What the German emissions badge is
The Umweltplakette, also called the Feinstaubplakette, is a round sticker for your windscreen. It shows which emissions group your vehicle belongs to and decides whether you are allowed to drive it into the centre of a German city. The colour depends on the Euro standard and the type of fuel: red, yellow or green.
In practice only the green one matters. The other colours are still issued to older vehicles, but nearly every zone today lets in cars with a green sticker only. The rule applies to cars on Polish plates in exactly the same way – this is not a regulation for German drivers alone.
Where the zone applies
A low emission zone, the Umweltzone, is marked at its entrance by a white sign reading “Umwelt ZONE” and a plate showing the badge colours that are allowed in. There are several dozen zones in Germany and they cover the centres of most large cities, among them:
- Berlin – the whole area inside the city railway ring.
- Munich, Stuttgart, Frankfurt am Main, Cologne, Düsseldorf.
- Leipzig, Hanover, Bremen, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen.
- Many smaller towns in North Rhine-Westphalia and Baden-Württemberg.
The zone is in force around the clock, all year round. It makes no difference whether you are driving through the city or stopping at a single address for an hour.
Where to get the badge
- From vehicle inspection stations and technical organisations in Germany (TÜV, DEKRA, GTÜ), and from many garages and city offices.
- Online, from German issuers – the sticker comes by post, so it has to be ordered a few days ahead.
- You need the vehicle registration document; the badge is tied to the registration number and stays valid indefinitely, as long as you do not change your plates.
It costs a few euros. This is one of those things where the price is beside the point and not having the piece of paper costs many times more.
What happens if you drive in without a badge
Entering the zone without a valid sticker counts as an offence and ends with a fine of around a hundred euros. Nobody has to stop you on the spot – a camera photo is enough, and the notice can reach you in Poland many weeks later.
On a move there is a second, worse consequence: the van with your belongings stands at the edge of the zone and everything has to be carried the rest of the way or reloaded. A whole day of work falls apart because of a sticker worth a few euros.
Stuttgart, Munich and diesel bans
Some cities have gone further than badges. Stuttgart has additional restrictions for older diesel engines, and Munich is introducing further stages of its diesel ban. The rules are changed from year to year and differ from one federal state to another.
That is why before every trip we check the rules for the particular destination city, not “for Germany” in general. The same goes for the private car you drive behind the van.
What this changes when you move
If you are moving to Germany in your own vehicle, the badge is the first thing to sort out – earlier than the boxes. If your car travels with us, check that it has the sticker, because the zone applies at your new address too, day in, day out.
4RELO vehicles run to Germany regularly and carry valid badges. All that is left on your side is your private vehicle and the drive to your new address.
Planning a move to Germany? We check the entry rules for the particular city before we set the unloading time.
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