New Environmentzones - Low Emission Zones in Europe

• From 1st April 2012
  o An extended LEZ area (see below)

• From 1st January 2013
  o Diesel Euro 3(PM), Petrol Euro 1 / Yellow Sticker 
  

• From 1st July 2014
  o Diesel Euro 4(PM), Petrol Euro 1 / Green Sticker
  
  Vehicles affected
  All diesel vehicles, and petrol vehicles without a closed loop catalytic converter (Euro 1 or equivalent).
  All vehicles must have a sticker - see National Scheme below.
  
  What is the LEZ boundary
  From 1 April 2012 the LEZ area is:
  
  Key: Cream area= LEZ area, Green lines = exempted roads/motorways, yellow lines = other motorways outside the LEZ
  Please click here for a larger map.
  Please click here for a list of streets and addresses in the LEZ area.
  
  LEZ Road sign
  
  
  Need to Register? National
  A sticker must be bought and displayed in the windscreen - see National Scheme below. This sticker is then valid for all LEZs in Germany.
  Proof of emissions standard (given on German vehicle papers) is needed to purchase the sticker. Stickers can be purchased from the vehicle registration, authorities, authorised local garages, vehicle test organisations like TÜV, DEKRA, or some websites.
  
  The LEZ city authorities and other cities also sell stickers, often over the internet – see the individual city for more details. Many hotels in LEZ cities also offer to order the stickers on behalf of their guests, if they receive the requisite documents in advance.
  German LEZ stickers can be purchased online for all vehicles in all countries for 12.50€, also in different languages.
  
  Need to Register? City
  

Stadt Köln
Kfz-Zulassungsstelle
Max-Glomsda-Straße 4
51105 Köln
Germany.

For further details, please refer to Cologne's website “How Do I get a sticker”.

Many hotels in Cologne offer to order the stickers on behalf of their guests, if they receive the appropriate documents in advance.

Foreign Vehicles?
Foreign vehicles are also enforced and are required to buy a sticker. Foreign vehicles emissions are taken primarily by vehicle age, as in the table below.

View Foreign Vehicle Table (opens in popup) or in a new page
Retrofitting allowed?:
Yes
Retrofitting Summary
German vehicles need to have a particulate trap certified on behalf of the German government. Local garages can advise on which filters should be used and retrofit page.

Hours of operation
Permanent, 365 days a year.

Enforcement
Manual enforcement by police of sticker in the windscreen. Even if the vehicle meets the emissions standard, if there is no sticker in the windscreen, the vehicle is illegal in the zone.

Penalty
40€ fine and one point in the national traffic penalty register for German vehicles.

National Scheme
A National Framework sets out the Emissions Classes and main rules that can be used by cities for LEZs in Germany (see Need to Register?). The cities or regions then decide whether, where and when to do a LEZ, and what emissions standards will be required.

View National Scheme Table (opens in popup) or in a new page

Exemptions: National
Germany Exemptions
Exemptions: City
In Cologne, only the general exemptions stipulated in the national LEZ scheme apply. Residents and commercial traffic is not exempted from the LEZ. In cases of special hardship owners of vehicles that are banned from the environmental zone under the national LEZ scheme can apply for a special exemption. Cologne has adopted guidelines and details individual exemptions from the driving ban granted by the transport authorities in Cologne’s districts. For further details, please refer to Cologne’s website.

Local name for an LEZ
Umweltzone

Further Information
County level (Bezirksegierung) information for Cologne/

City website
www.stadt-koeln.de/umweltzone/

National website
Germany LEZ website