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EXPLAINED: Norway’s AutoPASS system for toll roads

Tolls stations are pretty much everywhere in Norway. Here's what you need to know about the automated AutoPass system for toll roads. 

Pictured is a road in Norway.
This is what you need to know about the AutoPASS system. Pictured is a road in Norway. Photo by Robert Bye on Unsplash

There are more than 300 toll stations in Norway where charges are levied for travelling on certain roads and bridges and through tunnels. 

Road tolling in Norway dates back to the late eighties and early nineties when Oslo, Bergen and Trondheim introduced toll rings to finance infrastructure and decrease congestion. 

Fast forward to today, and you’ll need to pay a toll to travel into, or to and from, most of Norway’s cities and large towns. Today there are toll rings surrounding Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Haugesund, Bergen, Askøy, Bodø, Harstad, Grenland, Førde and Trondheim. 

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen) has a map to help you plan your route and figure out how many toll roads you’ll use. 

Regardless of where the driver or car is from, you’ll be required to pay tolls when travelling through Norway. 

How does the AutoPASS system work?

Luckily, you won’t constantly be pulling into toll booths to pay charges, as all levies are charged automatically via the AutoPASS system, which the Norwegian Public Roads Administration operates. 

All toll operators in the country are a part of the AutoPASS system.

To pay with AutoPASS, you will need to order a payment tag from several providers. You can click for a list of providers here

Typically, you’ll need to pay a 200 kroner deposit to receive a toll tag. Once your contract with a provider ends, you’ll get the money back. 

Paying with AutoPass

Once you’ve selected a provider and registered, you will be sent a tag, which you attach to the inside of your windscreen, near the top. 

When you’ve got a toll tag, you will receive an invoice automatically when you pass through a toll station. 

You will receive a 20 percent discount on tolls compared to not having a tag installed, and depending on your agreement, you may receive further discounts and benefits. Typically though, greener cars will be cheaper. 

Every time you pass through a toll, you’ll receive an invoice. However, most providers put all the tolls incurred on a trip, during a day, or another time period into one invoice, rather than you having to pay many individual bills. 

What happens if I don’t have a tag? 

If you don’t have a tag, tolls will still be automatic. However, toll stations will instead read your number plate rather than the tag. As a result, you will be sent the invoice to your address instead. One big downside is that you will not receive the 20 percent discount. If you live in Norway, this cost can add significantly over the course of a year if you drive regularly. 

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For members

DRIVING

Can Norway confiscate your foreign driving licence? 

Driving in a new country means a new set of traffic rules. So, can Norwegian police take your foreign driving licence if you fall afoul of the road rules in the Scandinavian country? 

Can Norway confiscate your foreign driving licence? 

Whether you’ve just moved to Norway, live in the country but continue to use your foreign licence, or have always dreamed of a road trip across Norway, there are plenty of reasons why you’d be using a foreign licence while behind the wheel. 

Police officers in Norway can confiscate a person’s driving licence on the spot if they have reasonable grounds to suspect a serious criminal offence that would result in the licence’s loss. 

One example is extreme speeding, which, under the Road Traffic Act, can land drivers in prison for a year.

READ ALSO: Can driving offences prevent you from getting Norwegian citizenship?

Other examples include drunk driving and serious traffic violations that lead to serious personal injury or death. 

The penalties for driving under the influence in Norway are strict, and the country has a blood alcohol limit of 0.02. 

When a police officer seizes a driving licence, the person can’t drive until the case is investigated. 

Drivers subject to licence seizures can decide to withdraw their consent to have their licence revoked. In minor cases, this can lead to the licence being released. However, in cases where the offender risks losing their licence, police will still be able to confiscate it for three weeks, according to several law firms in Norway

What about foreign drivers? 

Police in Norway can also confiscate the licences of foreign drivers using overseas licences, according to Norwegian law.

“In cases of a driving ban (loss of driving license in Norway) for the holder of a foreign driving license, the same rules apply as in the case of loss or revocation of a driving license and seizure of a Norwegian driving licence, as far as it is appropriate and nothing else is stipulated,” the Norwegian law on driving licences states. 

However, for those who are not permanent residents of Norway, the police can issue a temporary licence so that the party in question can drive out of Norway

What happens next for those who don’t live in Norway depends on where you are from. 

Those with a licence issued in the EEA can expect the Norwegian authorities to forward their licence to the country where it was issued. 

The Norwegian authorities will also disclose the outcome, such as whether the person’s licence is being returned without conditions or if they have been issued a driving ban in Norway. 

Whether your home country will adopt this ban will depend, but in most cases, the ban may just apply to Norway. 

For those whose licence was issued outside the EEA, police will keep the driving licence for the duration of the ban if the person is later issued a driving ban or until the person in question decides to leave the country. 

Those living in Norway can expect the police to hold onto their driving licence for as long as the driving ban lasts. 

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