Driving in Germany Umweltzone green sticker, fines and diesel bans

The Berlin, Munich and Stuttgart guides say where the green sticker goes and which diesels are banned.

Without a green sticker, or without an exemption, driving or parking in the Umweltzone is an offence. The fine is €100.

The sticker goes on the inside of the windscreen. It has no end date, but it changes if the plate changes. It is valid in the German Umweltzonen.

In Berlin, the zone is inside the S-Bahn ring, since 1 January 2010. There is no time window: night-time does not remove the need for the sticker.

In Munich, the zone includes the Mittlerer Ring. A Euro 5 diesel or better, a petrol car or another engine enters with the green sticker. A Euro 4 diesel or older does not enter, until further notice, even with that sticker. Deliveries and residents can be an exception written on the signs. Other cases go through the city's exemption scheme. They are not automatic.

In Stuttgart, the zone has existed since 1 March 2008. Since 1 January 2019, a Euro 4 diesel or older is banned in the whole city, all year. Since 1 July 2020, a Euro 5 diesel is banned in the basin, in Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach and Zuffenhausen. Outside this small zone, a Euro 5 diesel with a green sticker may drive.

A foreign plate needs the same green sticker. In Berlin it costs €6, postage included. Processing takes 7 to 14 days, and about three weeks if it is sent abroad.

In Berlin, an electric car or a plug-in hybrid with an E plate is exempt under a local rule. An electric car registered abroad can use the blue E plate provided for that.

Without a green sticker or an exemption, the fine is €100. In Munich and in Stuttgart, the amount with the fees is €128.50, with no points on the register.

Paying for the sticker does not allow a diesel the city already bans. In Munich, the green sticker does not lift the ban on a Euro 4 diesel. In Stuttgart, it does not lift the ban on a Euro 4 diesel in the whole city, nor the ban on a Euro 5 diesel in the small zone.

In Munich, the ban on Euro 4 diesel and older runs until further notice, Mittlerer Ring included. Deliveries and residents are the exception written on the signs.

In Stuttgart, separate the city and the small zone. Euro 4: the whole city, since 1 January 2019. Euro 5: the basin, Bad Cannstatt, Feuerbach and Zuffenhausen, since 1 July 2020.

German law has a specific rule. Under § 23, paragraph 1c of the Road Traffic Regulations (StVO), a driver may not operate, or carry ready for operation, a technical device meant to display or disrupt traffic monitoring measures. This applies in particular to devices that display or disrupt speed measurements.

For other technical devices that have other uses as well, the functions that display or disrupt traffic monitoring must not be used. This second rule is the one that concerns multi-purpose devices such as phones and navigation systems.

Amanda's speed camera alerts are switched off in Germany.

Amanda guides you by voice, on your phone or with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. With Premium, it shows parking near your destination, with walking time and fare, using only verified public access.