A method for tracking toll-paying vehicles in a toll system, comprising the steps: - provision of multiple, at least temporarily fixed, roadside control devices (2X0), which may be permanently fixed control devices or portable control devices attached to erected tripods or bridge railings, configured at least to capture the registration plates of toll-paying vehicles; - capture of at least one registration plate of a toll-paying vehicle by at least one first control device of the multiple control devices (2X0); - transmission of the captured registration plate, along with a control time, from the first control device to a central data processing device; - storage of the transmitted registration plate as a registration plate captured by the first control device in a central data store of the central data processing device; - provision of at least one mobile device with a display device for displaying registration plates of toll-paying vehicles; - provision (S501, S401) of location information of the multiple control devices (2X0) in a decentralized store of the mobile device; - determination of at least one presence position of the mobile device; - selection of at least the first control device by the mobile device depending on the determined presence position of the mobile device based on the location information provided for the multiple control devices (2X0), involving determining a control area depending on the presence position and checking whether the location represented by the location information of the first control device is within the control area, wherein if the result of the check should be positive, the first control device is selected; - transmission of at least one request for at least one registration plate captured by the selected first control device from the mobile device to the central data processing device; - selection of at least the stored registration plate in response to receiving the transmitted request by the central data processing device depending on the control time transmitted by the first control device along with the captured registration plate, if the request transmitted for the stored registration plate is received within a predetermined time difference from the control time; - transmission of the selected registration plate from the central data processing device to the mobile device; - display of the registration plate by the display device of the mobile device. - provision of multiple, at least temporarily fixed, roadside control devices (2X0), which may be permanently fixed control devices or portable control devices attached to erected tripods or bridge railings, configured at least to capture the registration plates of toll-paying vehicles; - capture of at least one registration plate of a toll-paying vehicle by at least one first control device of the multiple control devices (2X0); - transmission of the captured registration plate, along with a control time, from the first control device to a central data processing device; - storage of the transmitted registration plate as a registration plate captured by the first control device in a central data store of the central data processing device; - provision of at least one mobile device with a display device for displaying registration plates of toll-paying vehicles; - provision (S501, S401) of location information of the multiple control devices (2X0) in a decentralized store of the mobile device; - determination of at least one presence position of the mobile device; - selection of at least the first control device by the mobile device depending on the determined presence position of the mobile device based on the location information provided for the multiple control devices (2X0), involving determining a control area depending on the presence position and checking whether the location represented by the location information of the first control device is within the control area, wherein if the result of the check should be positive, the first control device is selected; - transmission of at least one request for at least one registration plate captured by the selected first control device from the mobile device to the central data processing device; - selection of at least the stored registration plate in response to receiving the transmitted request by the central data processing device depending on the control time transmitted by the first control device along with the captured registration plate, if the request transmitted for the stored registration plate is received within a predetermined time difference from the control time; - transmission of the selected registration plate from the central data processing device to the mobile device; - display of the registration plate by the display device of the mobile device.