Driving in Turkey from the UK: tolls and rules

Turkish motorways and major bridges are paid electronically through HGS: a foreign-plated car needs an HGS account with enough balance, opened at PTT branches or agencies at the customs gates. The Osmangazi Bridge costs 1,170.00 TRY for a car. Carry a 1968 IDP and a green card; your passport must be valid 150 days after arrival.

Checked on 11 November 2026 against official sourcesPrices in TRY unless shown otherwise

Toll system: Distance tolls
Vignette: None
Low-emission zones: None listedSee the section below
Currency: TRY

On this page

How do tolls work in Turkey?

Tolled motorways (otoyol) and the Istanbul, Osmangazi and 1915 Canakkale bridges are charged electronically through the HGS (Hizli Gecis Sistemi) tag system, introduced by PTT in 2012. Vehicles are priced in six classes; a normal car is class 1 (two axles, less than 3.20 m between axles). Unpaid passages must be settled within 15 days, otherwise customs will not let the vehicle leave Turkey until tolls and fines are paid.

Who runs the roads

How to pay

HGS was introduced by PTT on 17 September 2012. On bridges and motorways HGS users are charged in 6 vehicle classes and must use an HGS label that matches their vehicle class; repeated class mismatches put the account on a blacklist.^[11]
Foreign-plated vehicles using tolled motorways and bridges must have an HGS account with at least enough balance to cover the toll, or they are treated as violating passages. An HGS account can be opened at PTT branches and agencies at the customs gates and inside the country, and at bank branches.^[1]
If you pass without an HGS account or with too little balance, within 15 days open an HGS account or top it up, or pay the foreign-plated vehicle tolls on the Revenue Administration's Interactive Tax Office (ivd.gib.gov.tr, 'Yabanci Plakali Arac Odemeleri') or on KGM's 'Ihlalli Gecis Sorgulama ve Odeme' page.^[1]
If the tolls are not paid within 15 days, administrative fines are added, and the vehicle will not be allowed to leave Turkey at the customs gate until tolls and fines are paid. KGM asks drivers to pay online before reaching the border to avoid queues.^[1]
You can top up an HGS balance online on PTT's official HGS site using a passport number and the vehicle plate, in amounts from 25 TRY to 5,000 TRY, by credit card.^[2]

Bridges, tunnels and other tolls

Osmangazi Bridge (Izmit Bay), valid from 1 July 2026, VAT included
1170.00 TRY^[3]
Vehicle: Class 1
1915 Canakkale Bridge (Dardanelles), valid from 1 July 2026, VAT included
1170.00 TRY^[4]
Vehicle: Class 1
15 Temmuz Sehitler and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges (Bosphorus, Istanbul), valid from 1 January 2026, VAT included, charged in both directions
59.00 TRY^[5]
Vehicle: Class 1: two-axle vehicles with less than 3.20 m between axles

Special tolls in Turkey
Toll	Vehicle	Price
Osmangazi Bridge (Izmit Bay), valid from 1 July 2026, VAT included	Class 1	1170.00 TRY^[3]
1915 Canakkale Bridge (Dardanelles), valid from 1 July 2026, VAT included	Class 1	1170.00 TRY^[4]
15 Temmuz Sehitler and Fatih Sultan Mehmet bridges (Bosphorus, Istanbul), valid from 1 January 2026, VAT included, charged in both directions	Class 1: two-axle vehicles with less than 3.20 m between axles	59.00 TRY^[5]

Checked on 11 November 2026 against the official sources linked in this section.

Low-emission zones and stickers

No low-emission zone rules for visiting cars were found on the official pages checked. In Istanbul, KGM's tariff notes set which vehicle classes may use each Bosphorus bridge; class 1 cars may use all three.

What must I carry in Turkey?

A green card proving third party insurance.^[7]
A 1968 international driving permit, or a UK driving licence notarised in Turkish, together with your UK licence.^[7]

Checked on 11 November 2026 against the official sources linked in this section.

Speed limits and alcohol

Built-up areas: 50 km/h^[6]
Outside built-up areas: 90 km/h^[6]
Motorways: 130 km/h^[6]
Drink-drive limit: Not confirmed yet

Cars (M1): 50 km/h in built-up areas, 90 km/h on two-way intercity roads, 110 km/h on divided roads, 130 km/h on motorways run by KGM and 140 km/h on build-operate-transfer motorways (motorway limits for cars raised after an Interior Ministry letter of 2 June 2022).

Checked on 11 November 2026 against the official sources linked in this section.

What UK drivers need

You need a 1968 IDP or a UK licence notarised in Turkish; the 1949 IDP is no longer accepted. You cannot buy an IDP outside the UK, so get one before you travel.^[7]
You must carry a green card to show you have third party insurance; ask your insurer, allowing up to 6 weeks if it is posted.^[8]
Your passport must have an expiry date at least 150 days after the date you arrive and at least 1 blank page. On a land border, make sure officials stamp and date your passport.^[9]
British citizens can visit Turkey without a visa for up to 90 days in any 180-day period for tourism or business.^[9]
If you bring a foreign-registered vehicle into Turkey, observe Turkish customs regulations. Check if you need a UK sticker.^[7]
FCDO: do not drink and drive; police fine drunk drivers and can confiscate your licence for 6 months. Take care at night and approach checkpoints slowly.^[7]
Turkey is not on the NHS list of places where the UK GHIC can be used, so get travel insurance with medical cover.^[10]

For documents, insurance, pets and border checks that apply to every country, see the driving to Europe checklist.

Checked on 11 November 2026 against the official sources linked in this section.

Not confirmed yet

We could not confirm these points on an official page, so this guide does not state them as facts. Check them with the operator before you travel.

Blood alcohol limit: no official Turkish page giving the figure was loaded; FCDO only says police fine drunk drivers and can confiscate a licence for 6 months.
Compulsory equipment (warning triangles, first-aid kit, fire extinguisher) was not confirmed on an official Turkish page.
Motorway section prices with km (for example Edirne to Istanbul on the Avrupa Otoyolu): the KGM 2026 tariff PDF is a distance matrix that could not be read reliably, so no per-km example is given. Use KGM's toll calculator.
The cost of an HGS label for a foreign vehicle and exactly which border gates have PTT agencies were not stated on the pages loaded; ptt.gov.tr returned an error (HTTP 503).
The 'class 1' definition (two axles, under 3.20 m between axles) is taken from the Bosphorus bridges tariff; the Osmangazi and 1915 Canakkale PDFs list classes by number only.
Yavuz Sultan Selim Bridge and Northern Marmara Motorway prices were not extracted.
Turkey is not in the Schengen area, so EES and ETIAS do not apply to entry into Turkey; this was not separately confirmed on a Turkish government page.

Official links

Sources

Every fact above links to one of these official pages. The numbers match the small links next to each fact.

1.
Yabanci Plakali Araclar (foreign-plated vehicles) (opens in a new tab)
Karayollari Genel Mudurlugu (KGM, Turkish General Directorate of Highways), kgm.gov.tr. Checked on 11 November 2026.
2.
HGS balance top-up and passage queries (opens in a new tab)
PTT (Turkish Post), HGS Musteri Hizmetleri Resmi Internet Sitesi, hgsmusteri.ptt.gov.tr. Checked on 11 November 2026.
3.
Osmangazi Koprusu gecis ucretleri tarifesi, from 1 July 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
Karayollari Genel Mudurlugu (KGM), kgm.gov.tr. Checked on 11 November 2026.
4.
1915 Canakkale Koprusu gecis ucretleri tarifesi, from 1 July 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
Karayollari Genel Mudurlugu (KGM), kgm.gov.tr. Checked on 11 November 2026.
5.
15 Temmuz Sehitler ve Fatih Sultan Mehmet Kopruleri gecis ucretleri tarifesi, from 1 January 2026 (PDF) (opens in a new tab)
Karayollari Genel Mudurlugu (KGM), kgm.gov.tr. Checked on 11 November 2026.
6.
Hiz Sinirlari (legal speed limits in Turkey) (opens in a new tab)
Karayollari Genel Mudurlugu (KGM), kgm.gov.tr. Checked on 11 November 2026.
7.
Turkey travel advice: safety and security, road travel (updated 27 October 2026) (opens in a new tab)
GOV.UK (FCDO), gov.uk. Checked on 11 November 2026.
8.
Vehicle insurance: driving abroad (opens in a new tab)
GOV.UK, gov.uk. Checked on 11 November 2026.
9.
Turkey travel advice: entry requirements (opens in a new tab)
GOV.UK (FCDO), gov.uk. Checked on 11 November 2026.
10.
Get healthcare cover abroad with a UK GHIC or UK EHIC: where you can use your card (opens in a new tab)
NHS, nhs.uk. Checked on 11 November 2026.
11.
Hizli Gecis Sistemi (HGS): vehicle classes (opens in a new tab)
Karayollari Genel Mudurlugu (KGM), kgm.gov.tr. Checked on 11 November 2026.