How to save thousands on national highway tolls: What is NHAI's FASTag Annual Pass? Should you apply for it? Explained
Frequent highway journeys can add thousands of rupees to your toll bills. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) offers a FASTag Annual Pass for eligible motorists. It bundles toll crossings into one payment, helping regular highway users reduce travel costs.
The FASTag Annual Pass costs ₹3,075 and covers up to 200 toll crossings at participating plazas. It remains valid for one year from activation or until those crossings are used. Whichever limit comes first ends the pass. Savings depend on how frequently you travel and the tolls you would otherwise pay.
The scheme covers private, non-commercial cars, jeeps and vans. Commercial vehicles, taxis and trucks cannot use it. Each pass is linked to one vehicle registration number and a specific FASTag. You cannot transfer it to another car.
You can use the pass at more than 1,150 designated highway and expressway fee plazas. These include participating toll plazas on National Highways and National Expressways across the country.
State highways and independent municipal toll roads are outside its coverage. Charges there continue to come from your regular FASTag balance.
The pass works with your existing FASTag, so you don't need a new physical tag. It connects to the FASTag linked with your vehicle registration number. At an eligible plaza, the system recognises your active pass and raises the barrier. Instead of deducting the toll amount, it reduces your remaining trip balance.
How trips are counted depends on the toll system. At point-based plazas, each crossing counts as one trip. A return journey through the same plaza, therefore, requires two trips. Under closed tolling, one entry and exit together count as a single trip.
Once 200 trips are used, normal FASTag deductions resume automatically. The same happens when the pass reaches the end of its validity period. Frequent users can potentially save thousands compared with paying separate tolls or buying monthly passes.
Before buying the pass, check whether toll plazas on your usual routes accept it. For example, regular journeys through participating national highway plazas could make the pass useful. However, trips that mainly involve state highways or municipal toll roads will incur separate charges.
Next, estimate how many eligible crossings you will make within a year. At point-based plazas, travelling through the same plaza twice daily uses two crossings. Doing this for 100 days would use all 200 crossings.
Also Read | FASTag Annual Pass: How To Get Your Annual Pass?
Compare the ₹3,075 pass cost with your expected toll payments. Check your FASTag history; do you spend that much on national highway tolls?
If you travel only occasionally, your savings could be limited. Frequent eligible journeys could offer better value, depending on the toll charges you pay. If you are planning a road trip across multiple states, this pass could be highly useful.
You can apply for the FASTag Annual Pass through the official Rajmargyatra app or the NHAI/Rajmargyatra web portal. Start by logging in with your mobile number and completing OTP verification.
Enter your vehicle registration number to check eligibility. The process also verifies your vehicle's details against the VAHAN database.
Next, select the Annual Pass option and pay ₹3,075. You can use UPI, net banking, or a debit or credit card. Your existing FASTag wallet balance cannot be used to pay for the pass. After processing, activation usually happens automatically within two hours.
Sounak Mukhopadhyay covers trending news, sports and entertainment for LiveMint. His reporting focuses on fast-moving stories, box office performance, digital culture and major cricket developments. He combines real-time updates with clear context for everyday readers. <br><br> Sounak brings newsroom experience across breaking news, explainers and long-form features. He has a strong emphasis on accuracy, verification and responsible storytelling. His work tracks audience behaviour, celebrity influence and the business of sport and cinema. He helps readers understand why a story matters beyond the headline. <br><br> Sounak has contributed to widely read digital publications. He continues to build a body of journalism shaped by consistency, speed and editorial clarity. He is particularly interested in the intersection of media, popular culture and public conversation in contemporary India. <br><br> At LiveMint, he writes daily coverage as well as analytical pieces that interpret numbers, trends and cultural moments in accessible language. His approach prioritises factual depth, balanced framing and reader trust. The reporting aligns with modern newsroom standards of transparency and credibility. <br><br> Outside daily reporting, he explores storytelling across formats including podcasts, filmmaking and narrative non-fiction. Through his journalism, Sounak aims to document the rhythms of modern entertainment and sports while maintaining rigorous editorial integrity. <br><br> Sounak continues to develop audience-focused journalism that connects speed with substance in a rapidly-changing information environment. His work seeks clarity, trust and lasting public value in every story he reports.
Catch all the Instant Personal Loan, Business Loan, Business News, Money news, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on Live Mint. Download The Mint News App to get Daily Market Updates.
More
✕
Wait for it…
Oops! Looks like you have exceeded the limit to bookmark the image. Remove some to bookmark this image.