combustion vehicle drops into the heavier class above 3,500 kg. Check the plated weight on the registration document, because with batteries the difference decides which of the two rates you pay.
Can I pay for several trips at once?
Yes, up to four trips in one transaction. Payment is by iDEAL, Wero or credit card.
Is anyone exempt from the A24 toll?
Only police vehicles, fire brigade vehicles, ambulances and hearses, and only when used exclusively for those purposes. The dispensation must be applied for, it is free, a decision usually comes within five working days, and you keep paying the toll while the application is pending. Cars in a funeral procession do not qualify.
Does the Netherlands have a vignette?
No, and it never has. There is no sticker, no e-vignette and no national road pass. The motorway network is free apart from the A24, and the old Eurovignette was a lorry charge that ended for the Netherlands on 1 July 2026.
Do I have to pay Dutch road tax as a visitor?
No. The motorrijtuigenbelasting behind the "Netherlands road tax" headlines is an ownership tax on Dutch-registered vehicles. A foreign-plated car owes none of it.
Is the Westerscheldetunnel still tolled?
Not for cars. Since 30 December 2024 it has been free for vehicles under 3 m in height, which covers cars and motorcycles. Taller vehicles still pay, so a high camper is the case to check.
How much is the Kiltunnel?
Around €2 for a car, paid at a conventional barrier by card or tag. Because you stop and pay on the spot there is no deadline and no reminder fee to worry about.
Is there a truck toll in the Netherlands?
Yes, since 1 July 2026. Goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes pay per kilometre, roughly €0.022 to €0.425 depending on weight, emission class and CO2 band, using a mandatory on-board unit. It replaced the Eurovignette and it is a separate system from the A24 toll.
What is the speed limit on Dutch motorways?
100 km/h from 06:00 to 19:00 on almost the entire network, rising to 120 or 130 at night only where signed. A few trajectories run 130 all day and are signed as such. Towing a caravan caps you at 90 on the motorway.
