North Macedonia Toll Roads and Renting a Car in Skopje

How do you pay tolls in North Macedonia?

The motorway toll system is run by the Public Enterprise for State Roads (PESR). Prices are set per toll station rather than by where you joined and left: each station charges a fixed amount for its section, in either direction.

PESR's payment page says you can pay at the booth in cash (denars or euros), by bank card, or through the electronic toll system with a smart card or tag. BIHAMK's summary for North Macedonia adds that the electronic card costs 1,200 MKD and the contactless card 100 MKD, each with a 300 MKD minimum top-up. That makes neither worth buying for a short rental.

Which category is a rental car?

PESR puts cars in category IB: two axles and less than 1.3 m tall at the front axle. Category IA is for motorcycles. A tall van, or a car towing a trailer, moves into category II, which costs noticeably more.

How much are North Macedonia's motorway tolls?

These are the IB prices from PESR's price list by section, read on 23 September 2026. The euro column is the separate price for paying in euro cash; it is rounded to 50 cents. AMSM, the national motoring club, publishes the same denar prices.

The list names two stations on several sections, for example Glumovo and Želino between Skopje and Tetovo. It does not say how many of them a single through trip passes, so the worked example below treats the total as a maximum.

Worked example: Skopje to Ohrid by car

The fastest road from Skopje to Ohrid follows the motorway west through Tetovo to Gostivar, then continues on ordinary roads. If a car passes all four listed stations between Skopje and Gostivar (Glumovo, Želino, Tetovo and Gostivar), the one-way toll is 40 + 40 + 30 + 30 = 140 MKD. In euro cash, the same four stations add up to 1.00 + 1.00 + 0.50 + 0.50 = €3.00. A return trip is at most 280 MKD, or €6.00.

The amounts are small either way. What matters more is having the right payment ready, because each station charges separately. Keep a few 50 and 100 MKD notes or a card in reach so you do not hold up the lane at every booth.

For buses instead of a car, see Skopje airport and buses to Ohrid and neighbouring countries.

Can you take a Skopje rental car across the border?

North Macedonia joined the Green Card system in 1994, as have Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Greece. The rental company provides the green card for the countries it allows.

Relax Rent a Car, a Skopje airport operator, is one example with published terms. Its terms page and green card guide were read on 23 September 2026.

The company's green card guide points out that the green card is third-party cover only. It does not cover damage to the rental car itself, so your damage waiver matters more once you are abroad. The guide does not say which countries are in zone 1 or zone 2, so ask when you book.

Kosovo

Kosovo is not in the Green Card system and normally sells border insurance at entry. The Kosovo Insurance Bureau makes an exception for Green Cards from North Macedonia and Montenegro. A Skopje rental car whose green card includes Kosovo therefore does not need a separate border policy there, provided the company lists Kosovo, as Relax does.

Your licence

Article 311 of the Law on Road Traffic Safety lets a foreigner staying temporarily drive on a valid foreign licence, subject to reciprocity with the issuing country. Article 312 sets a minimum age of 18 for a foreign category B (car) licence to be recognised. BIHAMK's country page lists an International Driving Permit among the documents for entering North Macedonia, so carrying one alongside your licence avoids a dispute at a roadside check.

Speed limits, lights and fines

The same law sets 50 km/h in towns (Article 35), and outside towns 90 km/h on ordinary roads, 110 km/h on expressways and 130 km/h on motorways (Article 36). Fines are fixed in euros and paid in the denar equivalent.

Each fine also brings negative points on a driving record, from 10 points for the smallest excesses to 65 for the largest.

Article 86 requires dipped headlights day and night. The fine is €15 in daylight and €35 at night. If the light switch is set to automatic, check that the dipped beams actually stay on in daylight.

How a fine is paid

A police officer issues a mandatory payment order. Under the law, the driver has eight days from receiving it to pay the fine into the state treasury account and bring or send the bank or post office receipt to the police station. A foreign driver is identified on the order by passport number and country.

Worked example: a rental car on the Veles road

A rental car is stopped at 145 km/h on a motorway with a 130 km/h limit: 15 km/h over, outside a town. That is a €20 fine, paid in denars within eight days.

At 165 km/h, the excess is 35 km/h and the fine becomes €45. On a 90 km/h ordinary road, the same 35 km/h excess (125 km/h) would also cost €45. In a 50 km/h town zone, 85 km/h (35 over) costs €300 and a driving ban.

Relax's published terms do not mention an admin fee for traffic fines. If a fine reaches the company after you return the car, ask what it charges for passing it on.

When are winter tyres required in North Macedonia?

Article 361 requires winter equipment on all motor vehicles from 15 November to 15 March. Driving without it is a €45 fine, and police can stop the car until it is fitted.

According to BIHAMK, for a car up to 3.5 tonnes this means four winter tyres with at least 4 mm of tread, or four summer tyres with at least 4 mm plus snow chains in the car. For four-wheel-drive cars, the minimum tread is 6 mm.

The road west towards Mavrovo and Ohrid crosses mountains. Relax lists snow chains as free equipment, but ask whether the car you book has winter tyres.

Heading on to Albania or Serbia? See renting a car and cross-border driving from Tirana and Serbian motorway tolls and renting in Belgrade.