How To Pay Tolls If You Are Renting a Car
It's no news that you have to pay tolls (fees) to drive through toll roads, toll bridges, express lanes, and the like. Toll roads are less crowded and faster than regular roads or highways.
It is no surprise that you want to use them. However, these advantages are also the reason you have to pay a fee.
So, if you are planning to use a rental car on a toll road, you still have to do the needful — pay the tolls. No vehicle is exempted.
Having said that, rental cars and tolls are never an exciting combination. It can be expensive and frustrating, especially when you know little to nothing about paying tolls while renting a car.
Luckily, this post aims to let you in all you need to know about paying car rental tolls. Hence, you need not worry about a thing — even if it's your first time.
With this information at your fingertips, you can rest assured that you won't be taken unawares or overpaying for rental car tolls.
Without further ado, let's get into the details.

How Do Toll Roads Work?
At some point, you may encounter roads or bridges in the United States that demand that you pay tolls.
Failure to pay tolls could make you liable for fines as high as $152. And that's not a good look. Use any of these methods and prevent the situation from becoming messy:
- Cash
- Credit Card
- Online License Plate Registration
- Electronic Transponder
How Do Tolls Work With Rental Cars?
Pay tolls using cash: Some prefer to move around with cash to settle tolls. But these days, fewer cash toll booths exist, thanks to the introduction of cashless tolling.
How Do Tolls Work With Rental Cars?
We get asked this question frequently: How To Pay Tolls In California With A Rental Car? So, let's clear the air..
Paying tolls in California with a rental car is no different from how car rental tolls get paid in other U.S states. So, read on to discover how to pay tolls in a rental car regardless of the state. This information will come in handy when you want to rent a car.
Here's the thing, there are usually three toll payment options to consider whenever you get to a car rental counter. And in the next paragraphs will take a look at each one.
1. Pay tolls using cash: Some prefer to move around with cash to settle tolls. But these days, fewer cash toll booths exist, thanks to the introduction of cashless tolling.
Don't want to be taken aback by the absence of a cash toll booth on the toll road you plan to ply? You'll find this helpful.
Below are some toll roads, express lanes, and bridges that do not accept cash payment:
California
- California State Route 73
- California State Route 133
- California State Route 241
- California State Route 261
- Golden Gate Bridge
Colorado
- US-36 Express
- Northwest Parkway
- I-25 Express
- I-70 Express
- E-470
Florida
- Airport Expressway (SR 112)
- Broad/Harbor Island Causeway
- Dolphin Expressway (SR 836)
- Don Shula Expressway (SR 874)
- Gratigny Parkway (SR 924)
- Homestead Extension Florida's Turnpike (HEFT)
- I-595 Expressway
- I-95 Expressway
- Lee Roy Selmon Expressway
- Mid-Bay Toll Bridge
- Orchard Pond Parkway
- Poinciana Parkway (SR 538)
- Rickenbacker Causeway
- Sawgrass Expressway (FL 869)
- Snapper Creek (SR 878)
- Venetian Causeway
- Veterans Expressway (SR 589)
- Wekiva Parkway (SR 429)
Georgia
- I-75 South Metro Express Lanes
- I-85 Expressway
Illinois
- I-294/I-57 Interchange
- Elgin O'Hare Expressway
- Jane Addams Memorial Tollway
Kentucky
- East End Bridge
- Abraham Lincoln Bridge
- John F. Kennedy Memorial Bridge
Maryland
- MD-200 Intercounty Connector
Massachusetts
- Boston Extension
- Callahan and Sumner Tunnels
- Massachusetts Turnpike
- Ted Williams Tunnel
- Tobin Memorial Bridge
New York
- Bayonne Bridge
- Bronx-Whitestone Bridge
- Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge
- Henry Hudson Bridge
- Hugh L. Carey Tunnel
- Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge
- Queens Midtown Tunnel
- Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
- Tappan Zee Bridge
- Throgs Neck Bridge
- Verrazano-Narrows Bridge
North Carolina
- Triangle Expressway
Pennsylvania
- Beaver Valley Expressway
- Delaware River Bridge
Texas
- Addison Airport Toll Tunnel
- Airport Connector
- Central Texas Turnpike
- Chisholm Trail Parkway
- Dallas North Tollway
- Fort Bend Parkway
- Grand Parkway
- Hardy Toll Road
- I-635/I-35 Connector
- John W. Carpenter Freeway
- Katy Managed Lanes
- Lewisville Lake Toll Bridge
- Loop 49
- Lyndon Johnson Freeway
- Manor Expressway (US 290)
- MoPac Expressway (Loop 1)
- Mountain Creek Lake Toll Bridge
- President George Bush Turnpike
- Sam Houston Tollway
- Sam Rayburn Tollway
- State Highway 71
- State Highway 99
- SH 130 Segments 5 and 6
- SH 249 (Tomball Tollway)
- State Highway 255
- State Highway 550
- Westpark Tollway
Virginia
- Downtown Tunnel
- Midtown Tunnel
- Veterans Bridge
Washington
- I-405 Express Lanes
- SR 520 Bridge
2. Pay tolls using a credit card: In this case, tolls are deducted directly from your credit card.
Here's how it works:
- Enter your license plate registration number
- Follow the subsequent steps as you after the registration to have tolls deducted from your credit card for part or all of the rental period.
Some car rental companies may demand that you pre-register your rental vehicle before using any toll road.
However, if trips are incurred before your rental vehicle registration, they will be charged via the company when you return the car, based on the agreement.
Note that the rental car registration covers only the tolls incurred at these toll roads:
- California State Route 73
- California State Route 133
- California State Route 241
- California State Route 261
On the other hand, the toll booths at these locations do not allow this payment method:
- 125 South Bay Expressway in San Diego
- 10/110 Metro ExpressLanes in Los Angeles
- Bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area — including the Golden State Bridge
- 91 Express Lanes in Orange County
- I-580 and I-680 Express Lanes in the San Francisco Bay Area
- I-15 Express Lanes in San Diego
3. Pay tolls using an electronic transponder: Rental cars have an electronic transponder. Nonetheless, you could use yours.
If you decide to do this or use the previous options, ensure the car rental company's transponder is disabled to prevent it from reading signals.
On the other hand, if you don't have one and you need to rent a car, you might have to settle for the rental company's transponder. And that will cost you a bit.
Below are the fees charged by top car rental companies in the U.S:
Avis Rent A Car Tolls
- • Standard: $5.95/rental day and $29.75/rental month
- • Unlimited: $11.99/rental day and $59.95/rental week
Budget Rent A Car Tolls
- • Standard: $5.95/rental day and $29.75/rental month
- • Unlimited: $11.99/rental day and $29.75/rental month
Enterprise Rent A Car Toll
- Standard: $3.95/rental day and $19.75/rental month (excluding renters in the Chicago Metropolitan Area)
- In the Chicago Metropolitan Area, renters pay $9.99/rental day for taking rentals from airports and $7.99/rental day at non-airport areas. You can access your Enterprise Rent-A-Car Toll Receipt via official website.
Hertz Rent A Car Toll
- Renters pay $5.95/day to ply accessible hertz rental toll roads.
National Car Tolls
- Standard: $3.95/rental day and $19.75/rental month (excluding renters in the Chicago Metropolitan Area)
- In the Chicago Metropolitan Area, renters pay $9.99/rental day for taking rentals from airports and $7.99/rental day at non-airport areas.
And then there is the Uproad app
These aforementioned toll payment options are more expensive. You might have to overpay or go over budget, hurting your pocket.
Doesn't sound good, right?
But here's the good news:
You have a card up your sleeve that can help you cut costs and save more money. Introducing the Uproad app.
Yes, you can use the Uproad app to pay tolls in your rental car. With Uproad app, you can pay tolls in your rental car and always remain a step ahead of the toll action.
If you go down this road, you will easily avoid overpaying for rent car tolls.
Downloaded the Uproad app and set up your account?
Here is what you should do in 3 simple steps to pay car rental tolls:
- Log in to your Uproad app account to add the rental car temporarily
- Set the start and end date of your car renting a day before you use the toll road
- Dash through tolls the next day without worrying about a thing.
However, if you don't have the app, that's fine.
Take these steps below to set up your account on the Uproad app and take on toll roads with confidence in a rental car:
- Click here to download the Uproad app on Google Play and App Store
- Sign up
- Add your vehicle license plate and payment method
After which, you can take the steps we previously mentioned to pay rental car tolls conveniently. It's that simple.
You can finally say goodbye to stressful toll payment methods and overpaying for car rental tolls.
Why You Should Pay Tolls In A Rental Car
The truth is, you can't avoid paying tolls when you pass through a toll road or bridge in your rental car.
For instance, if you don't opt for the car rental company's toll pass or pay tolls via other means, the toll authority will bill the car rental company.
In turn, the company will use every available information to track who rented the car at the specified time and ensure they foot the bill (including additional administrative fees).
If the individual fails to pay up, they may land in the black books or banned list of the rental company. That's a place you don't want to be. So, do the right thing — pay your rental car tolls.