---
title: "Dartford Crossing for motorhomes (2026): the Dart Charge"
description: "A motorhome pays the Dart Charge as Class B — £3.50/day (£2.80 pre-pay), the car rate even over 3.5t. Hours, how to pay, the £70 fine, and foreign plates."
canonical: https://rovee.io/topic/dartford-crossing-motorhome/
last_updated: 2026-07-10
lang: en
---

# Dartford Crossing for motorhomes (2026): the Dart Charge

> A motorhome pays the Dart Charge as a Class B vehicle — £3.50 for the day, or £2.80 on a pre-pay account, the same as a car, even if your rig is over 3.5 tonnes (3,500 kg). The crossing is charged 06:00–22:00 and free overnight, and you have until midnight the day after you cross to pay. Miss that and the penalty is £70, halved to £35 if you pay within 14 days. There are no booths — it is all number-plate cameras, and a foreign plate does not get you out of it.

Last updated: **2026-07-10**.

## TL;DR

- **What it costs.** A motorhome is Class B: £3.50 for the day, or £2.80 on a pre-pay account — the same as a car, even over 3.5 tonnes. Charged 06:00–22:00; free 22:00–06:00. You pay once per day however many times you cross.
- **How to pay.** Online at gov.uk or by phone, via a one-off payment, a pay-as-you-go account, or a pre-pay account (up to 20% cheaper). The deadline is midnight the day after you cross. No booths and nothing to display — it is number-plate cameras only.
- **If you don't pay.** A £70 Penalty Charge Notice, reduced to £35 within 14 days, rising to £105 if unpaid after 28 days. Foreign-registered rigs are pursued through a European debt-collection partner — a non-UK plate is not a free pass.

## What the Dart Charge is — a crossing charge, not a clean-air zone

The Dart Charge is the road-user charge for crossing the River Thames on the A282 between Dartford in Kent and Thurrock in Essex. Two tunnels carry traffic north; the Queen Elizabeth II Bridge carries it south. It is a *crossing* charge, not an emissions scheme — your Euro engine standard is irrelevant here. A brand-new Euro 6 motorhome and a 2004 diesel pay exactly the same. That is the opposite of the London ULEZ a few miles up the road, where the charge is entirely about emissions and nothing about distance or crossing.

The booths are long gone, removed in November 2014. The crossing is now free-flow: number-plate cameras read every vehicle and you pay afterwards. There is nowhere to stop and pay on the day, and nothing to display in the windscreen.

The charge applies from **06:00 to 22:00 every day**, including weekends and bank holidays. Between 22:00 and 06:00 the crossing is free. Cross at 23:30 and you owe nothing; cross at 21:30 and you owe the full day's charge.

## What does a motorhome pay at the Dartford Crossing?

What you owe depends on the class your vehicle falls into. The rates below have been in force since 1 September 2025 — a rise from the old £2.50 to £3.50 for Class B — and are unchanged for 2026:

| Class | What it covers | One-off / pay-as-you-go | Pre-pay account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Class A | Motorcycles, mopeds, quad bikes | Free | Free |
| **Class B** | **Cars, motorhomes, minibuses (up to 9 seats)** | **£3.50** | **£2.80** |
| Class C | Vehicles with 2 axles | £4.20 | £3.60 |
| Class D | Vehicles with more than 2 axles | £8.40 | £7.20 |

**Source.** Class table, charging hours, and payment window from [gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge](https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge/charges). Rates in force since 1 September 2025, current for 2026. Fact-check date: 2026-07-10.

A pre-pay account is the cheaper route for anyone who uses the crossing more than once or twice a year: it takes the Class B charge from £3.50 down to £2.80, a saving of up to 20%, and bills automatically so there is no deadline to remember.

## Why your motorhome stays Class B, even over 3.5 tonnes

Here is the part that catches people out, in a good way. A motorhome is charged as a **Class B vehicle** — the same band as a car — and that classification is based on how the vehicle is registered (body type "motor home"), not on what it weighs or how many axles it has. A 7.5-tonne (7,500 kg) A-class on a twin-axle chassis is still Class B at £3.50, not the £4.20 or £8.40 a goods vehicle of the same size would pay. Weight changes a great deal for a heavy motorhome elsewhere — the London LEZ, continental GO-Box tolls — but at the Dartford Crossing it changes nothing.

One thing worth checking on your statement, though. The number-plate cameras have a documented history of occasionally reading a large motorhome as a two-axle goods vehicle (Class C) and charging the higher rate. National Highways has acknowledged and corrected the body-type calculation, and if you are overcharged you can call the Dart Charge helpline to have the crossing reclassified and the difference refunded. It is worth a glance if your rig is big enough to look like a box van to a camera.

## How do you pay the Dart Charge — and by when?

The deadline is the number to remember: you must pay **by midnight the day after you cross**. Cross on a Tuesday and you have until the end of Wednesday. There are three ways to do it:

- **Pre-pay account.** Top up in advance and the charge is taken automatically each time you cross, at the discounted £2.80 Class B rate. Best for anyone who crosses regularly — there is no deadline to miss.
- **Pay-as-you-go account.** A registered account that bills the standard £3.50 per crossing day to a saved card, without pre-loading credit.
- **One-off payment.** Pay for the specific day online at [gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge](https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge) or by phone. Useful for a single trip; just watch the midnight-next-day deadline.

For a foreign-registered motorhome, the phone line is often the more reliable route. The online form can reject some non-UK cards and addresses, while the phone service is set up to handle them — worth knowing before you spend twenty minutes fighting a web form on a ferry.

## What happens if you don't pay

Miss the deadline and the camera system triggers a Penalty Charge Notice automatically. There is no warning and no grace beyond the midnight-next-day window. The PCN is **£70**, reduced to **£35 if you pay within 14 days**, and increased to **£105** if it stays unpaid after 28 days, per [gov.uk](https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge/fines-penalty-charge-notices). It is posted to the registered keeper of the vehicle — the address on your V5C registration document.

None of that is worth losing sleep over — the charge is £3.50, and paying it on time is a two-minute job. But the gap between a £3.50 charge and a £70 penalty is the reason the crossing is worth a note in your trip plan rather than a shrug.

## Do foreign-registered motorhomes have to pay?

Yes — and a non-UK plate is not the loophole it is sometimes assumed to be. National Highways refers unpaid charges and penalties on foreign-registered vehicles to a European debt-collection partner, and travellers do receive notices at their home address on the continent. The crossing is read by the same cameras regardless of where the plate was issued.

The simplest way to keep it simple is to pay before midnight the day after you cross. A single online or phone payment closes the matter, and there is nothing left for anyone to chase. If you are touring the UK and likely to use the crossing more than once, a pre-pay account removes the deadline from the equation entirely.

## FAQ

### How much is the Dartford Crossing for a motorhome?

£3.50 for the day, or £2.80 if you pay through a pre-pay account — the same Class B rate as a car. Crucially, that holds even if your motorhome is over 3.5 tonnes, because the Dart Charge classifies by registered body type, not by weight. The crossing is charged between 06:00 and 22:00 and is free overnight, and you pay once for the day no matter how many times you cross.

### How do I pay the Dart Charge?

Online at gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge or by phone, using a one-off payment, a pay-as-you-go account, or a pre-pay account (which is up to 20% cheaper). You have until midnight the day after you cross. There are no booths and nothing to display — the crossing is read by number-plate cameras. For a foreign-registered motorhome the phone line is often more reliable, as the online form can reject some non-UK cards and addresses.

### Is the Dartford Crossing free at night?

Yes. The Dart Charge applies from 06:00 to 22:00 every day, including weekends and bank holidays. Between 22:00 and 06:00 the crossing is free. Cross at 23:30 and you owe nothing; cross at 21:30 and you owe the full day's charge.

### My motorhome is over 3.5 tonnes — am I charged the goods-vehicle rate?

No. A motorhome is Class B at £3.50 (£2.80 pre-pay) by its registered body type, not its weight or axle count, so it pays the car rate rather than the Class C (£4.20) or Class D (£8.40) goods-vehicle rate. One thing to check on your statement, though: the cameras have a documented history of occasionally reading a large motorhome as a two-axle goods vehicle and charging Class C. National Highways has corrected the body-type calculation, and if you are overcharged you can call the Dart Charge helpline to reclassify the crossing and refund the difference.

### What's the fine for not paying the Dart Charge?

A Penalty Charge Notice of £70, reduced to £35 if you pay within 14 days, and increased to £105 if it stays unpaid after 28 days. It is issued automatically by the camera system and posted to the registered keeper. Paying the £3.50 charge before midnight the day after you cross avoids the penalty entirely.

### Can I be chased abroad for an unpaid Dart Charge?

Yes. A non-UK plate is not a loophole — National Highways refers unpaid charges and penalties on foreign-registered vehicles to a European debt-collection partner, and travellers do receive notices at their home address on the continent. The simplest answer is to pay the charge before midnight the day after you cross; a single online or phone payment closes the matter.

## Where this came from

- **[London ULEZ for motorhomes (2026)](https://rovee.io/topic/london-ulez-motorhome/)** — the nearest UK sibling: same automatic number-plate recognition (ANPR) cameras and PCN mechanics, but an emissions charge rather than a crossing charge. Over 3.5t the ULEZ flips to a separate scheme while the Dart Charge stays Class B.
- [European toll calculator for motorhomes](https://rovee.io/topic/european-toll-calculator-motorhome/) — where the Dart Charge fits into the wider toll picture across a multi-country trip.
- [Caravan-friendly sat nav for the UK (2026)](https://rovee.io/topic/caravan-friendly-sat-nav-uk/) — which sat nav apps route a motorhome correctly on UK roads alongside crossings like Dartford.
- [gov.uk — Pay the Dartford Crossing charge](https://www.gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge) — the authoritative reference: charges, hours, payment window, and the PCN schedule.