Hungary's road network
Highways (motorways, semi-motorways) and main roads form the backbone of Hungary’s road network. The total length of the highway network in 2024 is close to 2500 km, while the length of the primary and secondary main road network reaches 7000 km. This main network is connected to a network of side roads of more than 23,000 km and a network of 185,000 km of municipal roads.
Road rules and safety
Right-hand traffic has been in force in Hungary since 1941.
The speed limits forpassenger vehicles for each type of road:
- motorways –130 km/h;
- semi-motorway – 110 km/h;
- main and side road – 90 km/h;
- residental area: 50 km/h
Outside residental areas, vehicles must be illuminated at all times, with daytime running lamp or dipped-beam headlamps, even in good visibility conditions.
Safety:
- The use of seat belts and child restraint systems is mandatory. Child seats are compulsory for children under 3 and shorter than 150 cm (exception: children over 3 and taller than 135 cm, if the car’s normal seat belt fits for their size)
- Mobile: Drivers may use their mobile phone with a hand-free set, it is forbidden to use hand-held mobile phones.
Influence:
- Alcohol consumption: Hungary has zero tolerance, no detectable alcohol level is allowed.
- Driving whilst under the influence of any drug is prohibited, and considered a criminal offence.
Current official traffic information can be found on the website of Utinform.
Toll roads in Hungary
Most motorways and semi-motorways are subject to tolls. The motorway usage right (“motorway vignette”) can be purchased electronically in a prepaid subscription system. Since the electronic purchase was introdiced, the official name of the highway pass is „e-vignette”
The validity of the vignette is checked by cameras installed in fixed locations as well as mobile units. A detailed map of the toll road network is available here.
How to buy the highway vignette?
E-vignettes can be purchased at almost all gas stations as well as online. In the latter case, we recommend to make a purchase directly on the website of the National Toll Payment Service Provider, as intermediary sites may charge additional fees.
To make a purchase, you must specify:
- vehicle license plate number
- vehicle toll category
- vignette type
What toll categories are there?
The payment system classifies different types of vehicles into different toll categories.
Motorcycles are uniformly classified as D1M. In the case of passenger cars, classification is based on the maximum authorized weight and the allowed number of passengers:
- D1 – max 3500 kg and 7 persons;
- D2 – all other passenger cars.
For trucks and buses over 3.5 t, a toll proportional to the distance travelled is payable in a system called HU-GO. An additional e-vignette of category U must be purchased for trailers towed by motor vehicles of category D2.
What types of e-vignettes are available?
Coutry validity:
It is valid for all toll roads in the whole country.
- daily: valid from the exact time of purchase until midnight on the day of purchase. In case of pre-purchase, it is valid from 0 a.m. to midnight on the day indicated.
- weekly (10 days): starting day + additional 9 consecutive days,
- monthly: valid from the starting day until the 24th hour of the same day (by number) of the following month,
- annual: can be used from the date of purchase (in the case of pre-purchase, from the first day of the current year) until midnight on 31 January of the year following the reference year;
The daily, weekly and monthly vignette – if the customer does not specify separately the beginning (starting date) of the validity period of the e-vignette – can be used from the date of purchase (payment has been made).
Regional validity:
It can be used on the toll highway network of a given county until the first junction in the next county.
It is valid for the year, it provides road use entitlement from the date of purchase (in the case of pre-purchase in December, from the first day of the reference year) until midnight on 31 January of the year following the reference year.
E-vignette fees from 1 January 2025
The current price list is available here. From 1 of January 2025, the following prices apply:
E-vignette fee category | National | Regional | |||
Daily | Weekly (10 days) | Monthly | Yearly | Yearly | |
D1M* | 2 660 HUF | 3 310 HUF | 5 360 HUF | 59 210 HUF | 6 890 HUF |
D1 | 5 320 HUF | 6 620 HUF | 10 710 HUF | 59 210 HUF | 6 890 HUF |
D2 | 7 560 HUF | 9 630 HUF | 15 170 HUF | 84 040 HUF | 13 780 HUF |
U | 5 320 HUF | 6 620 HUF | 10 710 HUF | 59 210 HUF | 6 890 HUF |
It can be seen from the pricing that a daily vignette should be purchased by those who use the toll road network only very rarely and occasionally.
It is worth to buy regional e-vignette for those who regularly use the toll roads only of a few counties. For example, if someone commutes regularly between Budapest and Győr, but travels to other parts of the country only occasionally, it is worth buying county vignettes for the three counties concerned (Pest, Komárom-Esztergom, Győr-Moson-Sopron), and for the other trips, if necessary, buying time-based country vignettes.
I forgot to buy an e-vignette, what should I do?
Road users who have entered the toll road network by mistake have 60 minutes from the moment of entry to purchase their e-vignette.
Penalty payment
If the vehicle does not have a valid e-vignette at the time of inspection, the owner will have to pay a penalty surcharge for unauthorised road use. Information on unauthorized road use can be found in detail on the website of National Toll Payment Ltd.
The payment deadline (60 days) starts from the receipt of the surcharge letter and can be paid at any customer service office, by postal money transfer order (“yellow cheque”) or by bank transfer.
Regardless of the fee category, from 1 January 2025 the surcharge will be:
- Basic surcharge (in case of payment within 60 days): 26 640 HUF
- Increased surcharge (in case of payment after 60 days): 91 780 HUF
Within 75 days from the date of the surcharge notice it is possible to request its withdrawal if an annual country vignette was purchased for the vehicle in the meantime.
