German truck toll from 3.5 tonnes: who has to pay since 1 July 2024

Updated: June 2026

Since 1 July 2024, the German truck toll no longer starts at 7.5 tonnes — it now applies from a technically permissible maximum laden mass (tzGm) of more than 3.5 tonnes. That brought roughly 35,000 light commercial vehicles — Sprinter-class vans, vans with trailers, small distribution trucks — into the toll for the first time after two decades outside the regime. This article answers the one question that matters to a light-vehicle operator: Am I affected, does the craftsmen exemption apply to me, and what does it cost?

Who has been liable since 1 July 2024

Since 1 July 2024, the toll applies to any vehicle or vehicle combination with a technically permissible maximum laden mass of more than 3.5 tonnes that is intended for, or used in, the carriage of goods by road. The former 7.5-tonne threshold is gone. For the first time, light commercial vehicles common in delivery, regional and trade work fall under the toll.

The deciding factor is purpose: the toll applies to commercial or own-account goods transport. Pure passenger transport and vehicles below the 3.5-tonne threshold stay outside it. If you run a vehicle just above 3.5 tonnes tzGm, check the entry in the registration certificate before assuming you are exempt.

Why tzGm matters, not the loaded weight

What counts is the technically permissible maximum laden mass (tzGm) from item F.1 of registration certificate Part I — not the actual loaded weight, and not the permissible total weight (zGG, item F.2). Since 1 December 2023 the F.1 figure is decisive nationwide. The two values are often identical, but diverge often enough that some vehicles became toll-liable through this change alone.

For combinations, the F.1 weights of towing vehicle and trailer are added together. A 3.2-tonne van with a 750 kg trailer crosses the threshold and becomes liable — a point many operators of light combinations overlook.

The craftsmen exemption: conditions and registration

There is a narrowly defined exemption for skilled-trade businesses. It exempts vehicles with a tzGm of more than 3.5 and less than 7.5 tonnes — but only when all of the following apply:

The vehicle is driven by an employee of the trade business, or by the owner.
It carries material, equipment or machinery the business needs to perform its trade — or goods made, processed or repaired in the business's own workshop.
The skilled-trade (or trade-like) business is registered as the vehicle keeper in registration certificate Part I.

The exemption does not apply to vehicles of 7.5 tonnes tzGm or more, nor to pure haulage or contract carriage. Qualifying operators must actively register their vehicles: reporting has been possible through the Toll Collect customer portal since 13 March 2024. Without registration, the vehicle is treated as fully toll-liable — the exemption is not automatic.

Key fact: the craftsmen exemption is a reporting obligation, not an automatic status. A qualifying vehicle that is not registered in the Toll Collect portal is treated as toll-liable in a roadside check — with back-charged toll and a fine.

What the toll costs a light commercial vehicle

Light commercial vehicles fall into the lowest weight band, 3.5–7.49 tonnes. As with heavy trucks, the rate depends on the emission class and the CO₂ class. A typical Euro 6 van in CO₂ class 1 has paid 15.1 cents per kilometre on tolled federal trunk roads since 1 July 2024.

For a distribution truck in this band running around 50,000 tolled kilometres a year, that works out to roughly €7,550 in toll per vehicle per year — a cost line that simply did not exist before July 2024. Across three vehicles that is about €22,650 annually. Many small operators are still pricing this new line into their quotes; calculating it per tour avoids the surprise on the monthly invoice.

Full rates and CO₂ classes

The rates for the 3.5–7.49 t band across every emission and CO₂ class — plus the mechanics of the four partial rates (infrastructure, air pollution, noise, CO₂) — are in our full reference table: Toll Collect rates table: CO₂ class cost per km.

The general overview of the German truck toll — liability, registration, booking methods, exemptions and fines — is covered in the guide to the truck toll in Germany.

FAQs — toll from 3.5 tonnes

My van weighs 2.8 tonnes empty. Am I liable?
What matters is not the empty weight but the technically permissible maximum laden mass (tzGm) from item F.1 of the registration certificate. If the tzGm — including any trailer — exceeds 3.5 tonnes and the vehicle is used for goods transport, the toll applies.

Does the craftsmen exemption apply automatically?
No. It must be registered through the Toll Collect customer portal. Without registration, the vehicle is treated as toll-liable.

Are electric vans exempt?
Zero-emission vehicles over 4.25 tonnes tzGm are toll-exempt until 30 June 2031; vehicles up to 4.25 tonnes tzGm are permanently exempt. Details in the guide to the truck toll in Germany.

Does IMPARGO calculate the 3.5-tonne toll?
Yes. The Planner Module holds the Toll Collect rate table and calculates the toll per route with the correct weight band, emission class and CO₂ class — including the new 3.5–7.49 t band.

Price the new 3.5-tonne toll into every route

IMPARGO's Planner Module calculates the Toll Collect toll per route — for light commercial vehicles from 3.5 tonnes just as for heavy tractor-trailers, with the correct weight band, emission class and CO₂ class, per-country breakdown and route comparison. In a 20-minute demo we show dispatchers how to factor the new toll line in at the quoting stage.

Book a free demo or open the Planner Module →