The German emissions sticker for trucks and buses
Independent, non-governmental site: not an authority’s service, no sticker sales.
Set “Truck, bus” and the Euro stage; without proof of the norm the check uses the cut-off dates for heavy vehicles.
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
According to the Federal Environment Agency, low-emission zones only concern cars, trucks and buses, and trucks and buses use the same four emission groups as cars. Heavy diesel vehicles covered by Directive 88/77/EEC are rated Euro I to Euro VI. Under the Federal Environment Ministry’s simplified table a Euro II truck gets group 2 and the red sticker, Euro III group 3 and yellow, Euro IV and later group 4 and green; a retrofitted particle reduction system lifts it by one group. The date-based presumption uses 1 October as the cut-off for heavy vehicles (1996, 2001, 2006), not 1 January as for cars. For vehicles in the toll system, section 5 of the 35th BImSchV also accepts the proofs under the truck toll ordinance, and section 6 does the same for foreign trucks. As with cars, only green counts in every active zone today, and the diesel bans in Stuttgart and Munich also hit trucks up to Euro IV, subject to each city’s exemptions.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · Method and sources
Cut-off dates for heavy diesels without proof of the norm
| First registration | Group |
|---|---|
| before 1 October 1996 | 1 |
| 1 October 1996 to 30 September 2001 | 2 |
| 1 October 2001 to 30 September 2006 | 3 |
| from 1 October 2006 | 4 |
These dates apply to vehicles within Directive 88/77/EEC, that is heavy commercial vehicles and buses. Light commercial vehicles such as vans usually fall under Directive 70/220/EEC and follow the car dates. If in doubt, choose “Car” when the papers show a Euro norm with an Arabic numeral (Euro 4) and “Truck, bus” for a Roman numeral (Euro IV).
Petrol and gas trucks
Heavy vehicles with spark-ignition engines, such as natural gas buses, belong to group 4 under Annex 2 if they meet the limits of Directive 88/77/EEC listed there. There is no date-based presumption for them; the check shows no sticker until proof is available.
Points for fleet operators
Each vehicle needs its own sticker with its plate number. Swap bodies and trailers need none, only the motor vehicle. For the diesel bans, Stuttgart exempts commercial deliveries, Munich deliveries and residents. For individual vehicles that cannot be retrofitted, there is the exemption permit.