Understanding tolls in the Netherlands.

The HGVC (Heavy Goods Vehicle Charge) is a mileage charge that will be applied to heavy goods vehicles in the Netherlands.

It will replace the Eurovignette in the Netherlands from 1 July 2026 following the introduction of the EETS (European Electronic Toll Service) directive.

The charge covers motorways, national roads and certain local roads around Dutch cities.

Download the detailed list of roads (coming soon)

Vehicle categories N2 and N3 for freight transport, i.e. all vehicles over 3.5 tonnes (GVWR) registered in the Netherlands or abroad. Buses are not affected.

Yes, certain categories are exempt, including:

• Police and fire brigade vehicles;
• Vehicles 40 or more years old, weighing over 3.5 tonnes, used solely for private purposes or by not-for-profit organisations.

Click here to request an exemption

The start date is scheduled for 1 July 2006.

• To finance infrastructure maintenance and development with a fairer contribution from the road users who generate the most wear on the roads.
• To reduce environmental impact by encouraging the use of cleaner, more efficient vehicles.
• To improve traffic management and encourage modal shifts such as rail/road, a more sustainable solution.
• To harmonise with practices in other European countries such as Belgium, Germany and Switzerland.

The toll cost is based on the following elements:

• The distance travelled on the chargeable network (detected via GNSS – GPS/Galileo);
• The type of road used;
• The weight of the vehicle;
• The emissions class (Euro/CO₂);

Basically, the heavier and more polluting the vehicle, the more expensive the mileage rate.

Each vehicle must be equipped with a toll on-board unit (OBU) with GNSS/GPS technology. The system records the journeys taken and automatically generates invoices.

You have two options:

1. NedLinq, the national OBU provider:
   Service only valid in the Netherlands, deposit required for each OBU ordered, no additional services.
2. EETS provider: a single OBU to operate freely in one or more countries with a single invoice.
   Common additional services: truck geolocation, remote downloads of employee data, fleet management tools, etc.
   Axxès, an EETS provider, offers the same OBU as the Dutch national provider, except that it allows you to operate throughout Europe.

NB: Just like NedLinq, Satellic in Belgium and Toll Collect in Germany are local OBU providers allowing you to operate in a single country. The OBUs supplied by Satellic and Toll Collect cannot be used in the Netherlands.

Fines will be payable for breaches such as:

• Lack of a contract with a provider for payment;
• An OBU that is faulty, switched off or not registered to the vehicle;
• An OBU allocated to a different vehicle;
• Driving with no OBU on board.

The fine amount has not been determined yet.