Highway 407 ETR tolls in a rental car

What Highway 407 ETR Tolls Are and Where the Route Runs

Highway 407 ETR is an electronic toll highway with no toll booths, crossing the Greater Toronto Area west to east. For a visitor in a rental car, it is the one road in the region where every kilometre is metered, read by camera and billed later through the rental company.

Where Highway 407 ETR Tolls Begin and End

Highway 407 ETR runs 108.0 km across the Greater Toronto Area, from the Freeman Interchange in Burlington — between the QEW and Highway 403 — to Brock Road in Pickering. The central sections opened in 1997, and the final segment opened in mid-2001. For a car collected in the city, the western end near Burlington is the natural entry point on a run toward the east side of the region, and Brock Road is where the metered road stops. East of Brock Road the road continues as 407 East, a provincial route that was formerly tolled, for 43.4 km to Highway 35/115 in Clarington. That last stretch is a different road with a different operator, so a trip that crosses Brock Road changes character mid-journey.

No Toll Booths, So How Highway 407 ETR Tolls Are Recorded

There are no toll booths along Highway 407 ETR. Cameras read the licence plate at entry and at exit, and the trip is rated from those two points — plate-based, with no ticket, no barrier and no stop. The highway is divided into zones 1 to 12, and the section you enter and leave through is part of what sets the rate. Because the plate is the only record of the trip, a plate that is dirty, bent or partly hidden behind a bike rack turns an ordinary trip into an unrecognizable-plate case, which carries its own charge. Before setting off, walk around the car and check that both plates are clean and fully visible. It takes ten seconds and it is the cheapest habit on this road.

How Highway 407 ETR Tolls Are Calculated per Kilometre

Highway 407 ETR tolls are not a single number: the rate is set by zone, direction, vehicle type and the moment you enter, then fixed charges are layered on top. Here is how the pieces stack up.

The per-Kilometre Rate Behind Highway 407 ETR Tolls

Light vehicles in 2026 pay from 49.93¢ to 119.21¢ per kilometre on Highway 407 ETR, depending on the zone and the time of entry. The road is split into zones 1 to 12, and the rate also shifts with direction and with the vehicle's type and dimensions. Your trip's cost is determined by several factors: your vehicle type and dimensions, travel time, day of week, highway section and direction. The rate is fixed by the moment you enter, not by when you leave or how long the trip takes. If you are timing a run to the airport, entering a few minutes before the peak window opens is worth more than driving faster afterwards.

Peak and Off-Peak Windows for Highway 407 ETR Tolls

• Peak, morning: 5 a.m. to 10:29 a.m., Monday to Friday — the highest per-kilometre rates of the working day.
• Peak, afternoon: 2:30 p.m. to 8:59 p.m., Monday to Friday — the second block where the top rates apply.
• Off-peak weekdays: the hours between 10:29 a.m. and 2:30 p.m., plus everything after 8:59 p.m. until 5 a.m.
• Off-peak weekends and holidays: Saturdays, Sundays and Ontario statutory holidays are rated off-peak all day.
• Time of entry governs: the rate is set when you enter the highway, not when you exit it.

A weekend or holiday trip is rated off-peak all day, so shifting a longer run to a Saturday can matter more than shifting it by an hour on a Tuesday.

Fixed Charges Added to Highway 407 ETR Tolls

Every journey carries a C$1 trip toll charge with or without a transponder, and if the entry or exit is not captured the run falls back to a flat toll of up to C$13.65 at peak or up to C$9.25 off-peak, plus the camera charge. The flat toll is a fallback, not a cap — it replaces the per-kilometre calculation when a camera misses a point, so a short trip with a missed exit can cost more than a clean longer one. In our experience the cleanest way to keep a Toronto run predictable is to enter and leave at the same interchanges you planned, rather than improvising an exit.

Camera and Account Charges on Highway 407 ETR Tolls Without a Transponder

A rental car usually has no transponder, so the plate is what the system reads — and that adds fixed charges on top of the distance rate. Here is what those charges are and how they behave.

The Camera Charge and Account Fee in Highway 407 ETR Tolls

Without a transponder, a camera charge of C$5.30 per trip and an account fee of C$5 per month are added to Highway 407 ETR tolls. The camera fee is what pays for reading the plate instead of a transponder signal; the account fee is what keeps a plate-based account open on the billing side. The two behave differently. On a rental car these charges land on the rental company's account first, together with the tolls themselves. Ask at booking how the camera charge and the account fee are handled on your rental — that is the line where the totals diverge most between rentals.

The C$60 Unrecognizable Plate Charge

A plate that cannot be read turns an ordinary journey into an expensive one: the unrecognizable plate charge is C$60 per trip when the front or rear plate is altered, not visible or unrecognizable. That is on top of the camera charge and the account fee, not instead of them. In our practice the usual culprits are a bike rack covering the rear plate, a plate bent in a car park, or winter grime across the characters. A covered plate is not a technicality — the system has no second way of identifying the car, so the trip is processed as a plate-based trip at the penalty rate. Walk around the car and check both plates are clean, flat and fully visible before you leave, and photograph them if anything looks doubtful.

Why a Personal Transponder Does Not Fix This

A personal transponder is only meant to be used in the vehicle it is registered to, and in a rental car it is not reliably detected — the trip is then processed by plate and billed to the rental company, and those charges cannot be transferred to your personal account. Driving offers do not apply to rental vehicles either, so a transponder brought from home buys nothing here. The total cost can include tolls, camera charges if no transponder is used, account fees and rental company service fees. Before driving, ask how toll charges will be billed and whether there are extra service or administrative fees — rental companies set their own fees, and 407 ETR does not control them.

Rental Company Billing of Highway 407 ETR Tolls Explained

Highway 407 ETR tolls never come to you directly: the cameras record the plate, the highway bills the registered owner — the rental company — and the company passes the amount on to you under the rental agreement. That chain is why the paperwork arrives late and why the total is rarely just the kilometres.

Why the Bill Arrives a Few Months After the Trip

Because a rental company owns the vehicle, toll amounts are billed to the rental company first and then passed on to you based on your rental agreement — you may receive your bill from the rental company a few months after travelling. The delay is structural: 407 ETR invoices the owner on a billing cycle, the company reconciles those trips against its rental records, and only then does the charge surface on your side. In our experience, a journey taken at the start of a long Toronto stay is often settled after the traveller has already flown home. Keep the rental agreement number and the dates of any 407 ETR journey until the bill lands — matching a charge to a specific day is far easier with them.

Rental Company Fees Sit on Top of the Toll

Rental companies set their own fees for 407 ETR trips, and these are not controlled by 407 ETR. Your total cost may include tolls, camera charges if no transponder is used, account fees and any rental company service fees. Because those service and administrative fees are set per company, the same 108.0 km run can land differently on two invoices even when the per-kilometre rate is identical. Before you drive, ask your rental company how toll charges will be billed and whether they charge any additional service or administrative fees. With Rent-Trip that answer is agreed when booking, so nothing about the toll side is a surprise later.

What to Ask Before You Take the 407

• Billing route: how the toll is settled after the trip — agreed when booking.
• Administrative fee: whether the company adds its own charge on top of the 407 ETR rate — agreed when booking.
• Timing: how the charge reaches you after the trip, so you know what to expect — agreed when booking.
• Plate condition: who checks that both plates are clean and visible before the car leaves.
• Transponder: whether the vehicle carries one; a personal transponder is only meant for the vehicle it is registered to, and in a rental car it is not reliably detected.

When the 407 Is Worth Taking

The 407 ETR earns its cost on long east–west crossings of the Greater Toronto Area and on airport runs at peak times, when the parallel free routes slow to a crawl. For a short hop between neighbouring districts, the per-kilometre rate plus the C$1 trip toll charge and the camera charge rarely beats simply leaving earlier. A weekend or statutory holiday run is rated off-peak all day, so a Saturday crossing is rated at off-peak rates for the whole journey. Take the 407 when the time saved matters more than the toll, and check the plate before every trip — an unrecognizable plate turns a normal charge into a C$60 penalty.

Highway 407 ETR Tolls in Trip Scenarios Around Toronto

Highway 407 ETR tolls are billed by plate, so the same road can cost very different amounts depending on how you use it. Below are the runs where the charge most often surprises a visitor, and what to expect on each.

Airport Runs and Highway 407 ETR Tolls

A run between Pearson and the eastern side of the region is where the 407 ETR is most tempting: the road crosses the whole Greater Toronto Area west to east, and a car collected near the airport can be on it within minutes. The catch is timing. Entry between 5 a.m. and 10:29 a.m. or between 2:30 p.m. and 8:59 p.m. on a weekday puts the trip in peak, and the per-kilometre rate for light vehicles ranges from 49.93¢ to 119.21¢ depending on the zone and the time of entry. A flight landing at midday sits in the off-peak window between 10:30 a.m. and 2:29 p.m., outside the peak blocks. Rent-Trip tells travellers to look at the arrival time before choosing the route, not after.

Long East–West Crossings and Highway 407 ETR Tolls

For a single long crossing of the region the per-kilometre rate dominates the bill and the fixed charges fade into the background: C$1 trip toll charge plus C$5.30 camera charge on top of the distance. It is the short hops that behave differently. Three separate entries across the same afternoon carry the camera charge three times and the trip toll charge three times, so a series of short hops can cost more in fixed charges than in distance. If the day's plan is several stops spread east to west, plot them in one direction and re-enter as little as possible. In our practice that single change is what most often cuts a 407 ETR bill in half.

Weekend and Holiday Trips on Highway 407 ETR Tolls

Saturdays, Sundays and Ontario statutory holidays are rated off-peak all day, which makes a weekend crossing the cheapest way to use the road on a longer journey. The morning peak block of 5 a.m. to 10:29 a.m. and the afternoon block of 2:30 p.m. to 8:59 p.m. apply Monday to Friday only, so a Sunday run at any hour falls outside them. For a day trip out of the city and back, that difference is worth planning around — a weekend crossing keeps the whole run in the off-peak window, while a weekday run has to be timed around the two peak blocks. Check the calendar before the route.

Picking a Car for Highway 407 ETR Tolls and Rentals

The rate on Highway 407 ETR depends partly on the vehicle's type and dimensions, and the rating takes in the vehicle's type and dimensions alongside zone, direction, day and time of entry. That does not mean the smallest car always wins, but it is a factor worth knowing before you pick a class.

Vehicle Type and Highway 407 ETR Tolls

Light vehicles pay from 49.93¢ to 119.21¢ per kilometre in 2026, and the rating also takes in the vehicle's type and dimensions alongside zone, direction, day and time of entry. The Rent-Trip fleet in Toronto runs from the Mitsubishi Mirage at C$ 38 a day through crossovers such as the Buick Encore at C$ 49 and the Mitsubishi RVR at C$ 53, up to the SUVs and premium classes.

Classes That Suit a Toll-Heavy Trip

A group travelling together pays the toll once per vehicle, not per person, so a single eight-seat minivan on a long crossing is a different calculation from two smaller cars making the same journey twice.

What to Check in the Rental Agreement About Highway 407 ETR Tolls

Highway 407 ETR tolls reach you through the rental company, and the agreement is where the company's own side of that chain is written down. Read those lines before the car leaves, not after the invoice arrives.

Billing and Fees in the Agreement

• Toll pass-through: how the 407 ETR charge is collected from you — agreed when booking.
• Service and administrative fees: the company's own charges for handling a toll trip, separate from the 407 ETR rate and not controlled by 407 ETR.
• Timing: the bill may reach the rental company a few months after travelling, so keep your rental paperwork to hand long after the trip ends.
• Plate responsibility: who confirms both plates are clean, flat and visible before the car goes out.
• Transponder: whether the vehicle is fitted with one at all; a unit bought for your own car is registered to that car alone and is not reliably picked up in a hired vehicle.

Photographs and Records to Keep

Note the contract reference and the dates of any 407 ETR journey until the invoice lands. If a charge appears for a day the car was parked, the entry and exit points on the invoice are what settle it, and matching them to your own itinerary is far easier with the dates to hand. Photograph both plates at the start of the rental — a plate that was already bent or grimy when you collected the car is the difference between a normal charge and the C$60 unrecognizable plate charge. How toll charges will be billed, and whether there are extra service or administrative fees, is agreed when booking, so settle it before the car leaves.

Common Mistakes With Highway 407 ETR Tolls

Most of the avoidable cost on Highway 407 ETR comes from a handful of habits, and none of them is about driving style.

Mistakes That Add Charges to Highway 407 ETR Tolls

• Assuming a transponder from home helps: a personal transponder is only meant for the vehicle it is registered to, and in a rental car the trip is processed by plate and billed to the rental company instead.
• Leaving a bike rack over the rear plate: an altered, hidden or unreadable plate triggers the C$60 unrecognizable plate charge per trip, on top of the camera charge and the account fee.
• Splitting a day into many short entries: the C$1 trip toll charge and the C$5.30 camera charge repeat on every trip, so fixed charges can outgrow the distance charge.
• Expecting the bill immediately: the charge may arrive a few months after travelling, and how it reaches you is set out in the rental agreement.

Habits That Keep the Bill Predictable

Check both plates before every journey, plan one direction rather than several, and put a longer crossing on a weekend or statutory holiday when the road is rated off-peak all day. Those three habits cover most of what goes wrong. The rest is paperwork: know how the toll is billed before you drive, and the total will not surprise you later.