Austrian motorway vignette 2027: digital only, and the 3.5-tonne trap for motorhomes

ASFINAG, the company that runs Austria’s motorways, states on its website that the 2026 sticker vignette (fiery red) is the last one: from the 2027 vignette year, only the digital vignette is available. It is registered against the vehicle’s number plate and checked by cameras. Bought online by a private customer, an annual or 2-month digital vignette is only valid from the 18th day after purchase; bought from a sales partner (ÖAMTC, ARBÖ, ADAC, petrol stations, Austrian tobacconists), at a toll station or from a machine, it is valid straight away. In 2026 the annual vignette costs €106.80; 2027 prices had not been published by 3 November 2026. A vehicle whose technically permissible maximum mass exceeds 3.5 tonnes does not use the vignette but a GO-Box, charged per kilometre. With a car and caravan, only the car counts: one vignette is enough.

2027: the vignette goes fully digital

ASFINAG, which runs Austria’s motorways and expressways, puts it plainly: the 2026 sticker vignette, in fiery red, is the last one. From the 2027 vignette year, only the digital vignette is available. There is nothing to stick on the windscreen: the vignette is registered against your number plate, and cameras check it.

An annual vignette lasts 14 months, from 1 December of the previous year to 31 January of the following year. According to the usual rule, the 2027 annual vignette will therefore run from 1 December 2026 to 31 January 2028, which covers a ski trip over Christmas.

How much does the vignette cost?

2027 prices are set by a regulation of the Austrian transport ministry, together with the finance ministry, and had not been published by 3 November 2026. Here are the 2026 prices for a car, van or motorhome up to 3.5 tonnes, to give you an idea:

Bear in mind that some stretches charge a section toll on top of the vignette, notably the Brenner motorway (A13) towards Italy and the Tauern motorway (A10) towards Carinthia and Slovenia, two routes many British drivers use on the way south.

The 18-day trap when buying online

You can buy the digital vignette on the ASFINAG website, but Austrian consumer law gives private buyers 14 days to withdraw, plus 3 days for postal delivery. The result: an annual or 2-month vignette bought online is only valid from the 18th day after purchase.

• Leaving in less than 18 days? Buy it from a sales partner (the ÖAMTC, ARBÖ or ADAC motoring clubs, petrol stations, Austrian tobacconists), at an ASFINAG toll station or from a machine at a rest area or border crossing: it is valid immediately.
• 1-day and 10-day vignettes: no waiting period, you can choose immediate validity online.
• Check your number plate carefully when you buy, UK plates included: one wrong character, or a letter O typed as a zero, and the vignette is not on your vehicle.

Motorhomes: vignette or GO-Box?

This is where many motorhome owners get caught out. Since 1 December 2023, Austria no longer looks at the weight the vehicle is plated or registered at, but at its technically permissible maximum mass, the figure set by the manufacturer (box F.1 on EU-format registration certificates).

Plenty of motorhomes sold as “3.5 tonnes” so they can be driven on a car licence have a higher technical mass, downplated to 3,500 kg. If yours has been downplated, the V5C may not tell the whole story: check the manufacturer’s figure as well. In Austria these vehicles need a GO-Box, a small unit fixed to the windscreen that pays the toll per kilometre driven on motorways and expressways. You must have it before you join the motorway. The rate depends on the route, the number of axles, the Euro emission class and the CO₂ class, and it adds up quickly on a crossing of the country.

Not sure what your motorhome weighs or what licence it needs? Our tools Work out the payload of my motorhome and Which licence for my motorhome? take you through it step by step.

Towing a caravan

Good news for caravanners: only the car counts. ASFINAG states that the weight of the trailer plays no part as long as the towing vehicle has a technically permissible maximum mass of no more than 3.5 tonnes. One vignette is enough, the car’s.

Crossing Austria to reach Italy? Our directory of campsites in Italy shows, for each site, whether it takes larger outfits and twin-axle caravans. We will add the 2027 vignette prices as soon as they are published.