Explainer · Transport

FASTag local pass: Rs 1,500 a year if you live near a toll plaza

Swami GuruPublished 4 min read
A small house beside a raised toll barrier, with a yellow key hanging from the barrier arm
Rs 1,500
a year for one plaza outside town limits
20 km
the most you can live from the plaza and still qualify
1 Dec
when the pass goes on sale in the Rajmargyatra app
Last checked
Next check
Read from5 sources

In one line

Since 1 November, if you live within 20 km of a National Highway toll plaza and drive a private car, you can cross that one plaza all year for Rs 1,500 (or Rs 3,000 if the plaza is inside town limits), instead of paying about Rs 4,320 a year for monthly passes.13

Does this apply to you?

Find yourself in the list.

You live within 20 km of a plaza outside town limits
Act now

The yearly pass costs Rs 1,500 for that plaza. If you cross it often, that's far cheaper than 12 monthly passes.1

Your nearby plaza is inside municipal or town limits
Check

The pass costs Rs 3,000 a year. You still save about Rs 1,320 over monthly passes, but only if you'd have bought one every month.13

You already pay for a monthly local pass
Check

Nothing forces you to switch. The monthly pass stays, and you can pick either one for a given plaza.1

Commercial vehicle, or a plaza with a service road or alternative road
No change

The pass is only for non-commercial vehicles, and isn't issued where commuters have a service road or another road to use.1

You use expressways that charge by distance
No change

Highways and expressways on the closed user-fee system are left out. Your toll there works the same as before.1

What the rule actually says

The plain version first, then the line from the primary document.

In plain words
Two prices, decided by where the toll plaza sits, not where you live. You need a working FASTag on a private vehicle.1
The document saysMoRTH, 27 October 2026, National Highways Fee (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026: a concessional local pass at Rs 1,500 a year for fee plazas outside municipal or local town limits, and Rs 3,000 a year for plazas within them, for non-commercial vehicles of residents within 20 km.
In plain words
It's for your local plaza, nothing else. A highway trip through other plazas is still charged as usual.1
The document saysThe pass is valid only for the plaza it is issued for and "cannot be transferred to other toll plazas."
In plain words
You can buy it at the plaza booth now, or wait for the app. Don't assume Rs 1,500 holds past March 2027.1
The document saysThe pass is available at eligible fee plazas from 1 November 2026, and through the Rajmargyatra app from 1 December 2026. Rates may be revised every year, from 1 April.

What a year at your local plaza costs

These are for one private car crossing one plaza as often as you like. The monthly pass price is Rs 360 at the plazas reported so far; check your plaza's board, since one report puts it at Rs 350.

A year costs
  • Monthly local pass, every monthRs 4,320
    Rs 360 x 12
  • New local pass, plaza inside town limitsRs 3,000
    One yearly fee, saves Rs 1,320
  • New local pass, plaza outside town limitsRs 1,500
    One yearly fee, saves Rs 2,820
  • National FASTag annual passRs 3,075 + tolls
    Rs 3,075 for 200 crossings or a year; a daily return commute uses it up in three to five months, then you pay per trip
A tall stack of twelve thin coins next to one short, thick yellow coin

What to do

  1. Check whether your plaza is eligible. NHAI's Rajmargyatra app lists the plazas that sell local passes, and the plaza booth can tell you today.
  2. Make sure your FASTag is active and linked to the vehicle you'll use. The pass needs a valid, working tag on a non-commercial vehicle.1
  3. Check the address on your vehicle registration. NHAI's app checks your address through VAHAN and DigiLocker, so an old address there can make you look ineligible.2
  4. If you drive through the plaza most days, buy at the booth now or in the app from 1 December. If you cross it a few times a month, add up what you pay per trip first.
  5. If you have a monthly pass running, let it finish before you switch, since nothing says the unused days get refunded.

The fine print

  • One pass covers one plaza. If you live between two plazas, you'd need two passes.1
  • A service road or alternative road near the plaza is enough for it to be left out of the scheme. Many plazas have one, so check before you plan around the saving.1
  • The Rs 1,500 and Rs 3,000 prices can change every 1 April, the same way the national annual pass went from Rs 3,000 to Rs 3,075 this year.14
  • Without a working FASTag you still pay 1.25 times the toll on UPI or double in cash, pass or no pass.3

What we don't know yet

  • How the 20 km is measured. NHAI's app has used a radius check against your address for the monthly pass, but the new rules haven't been published in full, so road distance versus straight-line distance isn't confirmed.2
  • What proof of address a toll plaza booth will ask for before the app goes live on 1 December.
  • The exact monthly pass price at your plaza. Reports put it at Rs 360, one says Rs 350, which changes the saving by about Rs 120 a year.35
  • Whether the yearly pass has a cap on crossings. Neither the ministry's release nor the reports mention one.

Our take

This is a rare toll change that cuts what people pay, and it's aimed at the right people: the ones who live next to a plaza and cross it to get to work, school or the market, Rs 1,500 for a year is about what four monthly passes cost now. My worry is the exclusions. "Not where a service road or alternative road exists" is vague enough that plaza operators could use it to say no, and the ministry hasn't said who decides. If your plaza turns you away on that ground, ask for it in writing. Until the app opens on 1 December and we see how it handles the 20 km check, I'd buy at the booth only if you cross daily.

Change log

10 Nov 2026Re-checked against the sources. No change.
7 Nov 2026First draft. Checked against MoRTH's PIB release of 27 October 2026 on the National Highways Fee (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026.
Next check10 Dec 2026, or sooner if the rules change.

Sources

  1. PIB, MoRTH, Concessional Local Pass for National Highway users living near fee plazas, 27 Oct 2026
  2. PIB, NHAI extends digital FASTag local pass to 121 toll plazas, 18 Aug 2026
  3. Business Today, FASTag new rules from November 1, 28 Oct 2026
  4. News On Air, FASTag annual pass revised to Rs 3,075 for 2026-27
  5. Sunday Guardian, Rs 350 monthly local pass, 31 Aug 2026
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