Half of countries researched operate the low emission zone (LEZ) all year-round including Austria, Belgium, Germany and UK (where they are known as ULEZ)
Fines or penalty charges for driving through low emission zones range from €45 (£38) in Spain to €2,180 (£1,863) in Austria
11 new low emission zones planned for the UK in 2022 including Manchester, Oxford and Bristol
APH, is helping travellers planning a European road trip this Summer avoid unwanted fines or penalty charges by comparing the new rules for driving in Low Emission Zones across eight of the most popular European cities. More than 200 cities across 15 countries now operate low emission zones (LEZ)*, restricting vehicles with higher emissions from entering unless a fee is paid, or the vehicle is pre-registered with the necessary authority.
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[toggle title=”Austria” state=”opened”]
Regions:
- Außerfern, Burgenland, Linz, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol, Vienna
- New zones are currently being introduced
Environmental sticker/badge:
- Pickerl
- 6 types of stickers distinguished by colour black, red, yellow, green, blue, violet
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
- Badge is currently mandatory only for N-category vehicles, including Vans (N1), trucks (N2), heavy trucks (N3)
Exempt from sticker/badge:
- Passenger cars (M1), buses (M2, M3), motorcycles (L)
- Electric cars are exempt from this and must have an ‘E’ on number plate
- Vintage vehicles, with license plates marked with the letter “V” and a vintage vehicle certificate.
Hours of operation:
- Permanent – 24 hours a day
Validity of sticker:
- Valid for lifetime of vehicle
Cost:
- €20/£17 including taxes and mailing costs
Application process length:
- Delivery within 5 -14 days
Fine:
- From €90/£76 – €2,180/£1,863
Paperwork required:
- A copy of the vehicle registration documents.
- The CEMT document or other document or datasheet that states the emission class of the vehicle.
- Company name
- Billing address
- VAT-number
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Belgium”]
Regions:
- Antwerp
- Brussels
- Ghent
- Wallonia Region
Environmental sticker/badge:
- Low Emission Zone
- No sticker required – each vehicle requires a valid registration and purchase of a LEZ Day Pass or to pay admission fee if not eligible for Day Pass
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
Brussels
- Vehicles affected: Cars, campers (M1), bus (M2, M3), vans (N1), trucks
- Minimum standard required (from 1st January 2022):
- petrol: Euro 2
- diesel: Euro 5
Antwerp Admission Fee
- Diesel vehicles with Euro 4 standard
Antwerp LEZ Day Pass
- Diesel vehicles with Euro 3 standard and less
- Petrol vehicles with Euro 1 standard and less
Ghent LEZ Day Pass:
- Diesel vehicles with Euro 4
Ghent Temporary Permit
- 3 standard or less
Exempt from sticker/badge:
- Motorised two-wheelers
- Lorries > 3.5t delivering goods
- Agricultural and forestry tractors
- Electric vehicles
- Hydrogen-powered vehicles
- Priority vehicles (namely vehicles with one or more blue flashing lights and a specific alarm signal. Police vehicles, for example.)
- Emergency vehicles (police, army, civil protection or road authorities)
- Army vehicles
- Historic vehicles registered in Belgium
Hours of operation:
- Permanent – 24 hours a day
Validity of sticker:
Registration
- Brussels: 3 years provided vehicle information doesn’t change
- Antwerp: 3 years
- Ghent: N/A
LEZ Day Pass
- For one full day until 6am next morning
Antwerp:
- Depends on chosen period – day, week, month or year
Ghent Temporary Permit:
- Depends on chosen period – day, week, month or year
Cost:
- Registration for all cities: free
Antwerp Admission Fee
(for diesel vehicles with Euro 4 standard)
Reduced rate: €20/£17 – €180/£154 (dependant on time period)
Regular rate: €30/£25 – €365/£312 (dependant on time period)
Increased rate: €30/£25 – €440/£376 (dependant on time period)
Ghent (regular tariff for Temporary Permit)
Week: €25/£21
Month: €50/£43
4 Months: €130/£111
Year: €365/£312
LEZ Day Pass
LEZ Day Pass for €35/£30 can be bought, up to 8 times a year by diesel vehicles with Euro 3 standard and less, petrol vehicles with Euro 1 standard and less
Application process length:
Antwerp
Can be purchased up to 4 months in advance but allow up to 10 days
Ghent
Can be purchased up to 4 months in advance but allow up to 14 days
Fine:
Antwerp (since 1 February 2018)
For the first time: €150/£128
The second time: €250/£213
Further offences within 12 months: €350/£299
Brussels
€150/£128
€25/£21 fine for admission error on form
Ghent
€150/£128
Paperwork required:
Antwerp
Registration certificate
Brussels
Licence plate number
Date of first registration
Ghent
Registration document
European Certificate of Conformity
Bank card (If you make an appointment bring your supporting documents and a bank card with you. Cash payments result in additional waiting time. Cheques are not accepted.)
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”France”]
Regions:
- Paris and major French cities including
- Aix-Marseille-Provence
- Greater Grenoble
- Greater Lyon
- Greater Nancy
- Greater Paris
- Greater Saint-Etienne
- Lille
- Lyon
- Montpellier Mediterranee Metropole
- Nice
- Paris
- Reims
- Rouen
- Strasbourg
- Toulouse
Environmental sticker/badge:
- Crit’Air vignettes
- Six types of stickers distinguished by colour including:
- Green – Crit’Air E (zero emissions – electric and hydrogen vehicles)
- Purple – Crit’Air 1 (gas and rechargeable hybrid vehicles)
- Yellow – Crit’Air 2 (Euro 5 and Euro 6 vehicles)
- Orange – Crit’Air 3 (Euro 4 vehicles)
- Burgundy – Crit’Air 4 (Euro 3 vehicles)
- Dark Grey – Crit’Air 5 (Euro 2 vehicles)
- All polluting vehicles pre-2017 are prohibited from entering targeted areas during peak hours
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
- Applies to all foreign passenger cars and trucks
- When d riving in Permanent low-emission zones (known as ZCR – Zone à Circulation Restreinte) and Temporary emergency low-emissions zones (known as ZPA – Zone de la Protection de l’Air)
Exempt from sticker/badge:
- Mandatory, even for vehicles and purposes that are exempt from the restrictions applicable in restricted traffic zones or introduced on a temporary basis.
Hours of operation:
- Monday – Friday from 8am – 8pm
Validity of sticker:
- Lifetime validity – as long as its eligible
Cost:
- €3.11/£2.65 + €1.40/£1.20 postage outside France (i.e. €4.51/£3.85 per vehicle) –
Application process length:
- 10 days – Up to six weeks
Fine:
- €68/£58 for light vehicles and increased to €180/£154 if not paid within 45 days
- €135/£115 for heavy goods vehicles and increased to €375/£320 if not paid within 45 days
Paperwork required:
- Legible photo or scan of your vehicle’s registration certificate.
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Germany”]
Regions:
- National including cities such as Berlin, Munich, Frankfurt, Cologne, Hannover, Bonn, Karlsruhe, Leipzig
- Some cities also have a zonal driving ban requiring require a minimum standard of diesel Euro 6 to enter
Environmental sticker/badge:
- Umweltplakette
- Four colour-coded emission categories:
- green sticker (harmful emission group 4)
- yellow (harmful emission group 3)
- red stickers (harmful emission group 2)
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
- Applies to all passenger motor vehicles and commercial vehicles irrespective of propulsion (with combustion engines – petrol, diesel or gas – and with electric motors)
- Ban on diesel cars in several German cities including Berlin, Darmstadt, Hamburg and Stuttgart since 20-19
Exempt from sticker/badge:
- Mobile machines and devices
- 2- and 3-wheel vehicles (e.g. mopeds, motorbikes, scooters)
- Agricultural and forestry traction machines (such as tractors)
- Vehicles driven by persons or transporting persons that are severely handicapped, helpless or blind (evidenced by aG, H or BI entered in the severely handicapped ID)
- Veteran cars with 07 registration plates, as well as foreign vehicles that fulfil the comparable requirements (generally this is any vehicle over 30 years old)
Hours of operation:
- Permanent, 24 hours a day
Validity of sticker:
- Valid foras long as the number plate or the emission standard remain unchanged
Cost:
- €6/£5
Application process length:
- Home-delivery within 7 – 14 days
Fine:
- €80/£68 plus administrative fee which varies from city to city
Paperwork required:
- Part 1 of your vehicle registration certification
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[toggle title=”Italy”]
Regions:
- Centre of Milan (combined Congestion Charge and Low Emission Zone)
- Many city centres across Italy operate traffic restriction zones – Zone a Traffico Limitato (ZTL)
Environmental sticker/badge:
Milan
Eco-Pass for Centre of Milan
Rome
All vehicles except electric
Some city centres
Vignette for some city centres
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
Milan
Petrol: Euro 3
Diesel: Euro 6
Palermo
All vehicles except motorbikes, electric vehicles
Exempt from sticker/badge:
Mopeds/motorcycles, electric vehicles, hybrids
Exempt from the rules in some municipalities if you are transporting pasta or flour
Hours of operation:
Milan
Weekdays between 7:30am – 7:30pm
Palermo
8am – 8pm
Bologna
7am – 8pm
Validity of sticker:
Milan
24 hours
Cost:
Milan
€5/£4 paid in advance or €15/£13 if paid within seven days
Application process length:
N/A
Fine:
Milan
€70/£60 – €450/£385
Rome
€70/£60, plus an additional €70/£60 if there was no valid annual emissions test sticker
Palermo
A vehicle of Euro 0, 1, 2 that enters the ZTL without a permit will have to pay €164/140.
Vehicles Euro 3 and above entering the ZTL without a proper permit will have to pay €81/69.
Paperwork required:
N/A
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[toggle title=”Portugal”]
Regions:
Lisbon
Environmental sticker/badge:
No sticker required – drivers must follow rules
Zona de Emissoes Reduzidas (ZER) in place divided into Zone 1 and Zone 2
Zone 1: Axis Av. Liberdade/Baixa.
Zone 2: limited to the south of Avenida de Ceuta, North-South axis, Avenida das Forças Armadas, Avenida EUA, Avenida Marechal António Spínola, Avenida Infante Dom Henrique
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
All vehicles not meeting the Euro 3 standard in Zone 1 or not meeting the Euro 2 standard in Zone 2
Vehicles over 7.5 tonnes
Exempt from sticker/badge:
N/a
Hours of operation:
Working days from 07:00 – 21.00
Validity of sticker:
n/a
Cost:
n/a
Application process length:
N/A
Fine:
£120
Paperwork required:
N/A
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Spain”]
Regions:
Madrid
Barcelona
Sant Cugat (in Barcelona)
Seville
Valladolid
Valencia
Environmental sticker/badge:
Madrid
Low Emission Zone called Zona de Bajas Emisiones(ZBE)
4 environmental badges (0 Emissions, Eco, C and B)
Barcelona
Low Emission Zone called Barcelona Zona de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) – DGT (Distintivo Ambiental) is required
Cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must introduce a low emission zone before 2023
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
Madrid
Cars
Barcelona
Foreign vehicles must register for DGT environmental badge
Exempt from sticker/badge:
Madrid
Foreign registered vehicles are not obliged to exhibit the badge
Transport of disabled
– trucks, vans, motorcycles, mopeds
Historic
vehicles
Emergency vehicles
Classified as A vehicles (usually gasoline registered before the year 2000 and diesel vehicles before 2006)
Barcelona
People with reduced mobility
Service vehicles (ambulances, police, firefighters, hearses, military)
Hours of operation:
Madrid
N/A
Barcelona
From Monday to Friday between 7:00 am and 8:00 pm
Validity of sticker:
Madrid
N/A
Barcelona
Two years
Cost:
Madrid
N/A
Barcelona:
€7/£6 one-off registration fee if vehicle complies for DGT
€5/£4 – €6/£5 per day dependant on vehicle
Application process length:
Madrid
N/A
Barcelona
15 business days after submission
Fine:
Madrid
€45/£38 if paid right away
€90/£77 if paid later
Barcelona
Between €200/£171 and €1800/£1540
Paperwork required:
N/A
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”Switzerland”]
Regions:
City of Geneva and the surrounding towns of Carouge, Cologny, Lancy and Vernier.
Environmental sticker/badge:
Stick’AIR stickers, or vignettes
Six difference emissions-based categories:
- Green
- Purple
- Yellow
- Orange
- Burgundy
- Grey
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
All motor vehicles up to 3.5 tonnes in weight are required to have a vignette all year round on all motorways and national roads of class 1 and 2
Exempt from sticker/badge:
Cars with the French Crit’AIR sticker
Disabled drivers and vehicles displaying blue badges
Hours of operation:
Monday to Sunday between 6am and 10pm.
Validity of sticker:
n/a
Cost:
5 Swiss Francs/£4
Application process length:
n/a
Fine:
€455/£389
Paperwork required:
N/A
[/toggle]
[toggle title=”UK”]
Regions:
- Aberdeen
- Bath
- Birmingham
- Bradford
- Brighton
- Bristol
- Dundee
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
- Greater Manchester
- Leeds
- Leicester
- London
- Newcastle
- Norwich
- Nottingham
- Oxford
- Portsmouth
- Sheffield
- York
Environmental sticker/badge:
London
Low Emission Zone
Ultra Low Emission Zone
Congestion Charge
All cities
No sticker required – drivers must follow rules
Required to purchase sticker/badge:
ULEZ in London
Motorbikes, mopeds, motorised tricycles and quadricycles not meeting the minimum standard Euro 3
Euro 4 for petrol cars, vans, minibuses and other specialist not meeting the minimum standard Euro 4
diesel cars, vans and minibuses and other specialist vehicles not meeting the minimum standard Euro 6
lorries, buses and coaches and other specialist heavy vehicles not meeting the minimum standard Euro VI
Exempt from sticker/badge:
ULEZ in London
Residents
Cleaner Vehicle Discount
Vehicles for disabled people
Taxis
Private Hire Vehicles
Historic vehicles built more than 40 years ago
Agricultural vehicles
Military vehicles
Non-road going vehicles which are allowed to drive on the highway (for example, excavators)
Certain types of mobile cranes
Hours of operation:
ULEZ in London
24 hours per day
Validity of sticker:
ULEZ in London
24 hours
Cost:
ULEZ in London
£12.50 daily fee
Application process length:
ULEZ in London
Immediate
Fine:
ULEZ in London
£60 – £1000 dependant on vehicle
£80 – £500 if paid within 14 days and dependant on vehicle
Paperwork required:
Must register with Transport for London to pay daily fee
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Notes to Editors:
Exchange rate taken on 17 June 2020