£3.50 per crossing
The default rate for anyone without an account. Pay on the day or up to 24 hours before, or by midnight the day after. Miss the deadline and the £70 PCN replaces the £3.50.
Dartford Crossing cost for cars
A standard car pays £3.50 every time it goes through, or £2.80 on a pre-pay account. This page covers what counts as a car for Dart Charge purposes, the cost at common crossing frequencies, and the point at which the £25-a-year resident pass beats the regular options.
£2.80 per crossing
A £15 minimum deposit, automatic deduction each time the camera reads the plate, top-ups by Direct Debit when the balance hits £10. 70p saved every crossing.
Sign up at gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge.
What counts as a car at the Dartford Crossing
Class B is for vehicles that carry people, not goods. The wording on gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge/charges is "Cars (including trailers), motorhomes and any minibuses that have 9 or less seats (including the driver's seat)". Note what is not in that list: vans. gov.uk puts them in a separate table headed "Buses, coaches, vans and other goods vehicles", and there is no weight threshold on either side of the line.
Class B (car rate)
- Standard saloons, hatchbacks, estates, SUVs
- All electric cars (Tesla, Polestar, BYD, etc.)
- Taxis and private-hire cars
- People carriers up to 9 seats (driver counted)
- Motorhomes and campervans, at any weight
- Car towing a caravan or trailer
Not Class B
- Vans and pickups, however light (Class C at £4.20)
- 10+ seat minibuses, however light (Class C)
- Box vans, tippers and rigid lorries (Class C or D)
- Anything with 3 or more axles (Class D)
- Coaches (Class C or D depending on axles)
Annual car cost at common frequencies
Both directions count as separate crossings, so a daily commute is 10 trips a week, not 5. The numbers below assume 52 weeks a year of crossing.
| Crossings / week | Use case | PAYG @ £3.50 | Pre-pay @ £2.80 | Pre-pay saves | Resident pass £25 cheaper? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1x | Occasional weekend trip | £182 | £146 | £36/yr | Yes (£25 unlimited) |
| 2x | One return commute or shop | £364 | £291 | £73/yr | Yes (£25 unlimited) |
| 4x | Two return commutes | £728 | £582 | £146/yr | Yes (£25 unlimited) |
| 6x | Three return commutes | £1092 | £874 | £218/yr | Yes (£25 unlimited) |
| 10x | Daily commute (both directions) | £1820 | £1456 | £364/yr | Yes (£25 unlimited) |
| 14x | Daily commute plus extra trips | £2548 | £2038 | £510/yr | Yes (£25 unlimited) |
Resident pass column assumes you live in an eligible DA or RM postcode. For exact eligibility see the Dartford resident discount and Thurrock resident discount pages.
The 9-seat boundary, in detail
gov.uk words it as "any minibuses that have 9 or less seats (including the driver's seat)". So a vehicle with 9 total seats, driver plus 8 passengers, is Class B at £3.50 per crossing. A tenth seat moves it to Class C at £4.20, and it is the seat count alone that does it: the charging order draws this line at "more than eight seats in addition to the driver's seat" with no weight attached.
Where this most often catches people out: the 9-seat versions of the Citroen Berlingo, Ford Tourneo Connect, VW Caddy Maxi and Renault Trafic Combi. All pay the car rate. The 12 to 17-seat versions of the Tourneo Custom, Transit Custom and Vivaro Combi are Class C at £4.20 on two axles, light or not.
Camper conversions are decided by what the V5C log book says. If the V5C body type is "motor caravan", you are in Class B at £3.50 even if there are 6 berths inside and the plated weight is over 3.5 tonnes, because the motor-caravan class carries no weight limit. If the V5C still reads as a panel van, you are a goods vehicle at £4.20.
Tunnel or bridge: same £3.50 either way
Cars northbound use the tunnels (Kent to Essex). Cars southbound use the QE2 Bridge (Essex to Kent). The Dart Charge is identical in both directions: £3.50 PAYG or £2.80 pre-pay. There's no surcharge for the bridge and no discount for the tunnel. You pay once per direction, not once per round trip.
A car that can't physically use the tunnels (because of height over 4.88m, dangerous goods, or escort requirement) gets diverted to the bridge in both directions. The price doesn't change. See the tunnel vs bridge directional guide for more.
For different vehicles, different pages
Common car questions
How much does a car pay at the Dartford Crossing?+
A car pays £3.50 on pay-as-you-go or £2.80 on a Dart Charge pre-pay account. The same rate applies in both directions: northbound through the tunnels and southbound across the QE2 Bridge. There is no higher peak-hour rate.
Is a 7-seater car charged at the car rate?+
Yes. The Class B limit is 9 seats including the driver, so any 7, 8 or 9-seat MPV or SUV pays the £3.50 car rate. A tenth seat moves it to Class C at £4.20 on seat count alone, whatever the vehicle weighs.
Does an electric car pay the same as a petrol car?+
Yes. The Dart Charge is by vehicle class and seat count, not by powertrain. EVs, plug-in hybrids, petrol, diesel and hydrogen all pay £3.50 PAYG / £2.80 pre-pay in the car class. Only the disabled tax class and motorcycles are exempt.
What about a car towing a caravan or trailer?+
It stays Class B. gov.uk words the class as "Cars (including trailers)", so hitching up a caravan does not move a car out of the car rate, and the combined weight is not relevant. Weight is not relevant to Dart Charge classification at all: what matters is that the vehicle carries people and has 9 or fewer seats including the driver.
Is the pre-pay £2.80 worth it for occasional car trips?+
It saves money from the first crossing. The £15 minimum is balance you spend on crossings, not a fee, so there is nothing to pay back: you save 70p every time you cross. Over 52 weekly trips that is £36.40, and £15 of balance covers about 5 crossings before the Direct Debit tops it up again.
Can I share a car pre-pay account with my partner?+
Yes. One pre-pay account holds up to 20 vehicles. Add both VRMs to the same account and either driver gets the £2.80 rate regardless of who is driving. Direct Debit tops the balance up from one bank account.