Set up
Create the account
- Open gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge
- Choose to set up an account
- Add £15+ and register your plate
- Or set up by post (gov.uk form)
Dart Charge account: set up, log in and manage it
One account covers everything: pay a crossing, fund a pre-pay balance, add more than one vehicle and manage a resident pass. Here is how to create it, sign in, and run it, all on the official gov.uk service.
The short answer
The Dartford Crossing login is the Dart Charge account sign-in. The two names are the same service, and there is no separate Dartford Crossing account. Set up and sign in on the gov.uk service. There is no separate app or portal. Open a pre-pay account from a £15 deposit and every crossing is taken automatically at £2.80 instead of £3.50 (a 20% saving), with several vehicles sharing one balance. Sign in at pay-dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk/sign-in, or manage the account by phone on 0300 300 0120 (8am to 8pm, every day).
Car rates £2.80 pre-pay and £3.50 pay-as-you-go per crossing, checked against gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge/charges on 12 November 2026. Unchanged since 1 September 2025.
Log in
Sign in
- Go to the sign-in page on gov.uk
- Use your registered email and password
- Works in any phone or desktop browser
- One login for pre-pay, resident and fleet
Manage
Run it
- See recent crossings and top-ups
- Add or remove vehicles
- Change card or Direct Debit
- Manage a local resident discount
Check, update or close your Dart Charge account: which route does what
Online means the gov.uk service. Phone is the contact centre on 0300 300 0120 (textphone 18001 0300 300 0120, every day 8am to 8pm). Post goes to Dart Charge, PO Box 309, Leeds, LS11 1HJ unless the row says otherwise. Where gov.uk, the forms and the terms name no route, the cell says so.
Check which crossings you have paid for
- Online
- On the gov.uk Dart Charge service. You need your number plate.
- Phone
- Not listed in the gov.uk guidance
- Post
- Not listed in the gov.uk guidance
Check your account balance
- Online
- Sign in to the account at any time.
- Phone
- Yes, 0300 300 0120.
- Post
- Monthly statements go to your online account free. A posted statement costs £2 a month, taken from your balance.
Open an account
- Online
- Yes. An email address is what gives you online access.
- Phone
- Yes. Without an email address, phone is the only way to reach the account.
- Post
- 'Apply for a Dart Charge pre-pay account' form: £15 minimum by cheque or Purchase Order, room for 4 vehicles, allow 10 working days.
Top up, or set automatic top-up
- Online
- Sign in to set a card top-up or Direct Debit. Automatic top-up runs when the balance falls below £5.60, or your chosen trigger.
- Phone
- Yes, card top-up or Direct Debit.
- Post
- 'Top up your Dart Charge account' form: cheque or Purchase Order, £15 minimum, allow 10 working days. A Direct Debit mandate can go in with the application form.
Switch between pre-pay and pay as you go
- Online
- Not possible as a switch. gov.uk says you close the account and open a new one.
- Phone
- Same: close and reopen.
- Post
- Same: close and reopen.
Change the number plate on a resident discount
- Online
- Update the account, then send the new V5C through the contact form.
- Phone
- Not listed in the gov.uk guidance
- Post
- Or post the V5C to Dart Charge, PO Box 309, Leeds, LS11 1HJ. Miss 6 weeks and the discount is removed.
Keep a little-used account open
- Online
- After 12 months unused the account is Inactive and you are written to. Within 90 days, ask to keep it open on the account management page, make a crossing, or top up by hand.
- Phone
- Not listed in the gov.uk guidance
- Post
- Not listed in the gov.uk guidance
Close the account
- Online
- Yes. The terms (clause 9.2) take 30 days' notice in writing, by phone or online.
- Phone
- Yes, 0300 300 0120.
- Post
- 'Close your Dart Charge account' form to PO Box 309, allow 10 working days. Credit goes back to the card on the account, or by cheque if that card has expired.
Pay or challenge a Penalty Charge Notice
- Online
- Pay or challenge with your number plate and PCN reference.
- Phone
- Pay only, on the separate PCN line 0300 1313 120. You cannot challenge by phone.
- Post
- Challenge with the representation slip on the notice, to Dart Charge Enforcement, PO Box 842, Leeds, LS1 9QF.
Cross most days? The free tow off the crossing only takes you to the nearest safe place; the rest is your own breakdown cover's job (why). RAC Roadside cover from £5.29^.^At least 10% of new customers pay this for single-vehicle Roadside (Basic) cover. Affiliate link: we earn a commission if you buy, at no cost to you.
Get an RAC quoteDo you actually need an account?
You do not need an account to pay a one-off crossing; you can do that as a guest at gov.uk. An account is worth it once you cross often enough for the 20% pre-pay saving, or if you qualify for the resident pass.
| Option | Account needed? | Car rate | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| One-off payment (guest) | No | £3.50 | A single recent or upcoming crossing |
| Pay as you go account | Yes | £3.50 | Card on file, charged automatically at midnight the day after you cross |
| Pre-pay account | Yes | £2.80 | Regular crossers (auto-deducted, saves 20%) |
| Local resident discount | Yes | £25/yr | Dartford or Thurrock residents |
The account options are managed from the same sign-in, and the resident pass sits inside the account you create on the gov.uk service. gov.uk says you cannot switch an account between pre-pay and pay as you go: you close it and open a new one.
What the account is worth, per year
Car class, counting each direction as its own crossing, over 52 weeks. The account rate saves 70p on every crossing, which is where the 20% comes from. The £25 resident pass beats every row here, but only if you live in the Dartford Borough or Thurrock areas.
| Pattern | Crossings a year | Pay-as-you-go | Pre-pay | You save |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| One day a week104 a year | £364.00 | £291.20 | £72.80 | |
| Two days a week208 a year | £728.00 | £582.40 | £145.60 | |
| Three days a week312 a year | £1,092.00 | £873.60 | £218.40 | |
| Five days a week520 a year | £1,820.00 | £1,456.00 | £364.00 | |
| Seven days a week728 a year | £2,548.00 | £2,038.40 | £509.60 |
Pre-pay break-even
Crossing 1
The £15 minimum is balance you spend on crossings, not a fee, so the 70p saving starts on the first one.
Pass beats pre-pay
Crossing 9
£25.00 ÷ £2.80 = 8.9, so the unlimited pass is cheaper than pre-pay from the 9th crossing of the year.
Pass beats pay-as-you-go
Crossing 8
£25.00 ÷ £3.50 = 7.1, so 8 crossings a year is all it takes for the pass to pay for itself.
There is a cheaper resident tier too: £12.50 a year buys 50 crossings, and if you run out you can add 25 more for £6.25 a block, or pay another £12.50 to upgrade to unlimited. gov.uk caps the total you can pay in a year at £25, so the cheaper tier can never cost more than the unlimited one, and below 100 crossings it costs less: 75 crossings comes to £18.75. The £25 pass is the simpler buy for a five-day commuter, who passes 100 crossings inside three months. Full eligibility rules are on the local resident discount page.
If you break down at the crossing
Worth knowing if you cross often enough to hold an account: stopping on the crossing is prohibited except because of a breakdown or illness (Dartford-Thurrock Crossing Regulations 1998, regulation 8). Put your hazard lights on and stay with the vehicle unless the tunnel announcements direct you out; there are SOS phones through both tunnels.
The control room watches the crossing and sends its own emergency recovery as soon as it sees you stopped. The crossing operator states it will move you and your vehicle free of charge to a place of safety (Connect Plus tunnel safety notice). You do not wait for your own breakdown provider on the crossing, and you cannot choose who tows you off it.
The part regular crossers miss: that free tow ends at the nearest safe place, not at home or a garage. Getting the car anywhere from there is your own breakdown cover's job, and if you are on the M25 every working day, the odds of eventually using it are not small.
No cover, or it lapsed? RAC Roadside Breakdown Cover from £5.29^
^At least 10% of new customers pay this for single-vehicle Roadside (Basic) cover.
Get an RAC quoteDisclosure: if you take out cover through this link we earn a commission from RAC. It does not change the price you pay, and it has no bearing on anything we write about the crossing.
Trouble signing in?
- Forgotten password: use the reset link on the sign-in page; it emails a reset to your registered address.
- Wrong site: the only official sign-in is at pay-dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk. Any site charging a fee to log in or pay is a third party.
- Cannot get in at all: call the contact centre on 0300 300 0120 (8am to 8pm, every day) to access or recover the account.
- Just need to pay a recent crossing: you can pay as a guest without logging in, by midnight the day after you crossed. See pay the Dart Charge without an account.
Dart Charge account questions
How do I log in to the Dartford Crossing (Dart Charge) account?+
The Dartford Crossing login and the Dart Charge account sign-in are the same thing; there is no separate Dartford Crossing account. Sign in at pay-dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk/sign-in (reachable from gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge) with the email and password you registered. Pre-pay, the local resident discount and fleet vehicles all live inside that one account. If you cannot get in, call the contact centre on 0300 300 0120 (every day, 8am to 8pm), or pay a one-off crossing as a guest without logging in.
How do I set up a Dart Charge account?+
Go to gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge and choose to set up an account. The quickest route is a pre-pay account: you add money up front (£15 minimum), register your number plate, and every crossing is then taken automatically at the discounted £2.80 rate instead of £3.50. You can also set up an account by post with the gov.uk form 'Apply for a Dart Charge pre-pay account': a cheque or Purchase Order for £15 or more, room for 4 vehicles, and the form asks you to allow 10 working days. Give an email address on it, or the account can only be reached by phone. There is no separate Dart Charge app to download; the account lives on the gov.uk service.
How do I log in to my Dart Charge account?+
Sign in at pay-dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk/sign-in (you can reach it from gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge). Use the email and password you registered with. There is no separate residents-only or fleet-only login; pre-pay, local resident discount and fleet vehicles all sit inside the same account. If you would rather manage the account by phone, call the contact centre on 0300 300 0120 (every day, 8am to 8pm).
I have forgotten my Dart Charge password, or need to change the email on the account. What do I do?+
Use the password reset on the sign-in page at pay-dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk/sign-in; the reset link goes to the email address registered on the account. To change that email, sign in and update your contact details in the account. If you can no longer reach the registered email, call the contact centre on 0300 300 0120 (every day, 8am to 8pm) and they can verify you and update it. If you need to cross before it is sorted, you can still pay as a one-off without signing in, by midnight the day after. (Answer added after a reader question, October 2026.)
How can I check whether I already have a Dart Charge account?+
Only the official Dart Charge service can tell you; this site cannot see or look up accounts. Try signing in at pay-dartford-crossing-charge.service.gov.uk/sign-in with any email address you might have registered with. If you have forgotten the password, use the reset on that page: the link goes to the email address registered on the account, so check that inbox. If you are still unsure, call the contact centre on 0300 300 0120 (every day, 8am to 8pm). If you need to pay for a crossing meanwhile, you can pay as a one-off without an account, by midnight the day after. (Answer added after a reader question, November 2026.)
Is there a Dart Charge account app or separate portal?+
No. gov.uk lists no Dart Charge app, and there is no separate account portal beyond the gov.uk service. The sign-in page works in any phone or desktop browser. The third-party Caura app can pay a one-off crossing, but it is a commercial product and not your Dart Charge account.
What is the minimum to open a pre-pay account?+
£15. That deposit sits as available balance and crossings are deducted from it at £2.80 per car crossing (a 20% saving on the £3.50 pay-as-you-go rate). You can set the account to top up automatically by Direct Debit so the balance never runs out.
How many vehicles can I add to one account?+
The Dart Charge terms (clause 1.2) say you can register multiple vehicles to one account, and they publish no upper limit. Each vehicle can be on only one account. The postal application form has room for 4. All of them draw on one balance and, if you choose, one Direct Debit. See the fleet guide for record-keeping.
Can I see my crossing history in the account?+
Yes. Once signed in, a pre-pay account shows your recent crossings and top-ups so you can check what has been charged and confirm a crossing was paid. This is also where you update vehicles, change the card or Direct Debit, and manage the local resident discount if you hold one.
How do we recover a business Dart Charge account when the person who managed it has left?+
If the registered email address has been closed and nobody knows the password, the online reset will not work, because the reset link goes to an address that no longer receives mail. Call the contact centre on 0300 300 0120 (every day, 8am to 8pm). They can verify the business as the account holder and re-link the account to a new email address. Have to hand: the company name exactly as registered on the account, the business address, the vehicle registration numbers on the account, and if you can find it the payment card used for top-ups. There is also a contact form on the official payment service if you would rather write. Until access is restored, keep paying individual crossings at gov.uk/pay-dartford-crossing-charge by midnight the day after each crossing, which avoids penalty charge notices while the account is sorted out. (Answer added after a reader question, September 2026.)
How much does a Dart Charge pre-pay account save in a year?+
70p a crossing, which is 20% off the £3.50 car rate. Crossing twice a week costs £364 a year pay-as-you-go and £291.20 on a pre-pay account, a saving of £72.80. A five-day commute is 10 crossings a week: £1,820 pay-as-you-go against £1,456 pre-pay, saving £364 a year. The £15 minimum is balance you spend on crossings rather than a fee, so the saving starts on your first crossing. Those year figures are our arithmetic over the gov.uk per-crossing rates of £3.50 and £2.80, at 52 weeks.
At how many crossings does the £25 resident pass beat a pre-pay account?+
From the ninth crossing of the year. £25 divided by the £2.80 pre-pay rate is 8.9 crossings, so nine crossings a year on the unlimited resident pass costs less than paying per crossing on pre-pay. Against the £3.50 pay-as-you-go rate it takes only eight crossings (£25 divided by £3.50 is 7.1). The pass is limited to residents of the Dartford Borough and Thurrock areas, and it is bought and managed inside the same Dart Charge account.
How do I close my Dart Charge account?+
The Dart Charge terms (clause 9.2) let you end the account on 30 days' notice, in writing, by phone (0300 300 0120) or online. By post, use the gov.uk form 'Close your Dart Charge account', sent to Dart Charge, P.O. Box 309, Leeds, LS11 1HJ; it asks you to allow 10 working days. Any credit balance goes back to the card on the account, or by cheque if that card has expired. After closing, crossings revert to the £3.50 one-off rate, still due by midnight the day after you cross.