Cash on the way out
NHAI said cash payments at national highway plazas were likely to end from 1 April 2026, leaving FASTag and UPI.
Roll up to the toll.
Never stop.
SBI FASTag is a prepaid toll tag that sits on your windscreen. A reader at the plaza finds it, takes the fee and lifts the barrier while you are still moving. With cash on the way out at national highway plazas, the tag is no longer just the convenient option — it is the road.
Without a working FASTag you pay 1.25× by UPI, or twice in cash
FASTagLANE ONLY
TN 72 AB 1234
Mandatory on four-wheelersRequired for all four-wheeled vehicles on national highways under NHAI and MoRTH rules.
No working tag costs moreWithout a valid FASTag, national highway plazas charge 1.25 times the toll by UPI, or twice in cash.
One tag, the whole countryThe national network carries the tag, so the plaza does not care which bank issued it.
0+
Toll plazas on the network
where the Annual Pass was rolled out
0 km
Local Pass radius
unlimited crossings for a month
0
Crossings on an Annual Pass
or twelve months, whichever ends first
0%
Added by UPI without a working tag
cash costs twice the toll
01
What SBI FASTag actually is
A sticker with an aerial in it, and a prepaid wallet behind it. That is the whole product. Everything else is what the road does with those two things.
A passive RFID tag
No battery and nothing to charge. It borrows the radio field the plaza aerial throws out, and answers with its number and vehicle class. It should sit inside the windscreen, top centre.
A prepaid wallet
You keep a balance on it. The toll leaves that balance, not your bank account, and an SMS lands for every deduction so nothing happens quietly.
Tied to one vehicle
The tag is written to your registration number and class. Under One Vehicle, One FASTag only one active tag is allowed per chassis — that rule is what stops double deductions.
02
What happens in that one second
Four parties take part in every crossing. The whole exchange is finished long before you would have reached for your wallet.
01
The gantry wakes the tag
An aerial above the lane throws out a radio field. The tag borrows it and answers with its number and vehicle class. A camera reads the number plate at the same moment.
02
The network finds your bank
The plaza hands the request to the national toll switch, which checks the tag is live and not blocked, then routes it to the issuing bank.
03
The bank pays the toll
Your wallet is checked against the fee set for your class at that plaza, the amount is deducted, and the approval goes back down the line.
04
The barrier lifts
The lane signal turns green and an SMS reaches your phone with the amount and the plaza name. At barrier-free plazas there is nothing to lift — you simply keep driving.
03
What changed in 2026, and what it costs you
Tolling kept tightening. Cash is on the way out, e-notices arrived with barrier-free tolling, and a tag that is merely present is no longer enough — it has to be funded, verified and matched to the vehicle.
No working tag: 1.25× by UPI
Arrive without a valid, working tag and you pay 1.25 times the toll by UPI, or twice in cash.
A failed tag is treated as no tag
A blocked, inactive or blacklisted tag is treated as no valid FASTag: twice the toll in cash, or 1.25 times by UPI. Fixing the tag is always cheaper than crossing with it.
Recharge any time before the plaza
National highway plazas read tag status in real time, so a recharge made before you reach the plaza counts. NHAI says the 2025 “70-minute” circular does not affect customers.
E-notice for an unpaid crossing
At a barrier-free plaza an unpaid crossing becomes an e-notice. Pay the normal toll within 72 hours, or twice the rate after that.
Unpaid dues follow the vehicle
An e-notice left unpaid for 15 days is recorded against the vehicle in VAHAN, which can block other vehicle services.
KYC is not optional
Identity, registration number and contact details must be verified. Incomplete or stale KYC is grounds for suspending the tag until it is put right.
KYV dropped for private cars
The Know Your Vehicle step is no longer a routine requirement after activation for tags issued to cars, jeeps and vans — one less hurdle on a new tag.
Tag and registration must agree
Linkage between the tag and the vehicle registration number is checked more tightly. A mismatch shows up as a failed transaction or a penalty, not a warning.
04
Two passes that can beat paying per crossing
If you drive the same highways often, NHAI now sells two prepaid passes that sit on top of your existing tag. Both are bought through the RajmargYatra app or the NHAI website — not from a plaza counter.
Annual Pass
₹3,075 / year
- 200 crossings or 12 months, whichever comes first.
- Non-commercial private vehicles — cars, jeeps and vans.
- Valid at NHAI-operated national highway and expressway plazas.
- Revised from ₹3,000 to ₹3,075 with effect from 1 April 2026.
- Not a universal pass — only national highway and expressway plazas on NHAI’s list.
Local Pass
Monthly / one flat fee
- For residents living within 20 km of an eligible plaza.
- Rolled out plaza by plaza since 20 July 2026, on the Rajmargyatra app.
- Applied for digitally — no counter visit, no paper form.
- Built for the daily commute across one plaza, not long-distance driving.
- Eligibility depends on your address and the specific plaza.
05
Every vehicle that pays a toll has a class
The class written into the tag decides your rate, because the reader never weighs anything or counts axles. It must match the registration certificate — too light and the plaza flags it, too heavy and you quietly overpay on every trip.
| Vehicle | Class | Tag colour |
|---|---|---|
| Car, jeep, van, and mini goods vehicles such as the Tata Ace | VC4 | Violet |
| Light commercial vehicle | VC5 | Orange |
| Bus or truck | VC7 | Green |
| Three-axle commercial vehicle | VC6 | Yellow |
| Four to six axles | VC12 | Pink |
| Seven axles and above | VC15 | Blue |
| Heavy construction machinery, earth-moving equipment | VC16 | Grey |
| Two-wheelers | — | No tag issued: exempt from toll |
06
The barrier is going away
Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling reads your tag from an overhead gantry at full highway speed. There is no boom, no lane to pick and nothing to slow for — the crossing simply appears on your statement. It started in May 2026, and NHAI plans to extend it.
2 May 2026 · Gujarat
India's first MLFF plaza
Chorayasi toll plaza on the Surat–Bharuch section of NH-48 became the first barrier-less tolling point in the country.
Next
More plazas
NHAI plans to extend barrier-less tolling to more national highway plazas. It works with FASTag and number-plate cameras (ANPR): the tag pays, and the camera identifies the vehicle.
07
Keeping the tag working
Almost every problem at a plaza comes down to one of four things. None of them takes long to put right, and all of them are cheaper to fix before the trip than at the lane.
Balance
A short balance is the most common failure. Top up through your banking app, UPI or net banking, and keep a buffer above a single crossing.
KYC
Keep identity, address and vehicle details current. Older accounts are being asked to re-verify, and a tag can be restricted until that is done.
Placement
Inside the windscreen, top centre, flat against the glass. Metallic or heavily tinted film can block the radio field entirely.
Status
One active tag per vehicle. If a second is issued the older one is blocked, so close what you are not using rather than leaving it dormant.
08
What the lane costs you
Without a working tag you pay 1.25 times the toll by UPI, or twice in cash. A working tag pays the plain rate. Put in what you spend on tolls in a month and see the gap.
₹
Indicative only. The comparison uses the national highway fee rules: 1.25 times the toll by UPI without a valid FASTag. Confirm current rates with the highway authority.
With a working FASTag
₹4,000
The plain posted toll, nothing added.
By UPI, without a working tag
₹5,000
1.25 times the posted toll.
You keep, over a year
₹12,000
The difference, twelve months of the same driving.
09
Three ways through a plaza, and what each costs
Without a working FASTag, cash costs twice the toll and UPI a quarter more; a working tag pays the plain posted rate. Laid side by side the choice stops being a matter of preference.
| Working FASTag | UPI, no working tag | Cash, no working tag | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you pay | Posted toll | Posted toll +25% | Twice the posted toll, where cash is still taken |
| Do you stop? | No | Yes | Yes |
| Barrier-free lanes | Works | Fails | Fails |
| Record of the crossing | SMS, instantly | Receipt at the lane | Receipt at the lane |
| If it goes wrong | Dispute through your bank | E-notice at a barrier-free plaza | E-notice at a barrier-free plaza |
| Queue behind you | Keeps moving | Stops | Stops |
The fallback is not a plan
It exists so a failed tag does not strand you, not so you can skip getting one. On a barrier-free gantry there is nothing to stop at, so a vehicle with no working tag simply generates an e-notice.
10
What you need to hand before you start
Four things, and the whole process is short. Most delays come from the registration certificate being unclear in a photograph, or the class being guessed rather than read off it.
Required
Registration certificate
The RC for the vehicle. It settles the registration number and the vehicle class, both of which are written into the tag.
Required
Identity proof
Commonly Aadhaar or PAN, for the KYC that is mandatory on every FASTag account.
Required
Passport photograph
A standard passport-size photograph for the account record.
Have ready
An opening balance
The prepaid wallet needs funding before the first crossing. Keep more than a single toll on it.
11
Questions people actually ask
The rules moved a good deal through 2026. These are the ones that change what you do at the plaza.
Is FASTag mandatory, and is cash still accepted?
FASTag is mandatory for four-wheelers at national highway toll plazas. NHAI said in February 2026 that cash payments there were likely to end from 1 April 2026, leaving FASTag and UPI. Without a valid, working tag you pay 1.25 times the toll by UPI, or twice in cash.
What does a new SBI FASTag cost?
A new tag involves a one-time issuance fee, a refundable security deposit and an opening balance. Those amounts are set by the issuing bank and change from time to time, so message us and we will tell you the figure that applies today rather than quote a number that may already be stale.
Is the ₹3,075 Annual Pass worth buying?
It covers 200 crossings or twelve months, whichever ends first, for a private car, jeep or van at national highway and expressway plazas on NHAI’s list. Divide ₹3,075 by the number of NHAI crossings you genuinely make in a year — if that works out below your usual per-crossing toll, it pays. It is not a universal pass: only national highway and expressway plazas on NHAI’s list are covered.
What is the FASTag Local Pass?
A monthly pass for people who live near a toll plaza and cross it constantly. It is for residents within 20 km of an eligible plaza, and has been rolled out plaza by plaza since July 2026. It is applied for digitally rather than at a counter.
My tag did not scan. What went wrong?
Usually one of four things: the tag is not inside the windscreen at top centre, the balance is short, the tag has been blocked or blacklisted, or the windscreen carries a metallic or heavily tinted film that blocks the radio field. Check placement and balance first — between them they account for most failures.
Why is my tag blacklisted when it has money on it?
Balance is only one reason a tag is blocked. Incomplete KYC, a second tag issued against the same vehicle under the One Vehicle, One FASTag rule, or a mismatch between the tag and the registration number will all do it. If the block is for KYC, a duplicate tag or a mismatch, no top-up will lift it, so fix the underlying cause rather than just topping up.
What is the FASTag 70-minute rule?
A rule in NPCI’s January 2025 circular about tag status around the time of a crossing. NHAI clarified on 19 February 2025 that it settles disputes between banks and has no impact on customers: national highway plazas read tag status in real time, so you can recharge any time before you reach the plaza.
Can I move my tag to a new vehicle?
No. The tag is written to one registration and cannot be peeled off and reused. The new vehicle needs its own tag, and the balance on the old tag is refunded when you close it. If you are selling the car, close the tag rather than leaving it live against a vehicle you no longer own.
What is the 72-hour e-notice?
If a toll is not paid — usually at a barrier-free plaza — you receive an e-notice. Pay the normal toll within 72 hours of the e-notice. After that it is charged at twice the rate, and a due left unpaid for 15 days is recorded against the vehicle. Unpaid dues follow the vehicle rather than the driver.
What is MLFF or barrier-free tolling?
Multi-Lane Free Flow tolling uses overhead gantries with sensors and cameras to read your tag at full highway speed, with no boom to stop for. India's first went live at Chorayasi on the Surat–Bharuch stretch of NH-48 on 2 May 2026, and NHAI plans to extend it to more plazas. A funded, working tag is what makes it work.
Do I still need the Know Your Vehicle step?
For tags issued to cars, jeeps and vans from 1 February 2026, KYV is no longer a routine step after activation. KYC is still required, and the tag still has to match the vehicle registration number.
Do two-wheelers need a FASTag?
No. Two-wheelers are exempt from toll on national highways and no FASTag class is issued for them. If you are offered a tag for a motorcycle, treat that as a warning sign about whoever is offering it.