Registering for an I-PASS in Illinois requires you to fill out an application either online or at a Toll Administration facility in Illinois. When filling out the application , you must provide your address and phone number, as well as a credit card number (if you are using an auto-replenish I-PASS), driver's license number, license plate number and vehicle type including the model, make and year. An email address is also required.
There are two types of I-PASS available: the manual replenishment and the auto-replenish I-PASS. Both include a transponder and require a deposit on the transponder. With the auto-replenish account for the I-PASS, the initial cost is $50, which includes $10 for the deposit on the transponder and $40 worth of prepaid tolls. The manual-replenish I-PASS requires an initial payment of $60, which includes a $20 transponder deposit and $40 worth of prepaid tolls.
The transponder you receive when you order an I-PASS is a small plastic transmitter that is mounted to the inside of your windshield using adhesive tape. If you have a GPS or a special windshield in your vehicle, you might be required to have a special I-PASS that can be mounted on the exterior of the vehicle. Check with the Illinois Tollway Authorities for more information on whether you need to mount it inside or outside your vehicle. As you approach a toll facility there are satellite transmissions that alert your I-PASS that it is about to be used. As you drive through the toll facility, your I-PASS transmits a signal and your toll is withdrawn from your available balance on your I-PASS account. Your I-PASS can be used in dedicated lanes for I-PASS drivers only, or they can be used in any toll lane with a sign indicating it accepts I-PASS payment.
If you do not have enough money in your I-PASS account when you go through a toll station, you will not be ticketed for failing to pay the toll immediately. Instead you will be notified by email that you have exceeded the amount of money on your I-PASS account and you need to replenish it to cover the unpaid toll. If you do not make this payment within 7 days, you are then subject to a ticket for failure to pay.
When approaching a toll booth with an I-PASS you should drive with the same level of caution as when you pay tolls with cash at the toll booth. Keep an eye out for drivers who are switching multiple lanes to move from a manual payment lane to one of the I-PASS lanes quickly. Some I-PASS lanes require that you stop and will have a red light at the toll booth indicating that. For lanes where you do not stop, you should still slow down to a safe speed for the traffic in the toll booth vicinity.
