The green sticker: who gets it and where it is enough
Independent, non-governmental site: not an authority’s service, no sticker sales.
The check shows whether your vehicle falls into group 4; below, the cities where even green is not enough.
Your vehicle gets
Yellow sticker
Emission group 3
| Into the 35 active zones | no |
| Legal basis | Annex 2(1), Federal Environment Ministry simplified table |
| Fee at the issuing office | €5 – €10 |
35th BImSchV, Annex 2: assignment to emission groups · BMUV table
The green sticker stands for emission group 4, the best of the four groups in the 35th BImSchV. It goes to every petrol or gas car with a regulated catalytic converter from Euro 1, every diesel from Euro 4, Euro 3 diesels with a retrofitted particle reduction system and every vehicle without a combustion engine. Since 2012 green has been the only colour that still counts in existing low-emission zones; the newest zone on the list, Limburg an der Lahn, has required green since 31 January 2018. With a green sticker you can drive into all 35 active zones today. Green is not a blanket permit, though: Stuttgart bans diesels up to Euro 4 across the city and up to Euro 5 in its small inner zone, Munich bans diesels up to Euro 4, and Darmstadt bans older diesels and petrol cars on two streets. Those bans follow the Euro norm, not the sticker. A Euro 4 diesel with a green sticker may therefore enter Cologne or Berlin, but not Stuttgart.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Since when only green applies
The zones were introduced in three stages: first vehicles with red, yellow and green stickers were allowed in, then only yellow and green, finally only green. Berlin was among the first: green has applied there since 1 January 2010, in Stuttgart since 1 January 2012 and in Munich since 1 October 2012. The dates for every zone are in the Federal Environment Agency list and in our overview of active zones.
Green and still shut out: the diesel bans
The zones were set up mainly against fine particulate matter. Against nitrogen dioxide, some cities later banned older diesels, often after court rulings. These bans have their own signs and their own exemptions. The City of Stuttgart describes two zones and three routes left open for access to certain districts on its diesel ban page; commercial deliveries and trips to park-and-ride sites are among the exemptions. In Munich the ban covers diesels up to Euro 4 throughout the zone inside the Mittlerer Ring, with deliveries and residents exempt (City of Munich page). Details are on the diesel bans page.
Green for electric cars, but no longer needed with an e-plate
An electric car belongs to group 4 and could always get a green sticker. Since 1 October 2026 a vehicle with an e-plate needs no sticker at all in a low-emission zone. Without an e-plate, as with some hybrids, the green sticker is still required. More on the electric cars and the sticker page.