How to get an environmental badge, why you need it, and how to determine the pollutant group of your car.
- The green sticker is required in almost all German low-emission zones
- Foreign cars also need an environmental badge
- Motorcycles and classic cars are not subject to regulation
If you want to drive your car into the center of a German city that is completely or partially marked as an environmental zone by a corresponding road sign , you need an environmental badge on the windshield, which was introduced a few years ago as a “fine dust badge” and allows you to drive into this zone. Cars and trucks with lower emission standards, on the other hand, must stay outside.
Low emission zones were created to improve air quality and thus protect human health. They are usually inner-city areas where only vehicles that meet certain emission standards are allowed to drive. Vehicles (cars and trucks) must display stickers on their windscreens .
Cities with low emission zones
There are 37 low-emission zones in Germany , each of which can only be entered with a green sticker. In recent years, 21 low-emission zones have been abolished because air quality has improved significantly. The Federal Agency for the Environment , Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety provides a map of all low-emission zones in Germany . The relevant local authorities are responsible for ensuring that the information is up-to-date, complete and correct.
Marking of ecological zones
The start and end of the no-entry zones are marked with road signs (see illustration). Additional signs show colored stickers that indicate which groups of pollutants are not subject to the entry ban. Each city can independently determine which zones vehicles with such a sticker are allowed to enter.
Correct badge color
There are four categories of pollutants : Pollutant Group 1 does not receive a sticker. This group includes diesel vehicles with Euro 1 emissions standards or worse, as well as cars with petrol engines without a catalytic converter or, in some cases, with a first-generation catalytic converter. However, it is often possible to obtain a sticker for these vehicles by technically upgrading the exhaust gas control or cleaning system. Other pollutant groups receive a red , yellow or green sticker .
Passenger cars , commercial vehicles and buses with emission classes from Euro 2 to Euro 6 (passenger cars) and from Euro II to Euro VI (trucks, buses) are marked .
Find the emission key number
Vehicles are assigned to emission groups according to the emission code number entered in the registration documents. The key number of your vehicle can be found in the registration certificate, Part I , under item 14.1. The last two digits of the printed code (circled in the picture) indicate the emission class. For vehicle documents issued before October 1, 2005, you will find the two-digit number (circled in the picture) in the column “Key number for 1”.
Stickers for foreign drivers too?
The ban on driving in low emission zones also applies to vehicles registered abroad . Anyone wishing to drive in low emission zones must also have a sticker indicating the emission class.
Foreign drivers caught in a German environmental zone without a sticker face a fine of 100 euros . If the vehicle is registered abroad and the vehicle documents do not indicate that it meets the requirements of the EU emissions directive, proof must be provided (e.g. a manufacturer’s certificate). If this is not possible, the classification of foreign vehicles into pollutant groups is based on the year of first registration.
Where to buy an environmental sticker in Germany?
Environmental badges cost around 5 to 20 euros and can only be issued in Germany by registration authorities and technical inspection organizations such as Dekra, GTÜ, KÜS or TÜV, as well as more than 30,000 authorized AC workshops .
The technical inspection bodies also offer foreign vehicle owners the opportunity to obtain an environmental badge at their foreign branches or to order it online . Here you can contact Dekra , GTÜ , TÜV-Nord and TÜV-Süd directly . Cities such as Berlin, Cologne and Stuttgart also offer online ordering options. Environmental badges cost around 5 to 20 euros and can only be issued in Germany by registration authorities and technical inspection bodies such as Dekra, GTÜ, KÜS or TÜV, as well as more than 30,000 authorized auto repair shops.
The technical inspection bodies also offer foreign vehicle owners the opportunity to obtain an environmental badge at their foreign branches or to order it online. Here you can contact Dekra, GTÜ, TÜV-Nord and TÜV-Süd directly. Cities such as Berlin, Cologne and Stuttgart also offer online ordering options.
ADAC branches are not allowed to sell stickers because the club is not an “authorized body for testing exhaust gas toxicity.” In neighboring countries, the situation is different: the Austrian automobile club ÖAMTC offers stickers at its branches. Swiss vehicle owners can order a sticker at the TCS offices , and the Slovenian automobile club AMZS offers a sticker at its offices.
If you are traveling on short notice, immediately after crossing the border you should go to the nearest testing center (TÜV, Dekra, etc.) and purchase a sticker there.
Important: The windshield sticker is “ license plate-linked”, which means that if the vehicle’s license plate changes, for example after a sale, a new sticker must be purchased.
In addition, the sticker must be designed and applied in such a way that it is destroyed when removed from the windshield, i.e. it cannot be removed or applied again . If the windshield is replaced, for example after a stone chip, a new sticker must also be purchased.
Who doesn’t need an environmental sticker in Germany?
The following vehicles are not subject to traffic bans and therefore do not require a sticker:
- Motorcycles (including three-wheelers)
- Mobile machinery and equipment , agricultural and forestry tractors and work machines
- Vehicles for providing medical assistance or transporting disabled people (entry “aG”, “H” or “Bl” in the disabled person’s certificate)
- Police , fire and military vehicles
- Light vehicles of category L6e with a maximum speed of 45 km/h
Classic cars with German registration that have the license plate H (H = historic) or red 07 can drive in environmental zones without stickers thanks to a general exemption.
This exception also applies to classic cars with foreign registration ; then the vehicles must meet the same requirements as those that apply to the assignment of a German registration number H or red 07. The main requirement is that the vehicle must be at least 30 years old and in good condition.
The status of a classic car is also confirmed by an internationally recognised classic car passport issued by FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens). This can be obtained from the relevant FIVA clubs in the relevant countries.
A copy of the national registration certificate indicating the age of the vehicle must be clearly visible on the parked vehicle. The same applies to the FIVA passport, if available.
By the way, the sticker regulation does not make an exception for electric cars : even if they are clearly recognizable as electric cars with an electronic license plate, they still need an environmental sticker (green, of course) to be allowed to enter the environmental zones. The sticker must show the full license plate, including the letter “E”. Only Bavaria has an exception : the Ministry of the Interior has asked the police to no longer issue fines for the lack of a sticker on electric cars.