Pay DartCharge

pay dartcharge

You must pay DartCharge by midnight the day after crossing the Dartford Crossing Bridge or used the Dartford Tunnel.

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If you use the Dartford Bridge or Tunnel between the hours of 6am and 10pm every day including weekends and bank holidays you need to pay DartCharge

You can get a fine if you’re late or don’t pay. At the same time you have to pay the outstanding crossing charge.

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Pay DartCharge Location

The location is shown on the Dart Charge map below. The A282 Dartford Crossing links the M25 motorway between Dartford in Kent and Thurrock in Essex. It crosses the River Thames, east of London.

map of pay dart charge

Please observe the speed limits on the Dartford Bridge and in the Dartford Tunnel.

Variable speed limit apply, please check the signage and overhead gantries.

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How Pay DartCharge system works

Pay Dart Charge

When a vehicle makes a crossing, number plate reading cameras, lasers and tag readers,
positioned in the new overhead gantries, will identify the vehicle to see how much needs to
be paid. Then the owner or the company will need to pay dart charge for that vehicle.

The system then takes money from the account or waits to receive payment.

If the payment is not made by midnight the day after crossing, the driver or company will receive a penalty charge notice for £70 (reduced to £35 if paid within 14 days of issue) If a penalty charge notice remains unpaid after 28 days, a charge certificate will be issued for £105.

We are serious about tackling evasion and we are  working with the European Debt Recovery Agency to recover any unpaid non-UK driver crossing charges and associated penalties.

Pay Dart Charge

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Information for Pay DartCharge

The new payment system, called Dart Charge, means that instead of stopping at the barriers to pay Dart charge, you have to pay in advance or by midnight the day after your journey. There are multiple options available to make a payment.

It joins Dartford and Thurrock across the River Thames, forming part of London’s orbital M25 motorway and the furthest-downstream road crossing of the Thames. The Dartford Bridge Toll Crossing is used for southbound traffic, was completed in 1991, is a four-lane cable-stayed bridge.

The crossing is made up of 2 tunnels and the Queen Elizabeth 2 bridge. It’s the only fixed crossing of the Thames to the east of Greater London and the busiest estuarial crossing in the UK. Up to 160,000 vehicles use it every day.

It opened in stages: the west tunnel in 1963, the east tunnel in 1980 and the bridge in 1991.

The 2 tunnels are 1,430m long. The Queen Elizabeth 2 bridge is 137m high with a main span of 450m. It’s a cable-stayed bridge – one with towers with cables that support the bridge deck.

Height restriction

dart charge height restrictions

A new vehicle height restriction of 4.8m is in place on the A282 Northbound Junction 1a entry slip road. A diversion for vehicles higher than this (but lower than 5m) is signposted to Junction 1b.

Get in lane for the Dartford Tunnel.

When travelling northbound toward the Dartford Tunnel, height restrictions are 4.8m for the west tunnel, accessed by lanes 1 and 2 (left hand lanes), and 5.0m for the east tunnel, accessed by
lanes 3 and 4 (right hand lanes).

A new concrete barrier will be constructed between lanes, which means that vehicles will not be able to cross from lanes 1 and 2 to lanes 3 and 4 after Junction 1a of the M25.

This requires drivers to move into the correct lane before Junction 1a earlier than now.

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Pay Dart Charge opening and charging times.

The call centre is open every day 5 am till midnight (opening times are different during Christmas and New Year and bank holidays) 

You can also Pay DartCharge for the Dartford Bridge and Dartford tunnel using the following payments methods:

  • by telephone
  • with cash at a local shop  find your nearest store
  • Register by post
  • pay in advance by post
  • either pay or set up an account by phone
  • Contact the pay Dart Charge telephone call centre
  • Telephone number 0300 300 01
  • or instead Telephone From outside the UK: +44 (0) 300 300 01 
  • Textphone: 18001 0300 300 01

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