Country driving guide · 2026

Driving in Austria

Everything UK and EU drivers need before crossing the border into Austria: 4 legal requirements + 4 other things worth knowing.

Required

Recommended

Good to know

Tick before you go

Pre-departure checklist for Austria

4 legal must-haves. Print it, tick them off, throw it in the glovebox.

Vignette required (£9 / 10-day)
Required for Austrian motorways and most expressways. Buy a 10-day, 2-month, or annual sticker, or an e-vignette online (validity starts 18 days after purchase). Failure to display = €120 fine.
Source: Buy e-vignette →
Triangle, first-aid kit, high-vis vest
All three required. Same standard as Germany.
Pet travel: Animal Health Certificate
GB pets need an AHC from a UK vet within 10 days of entering Austria. Valid 4 months onward and for one re-entry to GB.
Source: gov.uk: AHC for EU travel →
1 km/h over the limit is a fineable offence
Austria does not apply a tolerance: police regularly issue fines from 1 km/h over. Anonymverfügung (anonymous ticket) starts at €30; major offences (>30 km/h) trigger an on-the-spot fine plus possible licence suspension.
Source: ÖAMTC: speeding fines →

Vignette

Vignette required (£9 / 10-day)

Required

Required for Austrian motorways and most expressways. Buy a 10-day, 2-month, or annual sticker, or an e-vignette online (validity starts 18 days after purchase). Failure to display = €120 fine.

Buy e-vignette

Tolls

Additional tolls for some tunnels

Good to know

The Brenner Autobahn (A13), Tauern (A10), and a few alpine tunnels charge extra on top of the vignette. Cash or card at the toll booth.

Required equipment

Triangle, first-aid kit, high-vis vest

Required

All three required. Same standard as Germany.

Environment

Winter tyres or chains Nov–Apr

Recommended

If winter conditions are present (snow, ice, slush), winter tyres OR chains are legally required from November 1 to April 15.

Money

Customs allowance back to the UK

Good to know

Per person on return: 18 L still wine + 4 L spirits + 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco + £390 of other goods. Anything above must be declared at the UK border.

gov.uk: customs allowance

Documents

Pet travel: Animal Health Certificate

Required

GB pets need an AHC from a UK vet within 10 days of entering Austria. Valid 4 months onward and for one re-entry to GB.

gov.uk: AHC for EU travel

Driving rules

1 km/h over the limit is a fineable offence

Required

Austria does not apply a tolerance: police regularly issue fines from 1 km/h over. Anonymverfügung (anonymous ticket) starts at €30; major offences (>30 km/h) trigger an on-the-spot fine plus possible licence suspension.

ÖAMTC: speeding fines

Daytime running lights or dipped beam mandatory

Good to know

All vehicles must use daytime running lights or dipped headlights at all times, even in clear weather. Failure is a €15 organstrafe.

ÖAMTC: lights

Plan your Austria road trip

We'll build the itinerary, estimate fuel + tolls, and show EV chargers along the route, and this checklist appears automatically on every trip that crosses into Austria.

Start planning →

Popular destinations in Austria

Places to add to your Austria road trip.

Indicative budget

Rough cost for 1,000 km in Austria

A back-of-the-envelope estimate for a typical petrol car at 40 UK mpg, with 800 km of motorway driving. Real fuel prices move monthly: treat this as a ballpark.

Fuel

€114

~70.6 L · 1,000 km @ 40 mpg

Tolls

€0

800 km of motorways

Vignette

€12.4

Shortest tourist sticker

Total estimate

€126.4

1,000 km road trip

Last reviewed: 2026-06-11Fuel source →Toll / vignette source →

Don't get caught out

Watch out for these

1 km/h over the limit is a fineable offence

Required

ÖAMTC: speeding fines →

On the way home

Returning to the UK

Customs allowance back to the UK
Per person on return: 18 L still wine + 4 L spirits + 200 cigarettes or 250g tobacco + £390 of other goods. Anything above must be declared at the UK border.
gov.uk: customs allowance →