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Ohio Turnpike to crack down on commercial truck drivers with unpaid tolls in February 2025

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The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission issued a warning to drivers on Friday about plans to punish toll scofflaws next month.

On January 24, the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission issued notice to customers – including both passenger car and commercial truck drivers – to pay their unpaid tolls or face the consequences, including late fees and vehicle registration holds.

Open Road Tolling Grace Period Ends

In April 2024, officials rolled out a new open road tolling system on the Ohio Turnpike. Following the rollout, many drivers without an E-ZPass traveled in E-ZPass lanes and were issued
unpaid toll invoices by mail. As of today, nearly 347,000 toll transactions remain unpaid from the period between April 2024 through December 2024.

Because the open road tolling system was new, Turnpike offered a grace period to allow customers to adjust. During this grace period, the Ohio Turnpike suspended all late fees, collections, and vehicle registration holds.

But the grace period is coming to an end, and truck drivers with unpaid tolls have just days to pay up.

Fees, Collections, and Registration Holds Issued February For Unpaid Tolls

Starting February 3, 2025, Turnpike officials say they will begin issuing the following late fees for unpaid tolls:

  • Customers who incurred an unpaid toll by driving through an E-ZPass lane and who do not pay the first unpaid toll invoice within 30 days will have a $5 late fee added to the second mailed invoice for each toll that remains unpaid.
  • Customers exiting through a cash/credit lane who are handed an unpaid toll notice by a toll collector for failure to pay will incur a $5 administrative fee. If the notice remains unpaid for 30 days, the customer will be mailed a second notice, and a $5 late fee will be added to each toll that remains unpaid.

Starting on February 10, 2025, officials will send any unpaid tolls incurred since April 10, 2024, to the Ohio Attorney General’s Office for collections and to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) for a hold on vehicle registrations.

  • Mailed invoices and notices that remain unpaid for 90 days from the issue date will be sent to the AG’s Office for collections and/or the BMV for vehicle registration holds.
  • The accounts of customers currently involved in an active hearing dispute or during the resolution process will not be sent to the AG’s Office for collections or the BMV for vehicle registration holds.

To pay an Ohio Turnpike toll, you can click this link.

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