Toll roads in Portugal: what they cost and how you pay

First work out what kind of road you are on

There are two toll systems in the country, and they work differently.

Barrier with a toll booth (portagem tradicional). As you enter the motorway a machine gives you a ticket; on the way out you hand it in at the window or put it in the machine and pay for the distance travelled — in cash or by bank card. Before the barrier there is always a sign with a picture of coins. The lanes differ: one with a little figure of a person is a manned booth, one with a green letter V is only for cars with a device.

Electronic tolls only (portagem exclusivamente eletrónica). There is no booth at all: gantries (pórticos) stand over the road and read the device or photograph the number plate. Next to each gantry there is a board with the current rates. There is no way at all to pay on the spot — only afterwards.

The easiest way to tell them apart is at the entrance: before a stretch with gantries there is a separate sign warning that from here on tolls are electronic only. If you have already driven on and aren't sure, don't worry — what to do is described below in the step on paying afterwards.

“yeah, if there are signs on the gates, then N on a green background is for the Via Verde sticker, you just drive through if you have one, if there's a little man with a coin then it's cash and card, sometimes there's an attendant, sometimes just a machine.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa15.10.2022

“The A2 is paid at the gates: you take a ticket on the way in and pay it on the way out. You don't need Via Verde. Both bridges the same.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt05.02.2025

The car pays, not the driver: the class depends on height and axles

The toll depends only on the vehicle class. There are four classes, and they are based on two things: the height measured vertically above the front axle, and the number of axles.

Class 1 — under 1.10 m, with or without a trailer. Almost all passenger cars fall here. Class 2 — two axles and a height of 1.10 m or more: vans, tall SUVs, minibuses. Class 3 — three axles and the same height. Class 4 — more than three axles.

Motorcycles paying manually count as class 1. But if a motorcycle has a Via Verde device, it becomes class 5, and that pays off: a 30% discount on the class 1 price on all concessions except the Vasco da Gama Bridge. Without a device there is no discount.

There is an exception few people know about. Some vehicles that are formally class 2 pay as class 1. This is Decreto-Lei n.º 39/2005 and Decreto-Lei n.º 71/2018 (as amended by Decreto-Lei n.º 120/2021): two axles, gross weight up to 3,500 kg, five or more seats, height from 1.10 to 1.30 m, no permanent four-wheel drive, and for cars registered after 1 January 2019 also the EURO 6 standard. The reduced rate is granted only with a Via Verde device and only to models that the IMT has put on its lists (last updated on 18 September 2026). If your model isn't on the list but meets the conditions, you get an extraordinary category B inspection and take the certificate to the concessionaire.

Neither the car's age nor its fuel affects the toll at all. This is worth saying plainly: on 22 September 2026 a fake story spread on social media claiming that diesel cars over fifteen years old would pay a higher rate to enter Lisbon and Porto. There are no city entry charges in Portugal, and no rate based on fuel or year of manufacture either. How to spot fakes like this is in the guide How to spot fraud in Portugal.

The easiest way to check your class is by make and model on the Via Verde website: it also shows whether the car falls under the exception.

“over 1.1 metres - class 2. There are some exceptions where manufacturers push their cars through as class 1, for example the skoda kodiaq - 1.6m tall, but that only works if you have via verde”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa11.02.2024

“Don't rush to change your car ☺️ On the ViaVerde site, below the class finder by model, there's a note that although the car is over 1.1 metres, SUVs and estates aren't class 1, a special extension was made for them. If your car is on the special list, you can apply and your car will be put in class 1.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa04.01.2023

What it costs

Rates are reviewed every January. On 1 January 2026 they rose by 2.29% — under the formula in the concession contract this is annual inflation on the mainland excluding housing for October, plus 0.1 percentage points added by Decreto-Lei n.º 87-A/2022. Not everything went up: of 93 class 1 tolls, 40 were raised, and on 57% of the network the price stayed the same.

For a car in 2026: Lisbon — Porto on the A1 — €25.05, Lisbon — the Algarve on the A2 — €23.80, Marateca — Caia on the A2/A6 (the road to Badajoz in Spain) — €15.40. On average a driver in Portugal pays about €0.07 per kilometre — roughly a fifth less than the average across the seventeen countries where road tolls are counted.

Class 2 pays roughly twice as much as class 1, class 3 three times as much, class 4 four times; the exact figures differ for each section.

It's better not to estimate a particular route by eye: Infraestruturas de Portugal has a calculator where you enter the start and end points and get the amount for all four classes at once.

“Well, they do charge a couple of euros a day for renting the transponder, of course, but you've already paid for that, after that they'll just charge for the A2, for a car it's about 25 euros.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa14.07.2026

Via Verde: what it is and what it costs

Via Verde is a small white box on the windscreen. It answers the gantry or barrier with its code, the barrier opens without you stopping, and the money is later taken from the linked account. On roads with gantries it is the only way not to think about paying at all, and nothing is added to the toll.

You either buy the device or rent it. According to the Via Verde price list in force since 10 April 2026:

Buy — €45, or €37.50 if you choose electronic statements instead of paper ones. Nothing more is paid monthly.

Rent — three plans. “Motorway” (Autoestrada): roads only, €1.04 a month or €0.54 with electronic statements; €12.39 or €6.39 a year. “Mobility” (Mobilidade): roads, car parks, filling stations and more, €1.99 a month or €1.49; €23.49 or €17.49 a year. “Light Mobility” (Mobilidade Leve): the same, but you pay only in the months when you used something — €2.49 or €1.99. This last plan is the answer for anyone who drives on toll roads twice a year.

You can also add roaming — €1.99 in the months you drive: with it the device works on motorways in Spain and France and in more than seven hundred car parks there.

There is also a fourth option — the prepaid CTT device: you buy it for €45 at a post office and top it up in advance; the minimum balance is €25 for classes 1 and 5 and €60 for classes 2, 3 and 4. The balance doesn't expire. It suits people who don't have an account with direct debit.

Losing or damaging a rented device costs €15, and postage within the country is €2.99.

“I sometimes write here about the difficulties I run into, and when I manage to figure things out I try to tell people and maybe make someone's life easier. I recently bought a car and now wanted to buy a via-verde transponder. Personally I thought it was just for paying toll roads, but it turns out you can use it to pay for city parking( through the app), all sorts of charging points if you have an electric car, and there are some other bonuses too, but I didn't really look into those. You can pick up the transponder at 3 offices in Lisbon, you sign a contract and take it away.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

surflisbon08.07.2024

“I recommend getting Via Verde, the new version of the transponder: with it you can drive not only in Portugal but also in Spain and France. It's very easy to pay for parking — both on the street and in car parks — through the app on your phone. In Porto a lot of roads only have remote transponder readers, and you need it there. If you don't use it, you pay nothing, the annual rental is only 12 euros. Generally, without a transponder there'll be lots of problems. So it's not compulsory, but it's absolutely essential.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

ukrporto30.03.2026

How to get a device: online, at a shop or at the post office

There are three ways, and they are not equally hassle-free.

Online on the Via Verde website. You register the car by its plate, choose a plan, and the device arrives by post in about a week. No documents are needed — the number plate is enough. After that the device has to be activated: the letter that comes with it contains an eleven-digit code (referência), and you enter it at a Multibanco cash machine — “Pagamentos e outros serviços” → “Transportes” → “Via Verde” → “Ativação de referência”. Some Portuguese banks let you do the same in their app, but far from all.

At a Via Verde shop (Loja Via Verde). The staff do everything themselves, and you get the device in your hand the same day. This is the most reliable route if the website is playing up, and it plays up regularly.

At a CTT post office. They also hand over the device on the spot; you need the car's registration certificate.

About the card. Payments are taken by direct debit from a Portuguese account, and activation at the cash machine requires a Multibanco card. Virtual cards and foreign accounts generally won't work here — people hit a dead end with them and go to the shop. A separate Via Verde line for visitors (Visitors) lets you link a foreign IBAN, but the ordinary device with parking can't be linked to a foreign card.

“‘Unknown error, try again later’. Yes, I've already popped over to their office. 30 minutes including the queue, and I walked out with the transponder in my hands.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt24.07.2026

“I ordered the transponder online, some banks let you link the account from the app, but Caixa didn't, so I had to walk to the cash machine”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

Moto chat 🇵🇹11.03.2026

The device is tied to the number plate, not the windscreen

This is what takes away half the worry. The device is registered to a specific number plate, and the gantry reads both the device and the plate.

If the device doesn't respond — it has come unstuck, the battery is flat, it was in the glovebox — a yellow light comes on at the gate instead of a green one. This isn't a fine and nothing to worry about: the passage is recorded from the photo of the plate and the money is taken later. With Via Verde such a charge “by photo” costs €0.32 on top of the toll.

But you still need to carry the device. Formally it must be fixed to the inside of the windscreen, and one device means one plate: you can't move it to another car until you have changed the plate in your online account.

The money isn't taken at the moment you pass. For different people it happens once a week or once a month, and the statement comes by email. So “three days have passed and no money has gone” is normal, not a reason to pay a second time.

One more thing: if Via Verde has the wrong class for your car, the difference will also be charged from the photo. It's worth checking the class right after signing up.

“If the light was green when you drove through, not yellow - everything's fine Via verde doesn't charge at the moment you pass, but every so often. For me - once a month. All the gantries in Portugal read number plates perfectly well.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt19.03.2026

“For me, both on the car and on the motorbike, it works every other time, but in the app all the passages are counted anyway And as far as I understand, since there are cameras at every toll point and they'll send you a bill if you go through ‘without a ticket’ Then they can just take the money by number plate, since every transponder is linked to a specific car with a plate anyway”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

Moto chat 🇵🇹13.01.2026

Drove under a gantry without a device — how to pay afterwards

This is called post-payment (pós-pagamento), and its rules are strict.

The passage becomes available for payment 48 hours after you drove through. From then you have 15 working days. Administrative costs are added to the toll — €0.32 per passage, but no more than €2.56 per payment.

Where to pay: at a CTT post office or counter, at a Payshop agent, at a cash machine using a payment reference, or on the CTT website. You can also get the reference by text message. At the post office it's enough to give the number plate.

An important limitation: by law, post-payment is allowed only for cars with Portuguese plates. What to do with foreign plates is a separate step below.

Once the 15 working days have passed, you can no longer pay at the post office: the passage goes to the portal of the concession whose road you used, and you pay there. Each concession has its own portal — Ascendi, Via Livre, Globalvia — but you don't need to search all of them: the general portal shows all passages and sends you to the right one itself.

“Go to any CTT post office, ask them, preciso pagar passeios da estrada com matrícula. They'll find it on the computer by the car's plate and you can pay. If it's been passed to VIA Verde, then go to any of their offices and pay everything there by plate, no problem. Onl I'd advise checking the dates of the passages. Sometimes you end up paying not your own bill but the pre vious renters'.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt30.05.2025

“If you don't have Via verde yet, you can check what you owe by the car's plate in the ctt app. Then two options: pay yourself/ask a friend through mbway, or generate a code to pay at a cash machine..”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatporto18.10.2024

Check by number plate whether you owe anything

A useful habit for everyone, and a must for those who drive without a device or have recently hired a car.

The main place is the Portal de Pagamento de Portagens (pagamentodeportagens.pt): enter the number plate and you see all unpaid passages. The portal shows records from all concessions at once, including Ascendi, Via Livre and Globalvia, and if payment doesn't go through there, it sends you to the right concession's portal itself.

The second is the CTT form “portagens em dívida”: the same by number plate, with the option to pay straight away.

The third is Via Verde, the “Pagamentos em falta” section, search by plate: this is where anything that couldn't be charged to the device ends up.

Don't expect the passage to show up the next day. The photo of the plate has to be processed, and the record usually appears on the portal within 30 days. An empty result after three days proves nothing — check again a month later.

“If you don't have a transponder, then a few days after the passage you can find out how much to pay on the "Portal de Pagamento de Portagens" site – by the car's plate. Or at the post office, and pay there too. Once I didn't do it, and a few months later a letter came with the amount and the payment details. + a small not even fine, and a "payment processing" fee.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatsetubal03.05.2024

“When you arrive, you need to drive to the gates without the big green V. You take a ticket there and pay on the way out. It's also worth checking your car within 30 days for passages on toll roads with video recording here: pagamentodeportagens.pt. The information appears there within 3–⁠30 days. And once you're here, buy the device and a plan on viaverde.pt.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

ukrporto26.03.2026

What happens if you don't pay

The chain is long, and the amount grows at every step.

The first letter is an Aviso de Falta de Pagamento, a simple warning. The second is a Notificação by registered post with proof of delivery. If the registered letter isn't delivered, it is sent again by ordinary post, and five days after it is sent you are considered notified, whether you opened the envelope or not. The address is taken from the vehicle register, or, for those with a device, from the Via Verde contract.

At this stage they ask for the toll plus €2.21 per passage (the amount is set by law) and give you 30 working days to pay or to name the person who was driving: name, full address and NIF. If you neither name anyone nor pay, the owner of the car pays.

Then the case goes to the tax office. The Autoridade Tributária opens an enforcement procedure (processo de execução fiscal) and an administrative offence procedure (processo de contraordenação), and adds costs, a fine and interest. From that point neither the post office nor the portal will accept the money — only the tax office for your tax address.

The fine itself. Under Article 7 of Lei n.º 25/2006 it is at least five times the toll and in any case no less than €25; the ceiling is twice that minimum. There is also some leniency: if the same car commits several offences in one month on the same road, they count as one offence, and the minimum is made up of the tolls themselves.

Hence the simple arithmetic: a toll of one and a half euros that ends up at the tax office costs several tens of euros.

“found the answer in my online account: a fine for not paying a toll on the A22. In July last year there were 3 short trips in a car without a transponder, and I forgot to pay afterwards by matrícula. In total the 3 passages came to €1.5. As the documents say, the minimum amount collected is €25 (instead of the actual €1.5) and another €38.25 for the enforcement procedure itself from the tax office.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

reciboverde19.03.2025

“No, well, there's bound to be a mark-up. At least Via Verde has a small fine of a few euros. If you have a portuguese nif and don't pay for a few months, it'll already be 60+ for a single trip worth a couple of euros. That happened to me, but for that you also have to lose all the warnings, they send them by post. And then the case is passed to the enforcement service and the fine comes from the state.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt23.09.2024

The bill doesn't come straight away — and that is the most common trap

Months pass between the passage and the letter. In the chats, bills and fines have arrived six months later, seven or eight months later, and in one case two years later.

Two conclusions follow.

First: “nothing has arrived” doesn't mean “I owe nothing”. Check for yourself by number plate, especially after a trip in a hire car or in a car with a faulty device.

Second: keep your address in the vehicle register up to date. The letter will go there, and the deadline will run whether it arrives or not.

And one more trap is a broken device. While it isn't working, passages pile up with different concessions, and the driver simply doesn't see some of them: some come through Via Verde, others sit with the concession, others have already gone to the tax office. After a breakdown you need to check all the portals at once.

“I once drove on a toll road through via Verde, but I don't have via Verde set up - I went straight to them - what do I do - they say: wait for the fine… I went everywhere looking for the fine - everyone said - wait.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

left4portugal02.07.2025

“Not quite, they have a certain period during which they try to charge the card. After that period they pass the case to Via Verde, ‘which will contact you directly’. In my case, no one ever got in touch, and I happily forgot about it. In the end, about 7-8 months later, huge fines with interest landed. So I really recommend you do find a way to contact Via Verde and pay off the debt. [nickname] P.S.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

left4portugal03.07.2025

Bridges over the Tagus: you pay only in the direction of Lisbon

Both Lisbon bridges are run by the Lusoponte concession, and both charge in one direction only.

The 25 de Abril Bridge. The toll plaza is on the south bank, in Almada, and works in the direction Almada → Lisbon. Going south from Lisbon you cross for free. Tolls: class 1 — €2.25, class 2 — €4.85, class 3 — €6.55, class 4 — €8.45. There are sixteen lanes, six of them automatic: two ViaCard and four Via Verde. Lanes 15 and 16 are reserved for public transport from 7:00 to 10:00.

The Vasco da Gama Bridge. The toll plaza is in Montijo, also only in the direction of Lisbon. Class 1 — €3.40, class 2 — €7.55, class 3 — €11.10, class 4 — €14.20.

Daily commuters pay less. On the 25 de Abril Bridge, with a Via Verde device, there is a 70% discount from the 13th to the 70th crossing in a calendar month, and from the 71st crossing the rest of the month is free. With ViaCard — Lusoponte's local card — the discount starts earlier: 10% already from the first to the twelfth crossing, then the same 70% and 100%. For electric cars and plug-in hybrids there is ViaCard ECO: 15%, 80% and 100%. That is why there is a separate queue for the ViaCard lanes on the bridge.

On the Vasco da Gama Bridge the ViaCard discounts are different and depend on the time: 5% on weekdays from 7 to 10 in the morning, 10% at other times, at weekends and on public holidays; with ViaCard ECO — 10% and 20%.

Motorcycles. With a device a motorcycle counts as class 5 and gets 30% off the class 1 price — on the 25 de Abril Bridge that's €1.52 instead of €2.25. This discount doesn't apply on the Vasco da Gama Bridge.

Cash, bank cards, ViaCard and Via Verde are accepted. But EasyToll and Tollcard don't work on the bridges — this matters to anyone entering the country on foreign plates.

“Nah. On a motorbike a local one for 6 euros a year. A motorcycle one. With it the bridge costs 1.52. Not 2.25”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

Moto chat 🇵🇹11.03.2026

“I drove over the 25 de Abril bridge with a paper like that, if you're heading towards Caparica there's an office right after the bridge, a ticket there and you pay at the window, mind you, on the way back you'll have to pay for the bridge too if you're returning to Lisbon”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

chatlisboa18.08.2023

Which roads have become free

Over the past two years a noticeably smaller part of the network has remained tolled.

From 1 January 2025, under Lei n.º 37/2024, tolls were abolished entirely on: the A4 (Transmontana and the Marão tunnel), the A13 and A13-1 (Pinhal Interior), the A22 (the Algarve), the A23 (Beira Interior), the A24 (Interior Norte), the A25 (Beiras Litoral e Alta) and two sections of the A28 — between Esposende and Antas and between Neiva and Darque.

From 2026 the state budget (Lei n.º 73-A/2025) extended this list: the A25 became free along its whole length, including the Costa da Prata section near Aveiro, which had remained tolled until then.

Separately, the same budget suspended tolls for lorries on the A41 and on sections of the A19 (São Jorge — Leiria Sul) and the A8 (Leiria Sul — Pousos) until the government finishes its studies on traffic in the Porto metropolitan area and on the strain on the monastery at Batalha.

All in all, tolls are now collected not on 83% of the motorway network, as in 2024, but on 58%.

In some places gantries still hang over the free roads — they are being removed gradually. The device may beep under them, but no money is charged, and such a passage won't appear on your statement.

“On the first of January they removed the toll reader gantries on the former toll roads, they're now free to use - A4 - on the section between Transmontana and Túnel do Marão - A13 and A13-1 - Pinhal Interior - A22 - Via Infante Algarve - A23 - Beira Interior - A24 - Interior Norte - A25 - Beiras Litoral and Alta - A28 – on the sections between Esposende and Antas and between Neiva and Darque. The other motorways went up by a couple of percent and a bit, ‘in line with inflation’.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt01.01.2025

“you've already been told how to pay without a transponder, but if you drive in Portugal it's better to get a transponder. it's almost frree and there's a plan without a monthly fee if you drive rarely (it's only charged in the months when there's at least one charge, if not - no monthly fee either). but if your photo shows the very road you drove on, it's been free all the way since this year (see [link] a few other big toll roads also became free, the price boards and readers are still up, but the transponder stopped beeping on them right after new year.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt06.03.2025

Live in the Alentejo? Apply for the A2 and A6 exemption

This is the most underrated benefit: it isn't granted automatically, and in the chats hardly anyone knows about it.

Under Article 203 of the 2026 budget (Lei n.º 73-A/2025), people and companies whose registered residence or registered office is in the area served by two roads are exempt from tolls:

— on the A6 between the A2/A6/A13 junction and Caia — for those who live in Alto Alentejo or Alentejo Central;

— on the A2 between the same junction and Almodôvar — for those who live in Baixo Alentejo or Alentejo Litoral.

The procedure is set out in Portaria n.º 131/2026/1 of 30 March 2026 and has applied since 1 April 2026. What you need:

1. Be a customer of an electronic toll system, that is, have a Via Verde device for this car.

2. Apply to your service provider (at Via Verde it's a form in your online account), attaching the registration certificate or the certificate of ownership. If the car is leased or on long-term rental, also a statement from the leasing company with the lessee's name and full address.

3. The exemption applies from the day of application for exactly one year. It isn't renewed automatically: you must send the documents again 30 days before the year ends, otherwise the device will be taken off the scheme.

Two subtleties. The exemption is tied to the number plate, not the device: move the device to another car and you lose it. And you must use the electronic lanes: the display will show the full amount, but the exemption is applied later, during processing, so on your statement the passage will be zero.

Foreign plates: EasyToll, Tollcard and Go Toll

A car with foreign plates can't use post-payment at the post office — that is what the law says. So you have to choose a way to pay before your first trip.

EasyToll. You link a bank card (Visa, Mastercard or Maestro) to the number plate, and from then on tolls are charged automatically. It costs €1 to sign up and €0.32 per trip. It is valid for 30 days. You can sign up online or at one of four points near the Spanish border: Valença on the A3 (entering from Tui), Chaves on the A24 (Verín), Vilar Formoso on the A25 (Fuentes de Oñoro) and Vila Real de Santo António on the A22 (Ayamonte). The machine gives you a receipt or sends an email — keep it and check the number plate straight away: the machines mix up similar letters, and then the money isn't taken from you while the debt builds up. You can correct the plate or cancel the sign-up on the same website.

Tollcard. A prepaid card for €5, €10, €20 or €40, activated by text message. The balance is linked to the number plate, is valid for a year and adds up with the balances of other cards for the same plate. The same €0.32 per trip. It is sold on the CTT website, at CTT post offices and at filling stations along the motorways.

Go Toll from Via Verde is a subscription without a device, only for foreign plates and only online: €0.77 in the months you drive, plus €0.32 per trip. Go Toll & Beyond is the same, but with a device and without the €0.32: €1.99 in the months of use.

Your own device from another country may also work: under European Directive 2019/520 the systems are interoperable, and some foreign devices are accepted in Portugal. But check this with your operator before the trip, not at the barrier.

And the main limitation: neither EasyToll nor Tollcard works on the bridges over the Tagus. There you pay on the spot or with Via Verde.

“If you've linked a card to EasyToll, then after a while there'll be charges — mine was charged two weeks later. It only works on the electronic ‘gantries’; where there are gates, you have to go through the barrier and pay there.”

Translated from Ukrainian; the original is at the link

ukrporto05.05.2024

“You can. As proof of legal entry, the receipt from the Easy Toll Portugal Welcome Point is ideal. Just google exactly that. They aren't on every motorway. There you link your bank card to the car's plate for automatic payment. Nothing was ever charged from Russian cards linked to Russian plates even in normal times, but they give you the receipt, and that's what matters) + Book any hotel ( or even a hostel) for the first night.Even if you don't need it. You don't have to stay there, but you'll have to check in.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

ru_Portugal_pt02.04.2025

Hire car: the device is already fitted, but the bill comes from the hire company

Since 8 January 2023, under Decreto-Lei n.º 84-C/2022, every hire car must be fitted with a device, and the toll payment service is automatically included in the rental. It is the hire company, not the driver, that answers to the concession: it pays and then bills you.

What this means.

You can use the green lane and drive under any gantry — the car already has a device.

You shouldn't be sold a separate “Via Verde activation” for tens of euros. Usually there is a daily fee for the device (around €2 a day, and only for the days when you actually drove on toll roads) plus the tolls themselves, sometimes with a small mark-up of the company's own.

Deposit. Many companies hold a separate deposit just for tolls — most often €100 on top of the fuel deposit. It isn't returned straight away but after one to three weeks, once all the charges have gone through.

The bill may come long after you have returned the car. If the company couldn't charge your card, the case is passed to the road operator, and then you have to track it down yourself. So: keep the rental agreement (it states that the car had a device), check your plate on the portal a month later and don't throw away your correspondence with the company — in a dispute, the agreement and the company's legal obligation will be your arguments.

And separately: if you check someone else's (hire) plate on the portal, look at the dates of the passages — you might end up paying for the previous renter.

“You paid €2 for each day of using the transponder. These days hire cars in Portugal are required to have them. You can drive on any toll road without worrying, they'll charge the standard toll + for the transponder. And if you never get on a toll section, they won't take the €2 either.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

Portugal 🇵🇹 TravelAsk chat19.06.2024

“Yes, it's a scam, you don't have to take it. By law the hire company is now responsible for an unpaid toll, not the driver. The system is now set up so that if you've driven on a via verde toll road even once, the daily transponder rental + the toll with a small hire company commission will be added to the rental. If you didn't drive on one, nothing will be added.”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

Portugal 🇵🇹 TravelAsk chat22.08.2024

Already driven through and don't know where to pay — what to do

Briefly, step by step.

1. Don't turn round or reverse. There is no booth or person under the gantry, and there is no way to pay there. Manoeuvring on a motorway is more dangerous than any fine.

2. Wait two days and check the number plate on pagamentodeportagens.pt and in the CTT form.

3. Found it — pay straight away, within 15 working days: at the post office, at a Payshop agent, at a cash machine using a payment reference, or on the portal.

4. Not found — check again a month later. Records appear within 30 days, and an empty result on the third day means nothing. If you drove on different roads, look at the concessions' portals too.

5. Missed the deadline — don't try to pay at the post office. Look for the passage on the right concession's portal; if it's already gone from there, the case has gone to the tax office, and you pay it at your local tax office.

6. If you have Portuguese plates and live here, get a device. The cheapest plan costs €0.54 a month, and “Light Mobility” costs nothing in the months when you didn't drive anywhere. A single missed toll costs more than a device for a year.

Our related pages: Which car to buy in Portugal — on the full cost of running a car, Fuel in Portugal — on the other big item of motoring costs, and Traffic fines — on speeding and parking fines, which arrive and are paid differently.

“A funny thing about toll roads. In some places here there are toll points that charge per passage, not by distance (like on the bridge). I used to think you only had to pay at them if you'd got on somewhere earlier and gone through via verde (without having it).”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

Moto chat 🇵🇹24.06.2025

“Went to the via verde office, said I'd set up direct debit myself through my online account, take my debt from it - they can't, pay by card at the office - not allowed, cash neither. No way at all. It's so complicated”

Translated from Russian; the original is at the link

autolife_pt04.02.2026