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April 18, 2025 Toll Enforcement

What Happens If You Don’t Pay Your PA Turnpike Tolls

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The PA Turnpike is funded through tolls paid by the customers who choose to use our roadway. Toll revenue is critical to how we operate, since these dollars go directly into improving our roadway and ensuring a smoother and safer driving experience for all travelers.

Drivers may choose the PA Turnpike over other alternatives, such as tax-funded highways or local roads, because of the added value, benefits and amenities that we provide. Beyond a more safe, seamless, and convenient travel experience, we provide a network of amenities and safety support, including:

  • Access to the PA Turnpike's own dedicated state police troop and roadside assistance team, who provide prompt and reliable help 24/7, 365 days a year.
  • A dedicated maintenance force, which quickly and safely removes snow, trash and other objects from the roadway.
  • 17 easy-on, easy-off Service Plaza Stations that are open 24 hours a day and offer restrooms, a variety of food options, and other amenities to make travel comfortable and efficient.

While it's a choice to ride our roadway, paying tolls is not. Most customers on the PA Turnpike follow the rules and pay their tolls as required.

Those who do not pay their tolls, which only amounts to six to seven percent of our 200 million annual transactions, face consequences that range from vehicle suspension to civil litigation.

Revenue enforcement is all part of our efforts to support a fair and equitable toll system. A key focus of our enforcement efforts is to specifically target “habitual offenders,” which we define as registered vehicle owners who have failed to pay four or more Toll By Plate invoices or owe tolls and fees that collectively total more than $250.

So what happens if you don't pay your PA Turnpike toll invoices? Here is a breakdown of the consequences.

Consequence One: We Enlist a Collection Agency

When a customer travels on the PA Turnpike without a valid E-ZPass transponder, we mail a Toll By Plate invoice to the registered vehicle owner, which must be paid or contested within 30 days. After 30 days, a past due invoice is issued with a late fee of the greater between $5 or 1.5% of the toll.

After 60 days, the invoice is sent to a collection agency with a collection fee imposed. The collection agency tries to reach the customer via letters, phone calls, e-mails and texts. The agency attempts to collect the debt until the customer pays.

The unpaid invoice remains in collections for 90 days. If the invoice remains unpaid, additional toll enforcement measures begin.

Consequence Two: Your Vehicle Registration is Suspended

If a collection agency is unable to collect from a customer who has failed to pay four or more Toll By Plate invoices or owes tolls and fees of $250 or more, the case is elevated to phase two of enforcement, which is vehicle registration suspension.

In this phase, customers first receive a letter alerting them that they are eligible for vehicle registration suspension if they do not pay their tolls and associated fees. If the customers do not resolve their unpaid tolls within 30 days, PennDOT issues a pending registration suspension letter.

Customers then have 42 days to resolve their unpaid tolls before PennDOT executes an active indefinite registration suspension.

What does an indefinite registration suspension entail? If your vehicle registration is suspended, no one can legally drive it even if they have a valid driver's license. Driving a vehicle with a suspended registration is a summary offense that can result in criminal penalties and loss of driving privileges.

The suspension remains in effect until you pay all outstanding tolls and fees to the PA Turnpike. In addition, you will need to pay a restoration fee to PennDOT before your registration can be reinstated.

Consequence Three: We Take Court Action

The third and final phase of enforcement is to take legal action. The PA Turnpike can take civil action against the most egregious offenders. Under the civil complaints process, we can be awarded judgements for the amount of tolls and fees owed. Not paying a court-awarded judgement could lead to a Sheriff sale of personal assets and/or the filing of liens against personal property.

Cases with claims under $12,000 are filed in magisterial district courts. Cases with claims over $12,000 are referred to the Office of Attorney General's Law Division, Financial Enforcement Section.

There are some instances when a criminal case is pursued. For example, if a person intentionally does something to evade tolls, like cover part of a license plate to avoid it being read, he or she could be charged with a third-degree misdemeanor.

Results of the PA Turnpike's Revenue Enforcement Effort

Vehicle registration suspension efforts have resulted in more than 45,000 toll collection cases being paid or closed, resulting in nearly $20 million dollars of recovered tolls and fees.

In addition, the PA Turnpike has filed over 765 cases in 41 counties with an average recovery of $2,250. Of those civil complaints, 295 have been either paid in full or are in payment plans, resulting in $1.2 million of recovered tolls and fees.

To learn more out Revenue Enforcement Strategy visit our website.

Important Scam Warning About Unpaid Tolls

We want to advise the public about a smishing scam falsely claiming people have unpaid tolls.

Text messages and e-mails, claiming to be from the PA Turnpike and other tolling agencies, are being sent to random people demanding money for unpaid tolls. These messages are not from the PA Turnpike. Do not click on any links within the messages or provide any financial and personal information.

Customers Should Only Use Safe Methods to Check Their Accounts