Glossary

Selecting automatic replenishment is the most convenient way to manage your E-ZPass account. You may choose to automatically replenish your account using a valid credit card or by providing your checking/savings bank routing and account number for electronic funds transfer via ACH with a valid credit/debit card as backup. As you use the toll roads, your available balance decreases. When your account reaches the low balance threshold, you may see a yellow light while driving through the toll lanes. That night, we will process a payment equal to your replenishment amount. The replenishment amount is added to your available balance. If you did not select automatic replenishment when you opened your account, you can change to automatic replenishment at any time.

Occasionally, automatic replenishment may not process. If that happens, the yellow light (available only at some toll lanes) will continue to appear on subsequent days. If you see the yellow light for more than two days, please call us immediately. We may need to update your payment information. We recommend you supply us with a secondary form of payment, which you may add by logging into your account and adding all required information under the payment tab.

This is the total amount of prepaid tolls available in your E-ZPass account.

395/95/495 Express Lanes, I-66 Inside the Beltway and I-64 Express Lanes offer dynamic tolling. This means that there is no set toll rate upon going through the toll. Toll rates change frequently throughout the day in response to travel and traffic conditions. Factors may include length of time on the toll road and the time of day.

Express Lanes are lanes built in addition to any existing general-purpose lanes to incentivize HOV travel and to provide drivers the choice of a more reliable trip by paying a toll. Toll prices are set to manage traffic and have just the right number of vehicles in the lane to provide reliable, shorter travel time.

Express lanes are specially designated highway lanes that offer a new and faster commute option for highway drivers. For solo drivers who cannot use the high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane (also called a "carpool lane"), express lanes give the option to pay a per-use toll to use the lane.

High-occupancy toll lanes or HOT lanes means a highway or portion of a highway containing one or more travel lanes separated from other lanes that (i) has an electronic toll collection system; (ii) provides for free passage by vehicles that meet the high-occupancy requirement, including mass transit vehicles and commuter buses; and (iii) contains a photo-enforcement system for use in such electronic toll collection. HOT lanes shall not be a "toll facility" or "HOV lanes" for the purposes of any other provision of law or regulation.

HOV Lanes - High-occupancy vehicle lanes or HOV lanes means a highway or portion of a highway containing one or more travel lanes for the travel of high-occupancy vehicles or buses as designated pursuant to § 33.2-501.

Currently, on the 495/95/395 Express Lanes, I-66 Outside the Beltway, and I-66 Inside the Beltway, if you are traveling with a Flex transponder* and have 3 or more people in the vehicle, you are able to travel for free.

On the I-64 Express Lanes, if you are traveling with a Flex transponder* and 2 or more people in the vehicle, you are able to travel for free.

* The Flex Transponder must be turned to HOV mode ON prior to entering the toll road.

Insufficient funds is an account status code for when an E-ZPass account balance has gone to $0 or below. The accounts are prepaid and require appropriate funding prior to traveling. Please note that if your account is in ‘Insufficient Funds’ status it may take 24 hours in Virginia and 48 hours out of state for the transponder to register at toll roads once the payment is made.

This is a level set for each account based on the number of E-ZPass transponders in the account or your usage pattern. The minimum required low balance is $10.00 multiplied by the number of transponders in your account.

For example, if you have three transponders in your account, then your low balance will be a minimum of $30.00. Once your available balance reaches that amount, we will try to automatically replenish your account if you have selected this option and you may see a yellow light at the toll plazas equipped with lights.

With manual replenishment, you must provide a credit/debit card number via the IVR, web, or customer service representative, mail a check, or come in to one of our Service Centers and make a payment each time your account reaches the low balance level.

A red, blue or white light indicates an unpaid toll. Stop and pay the full toll if you are in a cash lane. This signals that your account is either out of funds or there may be something wrong with your E-ZPass transponder or the way it is mounted. Contact the Customer Service Center for assistance.

When your account balance reaches the low balance level, your account needs to be replenished. Your replenishment amount is your average monthly toll usage. The minimum replenishment amount is $35.00 for each transponder on your E-ZPass account. If your monthly usage exceeds $35.00 per transponder, we may adjust your replenishment amount to accommodate your toll usage and minimize the number of times we need to replenish your account. For example, if you drive on the Dulles Greenway and you spend an average of $8.00 a day, 20 days per month, then your average monthly usage would be $160.00 a month, and your replenishment amount will be adjusted to reflect your monthly usage.

Online detailed monthly statements: free
Mailed statements: $2.00 per month for the first three transponders on your account and $2.00 per month for every partial or full group of three transponders thereafter

Online quarterly summary: free

The word tag is interchangeable with transponder. This is the E-ZPass device.

Stands for video toll. Transactions that go unpaid have the potential to be linked back to the account via license plate. Please ensure that the E-ZPass account is validated regularly. It is crucial that the vehicles on the account remain up to date and that the license plates are entered correctly. This will help prevent possible violations. If v-tolls happen frequently, this could be the result of a negative account balance, the transponder not mounted, special vehicles, or the transponder not being in the vehicle at all. Frequent v-tolls could result in additional charges to the E-ZPass account. These charges would appear as a $1.00 administrative fee for every transaction posted this way.

For every class of vehicle on the account, there must be at least one transponder on the account to match each class. A transponder for each vehicle is not required, however, if many vehicles do intend to go through the tolls concurrently, you should ensure there is a transponder in those vehicles. Transponders may be shared amongst vehicles of the same class. Classes are determined based off of axles, tires, gross vehicle weight, and potential length of trailer.

If you plan to travel with a trailer, you will need a transponder classed for the vehicle by itself as well as a transponder classed for the vehicle pulling the trailer. Vehicles entered onto an account that are not appropriately matched to the correct vehicle classification will need to be removed or updated to an appropriate transponder. 

Example:  A Honda Civic is a basic 2-axle, 4-tire vehicle under 7,000 lbs. It would fall under the standard class of 72. If you added a motorcycle to the account (class code 136), you would need to add an additional transponder to the account or remove the motorcycle.  

Vehicle occupancy detection is camera-based technology that automatically detects in real-time the number of occupants (front and rear) in a vehicle in the express lanes. This assists the facility to identify when the number of occupants in a vehicle is less than what is being declared by the mode selected on the Flex.

In toll lanes with signals, a yellow light indicates that your account has reached the low balance level and needs to be replenished. If you see this light for more than two consecutive days, contact the Customer Service Center for assistance. Please note that if enough toll transactions post to your account simultaneously, you may go directly from seeing a green light to seeing a red, blue or white light.