Can You Pay Tolls with a Debit Card? Answered by Each State

Kait Scirri headshot Kait Scirri
Verified & Updated Apr 18, 2020

Short Answer

Toll booths in Ohio and Rhode Island, as well as select bridge tolls in Michigan, accept debit cards. Accepted forms of payment at toll booths in other states vary; many toll roads are managed at the state level, but some are operated regionally or privately. You can usually pay a toll by mail or by funding an electronic transponder using your debit card/checking account. For more details, see below.

Can You Pay Tolls With a Debit Card?

You may be able to pay a toll at a toll booth with a debit card, but accepted forms of payment vary depending on the level at which the toll facility is operated. Tolling facilities may be state-operated, regionally-operated, or privately owned and operated.

There are only two states that accept debit cards at all state-operated turnpike and toll booth locations:

  • Ohio
  • Rhode Island

Additionally, Michigan accepts debit cards at select bridges. (Find out more in our list of toll payment options by state below.)

Accepted forms of payment for regionally- and privately-operated toll booths can vary within the same state. Increasingly, tolling facilities are moving toward electronic-only payments — pay-by-plate programs or electronic transponders like E-ZPass. Some tolling facilities do not even have booths at which you can stop and pay. However, if toll booths are still available, the facility may also accept cash, credit cards, debit cards, or tokens.

Pay-By-Plate and Electronic Transponder Payment Methods

At toll facilities with pay-by-plate programs, a photo or video of your license plate will be taken when you drive through the toll without paying, and you’ll receive an invoice in the mail for the amount you owe. Most facilities allow you to pay unpaid tolls with a debit or credit card online, over the phone, or by mail. It’s important to note that some locations charge higher tolls (including processing and statement fees) for driving through a toll without paying.

If you frequently drive on toll roads and you want to pay by debit card (and potentially avoid lines at toll booths), you might want to consider purchasing an electronic transponder and linking your debit card/checking account for payment. E-ZPass is the most common transponder and can be used in several states, including Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, and West Virginia. Some states have their own electronic transponder systems, such as Florida’s SunPass and Texas’ TxTag.

High-Occupancy Vehicle Lanes

Some congested areas, such as highways in California and Virginia, offer high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) or high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes to promote carpooling and ride-sharing. These may also be called “Express Lanes.” These lanes are only available to vehicles that are carrying at least two (sometimes three) people, and they are often far less congested than regular traffic lanes.

Single-occupancy vehicles can pay a toll to use HOV lanes; this toll is paid either with an electronic transponder or a pay-by-plate system. Tolls are enforced by police and highway patrol monitoring, as well as by verification points that will split the HOV lane into two and capture the license plates of those declaring single occupancy.

There are fines for single-occupancy vehicles caught using HOV lanes without paying the toll; motorcycles are the exception to this and are permitted to use HOV lanes even with only one passenger.

There are no physical toll booth locations for HOV lanes, so tolls (and fines) can be paid using a debit card/checking account, just like other electronic transponder and pay-by-plate toll programs. Some E-ZPass versions can also be set to HOV mode and charge accordingly.

The List of Accepted Toll Payments by State

We compiled the following list of tolling facilities and their accepted payment options by contacting the tolling authorities and viewing official toll schedules on their websites.

Alabama

  • Emerald Mountain Expressway: Alabama Freedom Pass, cash, credit card
  • Foley Beach Express: Alabama Freedom Pass, cash, credit card, toll-by-plate
  • Montgomery Expressway: Alabama Freedom Pass, cash, credit card
  • Tuscaloosa By-Pass: Alabama Freedom Pass, cash, credit card

Alaska

  • Whittier Tunnel: Cash, local checks, business checks, traveler’s checks, Visa, Mastercard

California

  • Bay Area Bridges: Cash, FasTrak
  • Golden Gate Bridge: FasTrak, Pay-By-Plate
  • Orange County Toll Roads: Cash, FasTrak, Pay-By-Plate
  • San Diego Southbay expressway: Cash, credit card, FasTrak, Pay-By-Plate

Colorado

  • E-470: ExpressToll, License Plate Toll
  • Express Lanes: ExpressToll, License Plate Toll
  • Northwest Parkway: ExpressToll, GO-PASS

Delaware

  • Delaware Memorial Bridge: Cash, E-ZPass
  • John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway (I-95): Cash, E-ZPass
  • SR-1: Cash, E-ZPass, video toll

Florida

  • Alligator Alley: Cash, SunPass
  • Beachline Expressway: Cash, SunPass
  • Bob Sikes Bridge: SunPass
  • Broad Causeway: SunPass
  • Cape Coral Bridge: Cash, SunPass
  • Card Sound Bridge: SunPass
  • Dolphin Expressway: SunPass
  • Don Shula Expressway: SunPass
  • East-West Expressway: Cash, SunPass
  • First Coast Expressway: SunPass
  • Florida’s Turnpike: Cash, SunPass
  • Garcon Point Bridge: Cash, SunPass
  • Gasparilla Island Bridge: Cash
  • Gratigny Parkway: SunPass
  • Hammock Dunes Bridge: Cash
  • I-4 Connector: SunPass
  • Mid-Bay Bridge: Cash, SunPass
  • Midpoint Memorial Bridge: Cash, SunPass
  • Orchard Pond Parkway: SunPass
  • Osceola Parkway: Cash, SunPass
  • Pinellas Bayway: Cash, SunPass
  • Poinciana Parkway: SunPass
  • Polk Parkway: Cash, SunPass
  • Rickenbacker Causeway: SunPass
  • Sanibel-Captiva Bridge: Cash, SunPass
  • Sawgrass Expressway: SunPass
  • Selmon Expressway: SunPass
  • Seminole Expressway: Cash, SunPass
  • Spence Parkway: SunPass
  • SR-821: SunPass
  • SR-878: SunPass
  • Suncoast Parkway: SunPass
  • Sunshine Skyway Bridge: Cash, SunPass
  • Venetian Causeway: SunPass
  • Veterans Expressway: SunPass
  • Wekiva Parkway: SunPass
  • Western Beltway: Cash, SunPass

Georgia

  • Georgia Express Lanes: Peach Pass only; violators can pay toll violations online (using a credit card) or by mail (using a cashier’s check, personal check, or money order)

Illinois

  • Chicago Skyway: Cash, credit cards, E-ZPass, I-PASS
  • Illinois Tollway (I-90, I-94, 1-80, I-88, I-294, I-355, Route 390): Cash, EZ-Pass, I-PASS, video toll

Indiana

  • Indiana East-West Toll Road: Cash, credit card, E-ZPass

Kansas

  • Kansas Turnpike: BancPass, cash, EZ TAG, K-TAG, NATIONALPASS, Pikepass, TollTag, TxTag, video toll

Louisiana

  • LA 1 Expressway: GeauxPass
  • Lake Pontchartrain Causeway Bridge: Cash, Toll Tag

Maine

  • Maine Turnpike: Cash, E-ZPass

Maryland

  • Baltimore Harbor Tunnel: Cash, E-ZPass, video toll
  • Fort McHenry Tunnel: Cash, E-ZPass, video toll
  • Francis Scott Key Bridge: E-ZPass, video toll
  • Harry W. Nice Memorial Bridge: Cash, E-ZPass, video toll
  • I-95 Express Toll Lanes: E-ZPass, video toll
  • Intercounty Connector: E-ZPass, video toll
  • John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway: Cash, E-ZPass, video toll
  • Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge: Cash, E-ZPass, video toll
  • William Preston Lane, Jr. Memorial (Bay) Bridge: Cash, E-ZPass, video toll

Massachusetts

  • Callahan & Sumner Tunnels: E-ZPass, Pay By Plate
  • Massachusetts Turnpike (I-90): E-ZPass, Pay By Plate
  • Ted Williams Tunnel: E-ZPass, Pay By Plate
  • Tobin Memorial Bridge: E-ZPass, Pay By Plate

Michigan

  • Ambassador Bridge: A-Pass, Bridge Premier Commuter Card, cash, credit card, debit card
  • Blue Water Bridge: Cash, credit card, debit card
  • Detroit-Windsor Tunnel: Cash, credit card, DWT mobile app, Nexpress
  • Grosse Ile Bridge: Bridge Pass, cash, credit cards, tokens
  • Mackinac Bridge: Cash, credit cards, MacPass
  • Sault Ste. Marie International Bridge: Cash, check, discounted toll card

Minnesota

  • MnPASS Express Lanes: MnPASS tag

New Hampshire

  • New Hampshire Turnpike System: Cash, E-ZPass

New Jersey

  • Garden State Parkway: Cash, E-ZPass
  • New Jersey Turnpike: Cash, E-ZPass

New York

  • MTA Bridges & Tunnels: E-ZPass, Pay Toll Now account, Tolls By Mail
  • New York State Bridge Authority: Cash, E-ZPass
  • New York State Thruway: Cash, E-ZPass, Tolls By Mail
  • Peace Bridge: Cash, E-ZPass
  • Thousand Islands Bridge Authority: Cash, E-ZPass

North Carolina

  • Triangle Expressway: Bill By Mail, NC Quick Pass

Ohio

  • Ohio Turnpike: Cash, credit cards, debit cards, E-ZPass

Oklahoma

  • Cherokee Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • Chicksaw Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • Cimarron Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • Creek Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • H.E. Bailey Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • Indian Nation Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • John Kilpatrick Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • Muskogee Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • Turner Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass
  • Will Rogers Turnpike: Cash, Pikepass

Pennsylvania

  • PA Turnpike: E-ZPass, Toll By Plate

Rhode Island

  • Newport Pell Bridge: Cash, credit cards, debit cards, E-ZPass

South Carolina

  • Cross Island Parkway: Cash, Palmetto Pass
  • Southern Connector (I-185): Cash, Palmetto Pass

Texas

  • Austin Area Toll Roads: TxTag, Pay By Mail
  • Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority: TxTag, Pay By Mail
  • Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority: EZ Tag, K-TAG, TollTag, TxTag
  • Grand Parkway: EZ Tag, METRO HOT Lanes Toll Tag, K-TAG, Pikepass, TollTag, TxTag
  • Harris County Toll Road Authority: EZ Tag or interoperable Texas toll tag
  • North East Texas Regional Mobility Authority: EZ Tag, K-TAG, Pikepass, TollTag, TxTag
  • North Texas Tollway Authority: TollTag, ZipCash
  • TEXpress Lanes: TxTag, Pay By Mail

Utah

  • Salt Lake City Express Lanes: Express Pass

Vermont

  • Scenic Toll Roads: Cash

Virginia

  • 64 Express Lanes: E-ZPass, photo toll
  • 95 Express Lanes: E-ZPass, photo toll
  • 395 Express Lanes: E-ZPass, photo toll
  • 495 Express Lanes: E-ZPass, photo toll
  • Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel: Cash, credit card, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • Chesapeake Bay Expressway: Cash, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • Dominion Boulevard: Bill by Mail, E-ZPass
  • Dulles Greenway: Cash, credit card, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • Dulles Toll Road: Cash, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • Elizabeth River Tunnels: Bill by Mail, E-ZPass
  • George P. Coleman Bridge: Cash, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • I-66 Inside the Beltway: E-ZPass, photo toll
  • Pocahontas 895: Cash, credit card, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • Powhite Parkway Extension: Cash, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • RMTA Expressway System: Cash, E-ZPass, photo toll
  • South Norfolk Jordan Bridge: Bill by Mail, E-ZPass

Washington

  • Evergreen Point Bridge: Good To Go! Pass, Pay By Mail
  • I-405 Express Lanes: Good To Go! Pass, Pay By Mail
  • SR 167 HOT Lanes: Flex Pass, Good To Go! Pass, Pay By Mail
  • Tacoma Narrows: Cash, Good To Go! Pass, Pay By Mail

West Virginia

  • West Virginia Turnpike: Cash, E-ZPass

The following states do not operate tolling facilities at the time of this writing:

  • Arizona
  • Arkansas
  • Connecticut
  • Hawaii
  • Idaho
  • Iowa
  • Kentucky
  • Mississippi
  • Missouri
  • Montana
  • Nebraska
  • Nevada
  • New Mexico
  • North Dakota
  • Oregon
  • South Dakota
  • Tennessee
  • Wisconsin
  • Wyoming

In Summary

Debit cards are accepted at some toll booths; however, the only states that accept debit cards at all state-operated toll booths are those in Ohio and Rhode Island. If you cannot use a debit card at a toll booth, you can usually pay a toll using your debit card via mail, phone, or online, or by loading an electronic transponder. Keep in mind that privately-owned tolling facilities are the most likely only to accept cash.

For information about other transportation services that accept debit cards, see our article about renting a car with a debit card.

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