From 1 November 2026, people who live within 20 km of a National Highway toll plaza can buy a Concessional Local Pass. It is a yearly pass for crossing that one plaza. MoRTH notified it in the National Highways Fee (Determination of Rates and Collection) (Fifth Amendment) Rules, 2026, and PIB announced it on 27 October 2026.
This is new. Some details, especially documents and the exact application steps, have not been officially published yet. We say below where that is the case.
The fee: ₹1,500 or ₹3,000 a year
You may have seen news reports giving different prices, from ₹1,500 to ₹3,000. These reports don’t actually conflict. The official PIB release sets two fees, and which one you pay depends on where the plaza is:
| Where the toll plaza is | Annual fee |
|---|---|
| Outside municipal or local town limits | ₹1,500 |
| Inside municipal or local town limits | ₹3,000 |
So the fee does vary by plaza, but only between these two amounts. ThePrint (PTI), Autocar India and Motoroids all report the same two figures.
What we couldn’t verify:
- No plaza-wise list. NHAI has not published which plazas fall in which band. Rule 8 of the NH Fee Rules says plazas should normally be set up more than 10 km outside municipal limits. That suggests most plazas will be in the ₹1,500 band, but this is our reading, not an official statement. Ask at the plaza helpdesk.
- Future revision. PIB says the central government may revise the rates every year from 1 April. The ₹1,500 and ₹3,000 figures apply until at least 31 March 2027.
Who is eligible
According to the PIB release, you must:
- own a non-commercial vehicle;
- have a valid, working FASTag on it;
- live within 20 km of the fee plaza.
The pass is not issued:
- on National Highways or Expressways that use a closed user-fee system, where toll is charged by distance between entry and exit;
- where a service road or alternative road is available to commuters.
The pass works only at the plaza it is issued for. You can’t move it to another plaza. Motoroids also reports that it can’t be transferred to another person.
Trip limit: the PIB release doesn’t mention any cap on crossings. We have not seen the gazette text. Until we do, we can’t confirm whether crossings are unlimited.
Documents needed
As of November 2026, there is no official document list for the new local pass.
For the existing local monthly pass, NHAI lists Aadhaar card, vehicle Registration Certificate (RC) and proof of residential address (PIB, October 2025). Motoroids suggests the same set for the new pass, plus your vehicle number and an active non-commercial FASTag.
Carry:
- Aadhaar card
- Vehicle RC (non-commercial registration)
- Proof of address within 20 km of the plaza, if your Aadhaar address is different
- The vehicle itself with a working FASTag on the windscreen
The address on your documents is what proves the 20 km distance. If it’s out of date, update it first.
How to apply
| From | Where | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Nov 2026 | Helpdesk at the eligible toll plaza | Live, per PIB |
| 1 Dec 2026 | Rajmargyatra app | Announced by PIB. Not yet live as of 9 Nov 2026 |
At the plaza, the staff check your documents and link the pass to your FASTag. This is how the monthly local pass already works (PIB, October 2025). NHAI hasn’t published a step-by-step process for the app yet. We’ll update this page when it goes live.
How it differs from the older passes
Before November 2026, residents already had two options under Rule 9 of the NH Fee Rules, 2008. The new pass adds a third. PIB says eligible users “can choose between the existing monthly pass and the concessional Local Pass”.
| Concessional Local Pass (new) | Local monthly pass | 50-journey monthly pass | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rule | Fifth Amendment Rules, 2026 | Rule 9(3) | Rule 9(2) |
| Who | Non-commercial vehicle, owner lives within 20 km | Non-commercial vehicle, owner lives within 20 km | Any vehicle |
| Validity | 1 year, one plaza | 1 calendar month, one plaza | 1 month, 50 one-way crossings |
| Fee | ₹1,500 or ₹3,000/year | ₹360/month in 2026-27 (PTI), i.e. ₹4,320/year | Two-thirds of 50 single-journey fees |
| Not available | Closed-system roads; where a service or alternative road exists | Where a service or alternative road exists | No residence condition |
The local monthly pass (Rule 9(3))
This is the older “local resident concession”. The rule sets a 2007-08 base rate of ₹150 a month, revised every year. PTI reports it at ₹360 a month for 2026-27. We found no official 2026-27 rate card, so confirm at the plaza.
The rule has one condition the PIB release doesn’t mention for the new pass: your use of the highway must not go beyond the next plaza after your chosen one.
The 50-journey monthly pass (Rule 9(2))
Anyone can buy this, with no residence condition. You pay two-thirds of the fee for 50 single journeys and get 50 one-way crossings within a month.
Commercial vehicles
The new pass is only for non-commercial vehicles. Commercial vehicles registered in a district get a separate 50% concession at plazas inside that district under Rule 9(3A). Vehicles on a National Permit are excluded, and so are plazas where a service or alternative road exists.
Local pass or FASTag Annual Pass?
They do different jobs:
- Local pass: a year of crossings at one plaza near your home, for ₹1,500 or ₹3,000.
- Annual Pass: ₹3,075 for 200 crossings at about 1,150 NH/NE plazas anywhere.
A daily round-trip commute uses roughly 60 crossings a month. That would use up the annual pass’s 200 trips in about three months.
You can hold both. The IHMCL FAQ says that at a plaza where another pass is active, crossings are not deducted from your annual pass. So a local pass for your daily commute plus an annual pass for weekend trips can make sense.
Is it worth it?
If you cross your nearest plaza often, almost certainly yes. Compared with the monthly pass at ₹4,320 a year (PTI figure), the local pass saves ₹2,820 (₹1,500 band) or ₹1,320 (₹3,000 band). You also renew once a year instead of every month.