Bulgaria's toll sticker: what changed when it went digital

For years, Bulgaria ran its toll system the same way Austria and Switzerland still do — a physical sticker bought at the border and placed on the windscreen. That's changed. The country has moved to an electronic vignette, checked against your licence plate rather than a sticker in the glass, which means the buying process has shifted online instead of happening at a kiosk when you cross in.

For drivers, the coverage itself hasn't changed — it's still the national road network that was covered under the old system. What's different is the logistics: you buy it before you arrive rather than at the border, and there's no physical document to keep or accidentally lose. It also means there's nothing to peel off when you leave the country, which was previously a minor but real annoyance for anyone crossing back and forth regularly.

If you've driven through Bulgaria before the switch, the main adjustment is just remembering to sort out the vignette in advance rather than planning to deal with it at the crossing, since that option isn't there anymore.