Ruhr area low-emission zone
Independent, non-governmental site: not an authority’s service, no sticker sales.
Essen is preset with a Euro 5 diesel. Choose another Ruhr city: the zone is the same.
May I drive into Essen?
Yes, you may enter
Ruhr area zone: a green sticker is enough.
| Zone | Ruhr area |
| State | North Rhine-Westphalia |
| Green only since | 1 July 2014 |
| Status | active |
Sources: Federal Environment Agency list · brms.nrw.de · umwelt.nrw.de
The Ruhr area has Germany’s largest continuous low-emission zone. According to the city of Essen it stretches from Duisburg to Dortmund over about 850 square kilometres, and 13 cities are combined in it: Bochum, Bottrop, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Gladbeck, Herne, Herten, Mülheim, Oberhausen, Recklinghausen. The zone goes back to the Ruhr clean-air plan drawn up jointly by the district governments of Düsseldorf, Münster and Arnsberg. Stage one began on 1 January 2012, stage two on 1 January 2013, and since 1 July 2014 only vehicles with a green sticker may enter. In 2022 the Düsseldorf district government confirmed that the designation of the zones in the Ruhr cities remains valid. Commuters between the cities therefore mostly drive within the zone throughout, without a new sign at every city boundary. The motorways, including the A 40, are excluded from the zone under the plan so that through traffic can flow, as the signs at the exits also show. Hagen has its own zone that is not part of the joint one, and Dinslaken adjoins it to the west. There are currently no diesel bans in the Ruhr area.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Stages of the Ruhr zone
| Stage | from |
|---|---|
| Stage 1: red, yellow, green allowed | 1 January 2012 |
| Stage 2: yellow and green allowed | 1 January 2013 |
| Stage 3: green only | 1 July 2014 |
The 13 cities
Bochum, Bottrop, Castrop-Rauxel, Dortmund, Duisburg, Essen, Gelsenkirchen, Gladbeck, Herne, Herten, Mülheim, Oberhausen, Recklinghausen. The City of Essen describes the zone as one continuous area from Duisburg to Dortmund; the City of Dortmund and the Münster district government list it the same way. In the check above all 13 cities can be selected individually and show the same zone.
Getting around the Ruhr
Trucks and buses have the same obligation, while motorcycles are exempt. If you continue to Düsseldorf or Cologne, you enter further green zones; the route check brings them together.