TollRo in Romania: What Hauliers Need to Know About the New Per-Kilometre Truck Toll

On 1 October 2026 Romania replaced the time-based vignette for trucks with TollRo, a toll charged for every kilometre driven. It applies to every goods vehicle over 3.5 tonnes on Romanian motorways, expressways and national roads, whatever country it is registered in.

This guide is written for hauliers and dispatchers who send trucks into or through Romania. It is based on the official texts: the law, the implementing rules published on 30 September 2026 and the road administrator's own announcements. The system is new and some rules are still being debated, so a later section describes the situation as it stands and is kept up to date.

What has changed since 1 October (updated 16 October 2026)

• 5 October: the Romanian Senate approved fast-track procedure for a bill that would suspend TollRo fines until 31 March 2027, but postponed the debate. As of 16 October there has been no vote.
• 6 October: the road administrator warned that TollRo can only be paid through official channels. Bank transfers to its accounts do not count as payment.
• 9 October: the platform failed again and was fixed the same day. No fines apply for the outage.
• 15 October: the administrator published guidance on GPS loss, large fleets and tickets issued with wrong data. It is included in the sections below.

Where to buy TollRo: the official channels

TollRo is sold only through:

• the etoll.ro portal, run by the Romanian road administrator CNAIR, with an English version marked as beta;
• the TollRo mobile app, which works for Romanian and foreign users;
• CNAIR offices, including those at border crossings, where you can pay in cash or by card;
• authorised distributors.

On 6 October the administrator stated (in Romanian) that these are the only payment channels and asked users to ignore payment requests received any other way. A bank transfer to CNAIR's accounts does not count as paying the toll: the truck still needs a valid ticket or app session. Money already sent by transfer can be claimed back with a written request to CNAIR, including proof of payment and the account details for the refund.

TollRo in brief

TollRo covers goods vehicles with a maximum authorised mass above 3.5 tonnes, and mixed-use vehicles treated as such. Sections of national road inside municipalities are exempt. The rules are set out in Law no. 226/2023 (in Romanian), which states that the tolls apply without discrimination as to the nationality of the user, the country where the operator is established or the country of registration.

The toll is the rate per kilometre multiplied by the distance driven, in whole kilometres. Rates depend on the vehicle's mass, its emission class and the type of road. The figures below come from the Transport Minister's Order no. 1.925/2025, as published by the Romanian hauliers' association UNTRR, in lei per kilometre, VAT included:

The toll is set and charged in lei. As a rough guide, at the rate of 5.24 lei to the euro used in UNTRR's estimates, 0.48 lei is about 9 euro cents per kilometre. A Euro VI truck of 12 tonnes or more that drives 500 kilometres of motorway would pay 240 lei, roughly 46 euros. That is our own arithmetic from the official rates, not an official quote; the real amount depends on the route the system calculates.

Two details are easy to miss:

• Trailers change the category. When a truck runs with a trailer or semi-trailer, the category is set by the total mass of the combination, the sum of the maximum authorised masses in the registration documents. The user declares the configuration and is responsible for it.
• Unknown emission class means the highest rate. If the emission class cannot be established from the registration document, the vehicle is treated as Euro 0. Check what class the system shows before the first trip.

Passenger vehicles and goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes are not affected: they continue to use the vignette.

How to pay: two options for now

The law provides three ways to pay: a contract with a toll service provider using an on-board unit, a route ticket, or the road administrator's mobile app. The first does not work yet. Interoperability with the European Electronic Toll Service becomes operational from 15 January 2027, and in early September the road administrator said that registration of providers had not started. An on-board unit you use in other countries will not pay TollRo for now.

That leaves two options, described in the administrator's announcement of 25 September.

The route ticket

A route ticket is paid before the trip, for a fixed route. Under the implementing rules (Order no. 922/2026, Official Gazette no. 832 of 30 September 2026), the ticket:

• is bought at most 24 hours before the declared departure;
• covers a single passage on the declared route: origin, intermediate points, destination;
• is valid for 72 hours from the declared departure and expires even if only part of the route was driven;
• can be cancelled only until its validity starts.

One caution: when this guide was first published on 2 October, the official portal still showed a 72-hour window for buying in advance. The rules published in the Official Gazette say 24 hours.

To issue a ticket you need the country and registration number of the truck, the registration number of the trailer, the emission class, the vehicle identification number, the vehicle category, the total mass, length, height and width of the combination as it travels, the departure date and time, and the route. For vehicles registered in Romania some of this is pulled automatically from national databases; for foreign vehicles it has to be entered by hand, so have the registration documents ready.

Tickets are issued on the etoll.ro portal, which has an English version marked as beta, in the TollRo app, and at the road administrator's offices, including those at border crossings. Online payment is available around the clock. At the offices you can pay in cash or by card during opening hours.

How to buy a route ticket, step by step

1. Create an account on the portal or in the app and confirm it from the email you receive. In the first days these emails were delayed, so do this before the truck reaches the border.
2. Save your vehicles. The administrator recommends adding the truck and its trailers in advance in the vehicles section of your profile ("Profil / Vehicule și Remorci" in the Romanian version), so you can pick them from a list later. Mass and dimensions still have to be confirmed for every ticket.
3. Enter the trip: the combination as it will travel, the departure date and time (at most 24 hours ahead) and the route, with origin, intermediate points and destination.
4. Check every field before paying. Under the administrator's guidance of 15 October (in Romanian), a ticket with a wrong registration number, mass or emission class cannot be corrected once its validity starts and is invalid at a check. The fix is a new ticket, and the money paid for the wrong one is not refunded.
5. Pay and keep the documents: the fiscal document and the route document for each ticket.

The administrator puts a manually issued ticket at about five minutes per vehicle. That is manageable for an occasional transit, but it adds up quickly for a fleet.

The mobile app

The TollRo app records the distance actually driven using the phone's GPS, and the toll is paid from an electronic wallet. The implementing rules state that the app can be used by Romanian and foreign users and must be available at least in Romanian and English.

The driver has to start the charging session at departure, keep the phone charged with mobile data, location and automatic time enabled, watch for alerts and stop the session at the end of the trip, and also whenever the vehicle configuration changes. The account must hold enough funds at all times. If the app can no longer be used, the rules require the driver to stop, safely, until the cause is fixed or the toll is paid another way. The rules also say the app should store location data locally when there is no connection and send it once the connection returns.

The administrator's guidance of 15 October adds the practical detail. A short loss of signal, in a tunnel for example, is handled automatically: the data is sent once the connection returns. If the signal is lost for a long time or the phone switches off, the session counts as interrupted. The driver stops at the first safe parking area and either restarts the session or buys a route ticket for the rest of the route.

For fleets, one account or one phone cannot track several moving trucks at the same time; the app shows "Aveți deja o sesiune activă" ("you already have an active session"). Each driver needs the app on their own phone, set up as a sub-account of the company account. The administrator recommends this setup for larger fleets: the company tops up TollRo credit centrally, and each driver starts a session at departure that is paid from the company's credit.

Which one to choose

The ticket suits trips with a known, stable route, such as a planned transit. It cannot be changed once its validity starts, and refunds are limited to three cases: the vehicle did not owe the toll, a higher category was paid than the real one, or the ticket was cancelled in time. For trips where the destination may change on the way, the app is the only practical option.

The rules oblige the road administrator to run a single TollRo help centre, available 24 hours a day, in Romanian and English.

What happens at a check

Checks are made by cameras and by stopping vehicles. What follows depends on where the vehicle is registered.

Roadside checks. If non-payment is found when the vehicle is stopped, the driver receives a payment notice on the spot and can pay immediately by electronic means, including by card. A fine follows only if the driver refuses.

Camera checks, vehicles registered in an EU member state. The keeper receives an information letter by registered post, in an official language of the country of registration, and has 72 hours from receipt to pay the toll due plus the administrative costs of the notification. Payment within the deadline ends the matter.

Camera checks, vehicles registered outside the EU. Unpaid tolls detected by cameras are recorded in the system, and the payment notice for all of them is issued at the first roadside stop, including at border crossings.

The amount requested is the toll calculated on distance or, where the distance cannot be established, a flat 2,000 lei, applied once per 12 hours. If it is not paid, the fine is 10 to 20 times the toll due, or 5,000 lei where the distance cannot be established. The information letter and the payment notice are not fines in themselves.

Getting money back

For route tickets, refunds are limited to the three cases above. The request is made on the form on the administrator's portal, with a copy of the registration certificate; the deadline for a decision is 45 working days, and transfer costs and the payment processor's commission are deducted. A ticket that was not used but not cancelled in time is not refunded.

For the app, you are entitled to a refund if you were charged wrongly because of a fault in the system or the app, established by the administrator, including after your complaint. Keep the documents for every trip: for each ticket and each app session you can download a fiscal document and a document showing the route, the kilometres charged by road type and the amount with VAT.

The situation on 16 October 2026

The first days

The platform had problems from day one. The road administrator said that account confirmation emails were being throttled by Gmail and Yahoo, that there were faults in confirming payments, and that it would not sanction users who could not buy TollRo until these were fixed.

UNTRR published a list of 21 problems reported by hauliers in the first hours. Three concern international transport directly:

• at one border crossing, issuing a single ticket at the counter reportedly took almost 11 minutes;
• one border office was reported not to be issuing route tickets;
• hauliers' associations from the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine reported that their drivers were not receiving the emails needed to confirm their accounts.

Other reports included routes that could not be completed to the destination, proposed routes unsuitable for trucks, vehicle data that had to be re-entered for every ticket, and the app disconnecting while driving. If you are planning trips in the coming weeks, allow extra time for issuing tickets and create your account before the truck reaches the border.

The outage of 9 October

On Friday 9 October the platform had temporary malfunctions (in Romanian) from the morning, and by the afternoon the administrator announced they had been fixed. The rule stayed the same: vehicles with a valid ticket or an active session are not recorded as unpaid, and the toll for the outage is calculated later at no extra cost. The administrator has said it does not apply fines while the system is unavailable. If it happens to your driver, take screenshots of the error with the date and time visible and keep any messages from the payment processor. The administrator is also working on a page that will show the system's status.

The proposal to suspend fines

The Romanian Senate is considering bill L579/2026 (in Romanian). As tabled, it would suspend fines for unpaid TollRo until 31 March 2027, without cancelling the toll itself, and from 1 March 2027 it would extend the payment deadline after an information letter from 72 hours to 30 days. It received a favourable opinion from the Legislative Council, with the remark that the measures cannot apply retroactively from 1 October.

On 5 October the Senate approved fast-track procedure but postponed the debate. As of 16 October the official record shows the bill still with the Senate committees, with no vote. If the Senate does not vote by 13 November 2026, the bill is considered adopted by the Senate and moves to the Chamber of Deputies, which takes the final decision. Until a law is passed, the rules above apply, including the 72-hour deadline.

How it compares with neighbouring countries

Distance-based tolling is not new in the region, and Romania's model resembles its neighbours'. Hungary's HU-GO system uses on-board units and route tickets paid before the trip, valid for a single passage. Poland has the e-TOLL PL app and on-board devices. Bulgaria sells route passes through BG TOLL. The difference is that in those countries on-board units already work, so large fleets do not depend on tickets issued one by one. In Romania that option is expected only from January 2027.

A short checklist before your next trip to Romania

1. Create the account on the portal or in the app before departure, and confirm it while you still have time to chase a missing email.
2. Keep the registration documents for the truck and trailer at hand: you will need mass, dimensions, emission class and identification number.
3. Check which emission class the system shows for your vehicle.
4. Decide per trip: route ticket for a fixed transit, app for routes that may change.
5. If you use a ticket, buy it no more than 24 hours before departure and make sure the truck finishes within 72 hours.
6. If you use the app, top up the wallet, make sure each driver has the app on their own phone, and give written instructions for what to do if the app disconnects, including taking screenshots of any error.
7. Download and keep the documents for every trip.

Frequently asked questions

Who has to pay TollRo in Romania?

Every goods vehicle with a maximum authorised mass above 3.5 tonnes, and mixed-use vehicles treated as such, on Romanian motorways, expressways and national roads. The toll applies regardless of the nationality of the operator or the country where the vehicle is registered. Passenger vehicles and goods vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes keep paying the time-based vignette (rovinieta).

Where do I buy TollRo? What is the official website?

The official channels are the etoll.ro portal run by the road administrator CNAIR, the TollRo mobile app, CNAIR offices including those at border crossings, and authorised distributors. CNAIR has asked users to ignore payment requests received any other way. A bank transfer to CNAIR's accounts does not count as paying the toll.

What if I entered wrong data on a route ticket?

A ticket with a wrong registration number, mass or emission class cannot be corrected once its validity has started, and it is invalid at a check. CNAIR advises stopping safely and buying a new, correct ticket straight away. The money paid for the wrong ticket is not refunded.

Can I use my existing EETS on-board unit to pay TollRo?

Not yet. Romanian law makes interoperability with the European Electronic Toll Service operational from 15 January 2027. Until then the toll is paid with a route ticket bought before the trip or through the free TollRo mobile app.

How far in advance can I buy a TollRo route ticket?

At most 24 hours before the declared departure date and time, under the implementing rules (Order 922/2026). The ticket is valid for 72 hours from the declared departure and covers a single passage on the declared route. It can only be cancelled before its validity starts.

How much is the TollRo fine?

First you are asked to pay the toll due: the amount calculated on distance, or a flat 2,000 lei, once per 12 hours, if the distance cannot be established. If that is not paid within 72 hours of receiving the information letter, the fine is 10 to 20 times the toll due, or 5,000 lei where the distance cannot be established.

What happens if the TollRo platform is down?

Under the implementing rules, vehicles that hold a valid route ticket or have an active charging session in the app at the time of a malfunction are not recorded as unpaid, and the toll is settled later at no extra cost. The road administrator CNAIR has said it does not apply fines while the system is unavailable, and repeated this after the outages of 1 and 9 October 2026. Keep screenshots of the error with the date and time visible, and any messages from the payment processor.

A new toll is one more task on top of orders, trip documents and customs paperwork. If your office already runs on spreadsheets and phone calls, the place to start is knowing where the time goes. We describe what logistics companies usually digitalise first, and you can take the free digital audit to see where your company stands in five minutes.