New Hampshire Tolls in a Rental Car: Where the Plazas Are and How You Pay

Ask anyone who has rented a car in a big city about tolls and you’ll usually hear about a surprise bill weeks later. New Hampshire tolls are much simpler than that. The state has just seven toll plazas, all on four roads, and plenty of trips around Derry, Salem and Manchester never go through one. But the network has changed a lot recently. Some plazas still take cash, some no longer do, and a rental car adds one more question: who gets the bill?

This guide maps the plazas, explains which ones have gone cashless, covers E-ZPass basics, and sets out exactly how tolls work on a Vorenza rental, so nothing on your statement comes as a surprise.

Where the New Hampshire tolls are

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation runs three turnpikes with seven plazas between them: five on the main highways and two on ramps. Here’s where they are and who tends to use them, based on the NHDOT turnpike system pages and the department’s announcements:

Just as useful is knowing where there are no tolls. I-93 south of Hooksett, through Manchester, Londonderry, Derry, Windham and Salem, is free, and so is Route 101 across the state. The old ramp tolls in Merrimack on the Everett Turnpike have all been removed, the last of them at the end of 2021.

Cash lanes, E-ZPass lanes and the cashless plazas

At Hooksett and Hampton you have a choice. E-ZPass lanes let transponder holders through at highway speed, and attended lanes still take cash. If you’re paying cash, stay right as the signs direct you, slow down and have small bills ready.

At Bedford, Dover and Rochester there’s nobody to pay. NHDOT stopped taking cash at Bedford on January 8, 2026, and at the two Spaulding Turnpike plazas in October 2022. Gantries read an E-ZPass transponder if the car has one. If it doesn’t, the plate is recorded and the toll goes to the vehicle’s registered owner. For a rental, that owner is the rental company.

E-ZPass itself is the regional transponder system used across the Northeast. People who drive New Hampshire’s turnpikes often open an account with NH E-ZPass, because account holders currently get a discount on New Hampshire tolls. NHDOT put it at 30 percent for passenger cars in its January announcement.

How New Hampshire tolls work on a Vorenza rental

Our policy is short and printed on our FAQ page:

• You’re responsible for tolls during the rental, the same as with any rental company.
• Automated tolls are tracked and billed to you at the end of the month. That covers the cashless plazas, where the plate is read and the toll comes to us as the owner.
• Cash is fine wherever it’s accepted. Paying at the booth at Hooksett or Hampton settles that toll on the spot, which is why we suggest cash where you can.

Two things depend on your booking, so ask rather than assume. If you plan to use your own E-ZPass transponder, call us first and we’ll confirm how to handle it with the car you’re getting. And if your trip crosses into Maine, remember the Maine Turnpike takes only cash or E-ZPass and isn’t a pay-by-plate road, so ask us about the car’s setup and keep cash for the York plaza. Our Maine coast day trip guide covers that in more detail.

Common trips from southern NH and the tolls on them

• Derry, Salem or Windham to Boston on I-93: no New Hampshire tolls. In Massachusetts, the Mass Pike, the Tobin Bridge and the Sumner, Callahan and Ted Williams tunnels are tolled through EZDriveMA, which has no toll booths and no cash option. A trip into Logan often goes through one of the tunnels.
• Manchester or Derry to Concord, the Lakes Region or the White Mountains: Hooksett, once each way. Our White Mountains road trip guide covers the rest of that day.
• Manchester to Nashua on the Everett Turnpike: the cashless Bedford plaza.
• Derry to Hampton Beach, Portsmouth or Maine: Route 101 east is free. Joining I-95 at Hampton brings you through a Hampton plaza, and Maine adds York.
• Portsmouth north toward Dover, Rochester and Route 16: the cashless Spaulding Turnpike plazas.
• Around Derry, Londonderry and the airport: usually no tolls at all.

Visiting from outside New England?

If you’re used to toll tickets, toll cards or motorway vignettes, New Hampshire works differently. There’s no ticket to take when you join a turnpike and nothing to buy in advance. You pay as you pass each plaza, either at a booth or electronically.

• At a cashless gantry, keep driving. Don’t stop, reverse or change lanes sharply under the gantry. Pass through at the posted speed and the toll will appear on your monthly bill from us.
• At a plaza with booths, pick a lane early. The signs show which lanes are attended and which are E-ZPass only. If you end up in an E-ZPass-only lane by mistake, carry on safely rather than backing up.
• E-ZPass is one network across many states. New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts all accept it. That’s why a transponder from home might work here, but in a rental, check with us first.

Flying into Manchester-Boston Regional Airport? None of the seven plazas sits between the airport and Manchester or Derry, so your first drive is toll-free. Our guide to getting from MHT or Logan to your rental covers the pickup itself.

Keeping your toll costs predictable

1. Tell us your route when you book. We’ll flag the tolls and any mileage questions at the same time.
2. Keep $10 or so in small bills for the cash lanes at Hooksett and Hampton, and for Maine if you’re going.
3. Don’t swerve at the last moment. Signs show which lanes are cash and which are E-ZPass only, well before the plaza.
4. Expect cashless plazas to appear on your end-of-month bill. That’s normal, not a mistake.
5. Remember tolls aren’t the same as tickets. Parking and traffic tickets during a rental are also the renter’s responsibility, under the same policy.

Most trips need only a few dollars in tolls, if any. Once you know where the plazas are, New Hampshire tolls are one of the least stressful parts of driving here. Keep a little cash for Hooksett and Hampton, expect Bedford and the Spaulding Turnpike to show up on your monthly bill, and ask us anything before you leave. If you’re visiting from out of state, our guide to New Hampshire driving laws for visitors is worth five minutes too.