Changes to the e-toll system from 1 May 2026
Government Decree No. 77/2026 (III. 27.) was published in the Hungarian Official Journal on 27 March 2026, amending two Government Decrees as follows, with effect from 1 May 2026.
Pursuant to the amendment to Government Decree No. 209/2013 (VI. 18.) on the implementation of Act LXVII of 2013 on distance-based tolls payable for the use of motorways, expressways and main roads, the validity period of route tickets in the e-toll system used by vehicles with a permissible total mass of over 3.5 tonnes will be changed to 300 minutes from 1 May 2026.
The amendment to Government Decree No. 243/2013 (VI. 30.) on the detailed rules for the exemption from toll payment of motor vehicles operated by farmers changes the definition of a farmer and the possibility for obtaining a toll-free route ticket: it expands the scope of agricultural products for the transport of which farmers may request the issuance of an official certificate entitling them to obtain a toll-free route ticket, and allows the possibility of obtaining a toll-free route ticket also for the transport of livestock from 1 May 2026.
Also on 27 March 2026, Government Decree No. 78/2026 (III. 27.) was published in the Hungarian Official Journal, which, based on Government Decree No. 424/2022 (X. 28.) on the declaration of a state of emergency and certain emergency rules in view of the armed conflict and humanitarian disaster in Ukraine and in order to avert and manage the consequences of such situations in Hungary, allows for a different application of two laws concerning toll payment from 1 May 2026, as follows.
The provision – in derogation from Section 20 and Section 21/A of Act I of 1988 on Road Transport – provides a possibility for exemption from 1 May 2026 during the emergency situation, in relation to unauthorised road use, as defined in Section 14(b) of the Toll Act: the operator of a tolled motor vehicle is exempted from paying the administrative fine imposed for incorrectly declared toll and environmental categories if they subsequently pay to the toll charger the difference between the toll according to the actual toll and environmental category of the vehicle and the toll paid and provides proof of this to the authority imposing the fine. The possibility for exemption may be used once in 60 days.
Under the provision, during the emergency, carriers transporting certain agricultural products will be exempted from paying tolls for the period of transporting these products from 1 May 2026. The operator of a tolled motor vehicle must apply for the issuance of an official certificate entitling them to obtain a toll-free route ticket. The procedure and deadlines for this and the agricultural products concerned are laid down in the Decree.
