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Vehicle / Sticker

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Ausschilderung für den Beginn einer Umweltzone, für die Fahrzeuge mit der grünen Plakette gekennzeichnet sein müssen.

Signs for the start of an low-emission zone for which vehicles must be identified with a green sticker.

Image: SenUVK

In Berlin’s low emission zone, vehicles must be marked with a green sticker.

Vehicles registered abroad also require a green sticker. The sticker must be attached to the windscreen and facilitates the control of the low emission zone.

The stickers are valid in all low emission zones in Germany.

If your vehicle is registered in Germany you can find out in the table below or via the Internet database www.feinstaubplakette.de whether your vehicle is entitled to receive a green sticker, possibly by particulate filter retrofit.

Electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles with a German E-registration plate are exempted from the sticker requirement in Berlin according to a general Berlin decree. Electric vehicles registered abroad can be marked with a blue E-sticker according to Appendix 3a FZV (Vehicle Registration Ordinance) and thus drive in the low emission zone.

Driving or parking in the low emission zone without a green sticker or an exemption permit is an offence, fined with 80 Euros.

The legal basis for the marking requirement is the 35th ordinance for the implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act – Marking Ordinance (35. BImSchV), adopted in 2007.

The system has not been updated since 2007, so that even the latest vehicles with the Euro 6 emission standard receive only a green sticker of the pollutant group 4.

Please find more information on the Marking Ordinance below.

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Where can I obtain a sticker?

Issuing offices are the motor vehicle licensing authority (Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten – LABO), emissions inspection centres such as TÜV, DEKRA, GTÜ, FSP and KÜS, and workshops of the motor vehicle maintenance association specifically authorised for emission inspections.

The issuing office will check the car registration documents to decide which emission group the car belongs to and hence which sticker it qualifies for. The car itself therefore does not need to be presented.

Stickers can be ordered online from the emission sticker shop of the Berlin motor vehicle licensing authority under

A fee of 6 euros will be charged for the issuance and dispatch of the sticker. Please allow between 7 to 14 days for processing and shipping of the sticker within Germany.

Foreign-registered vehicles also require a sticker. It can be ordered from the English website of the Berlin motor vehicle licensing authority under

provided that the licensing authority can identify the necessary information for the assignment of the sticker from the car documents, e.g. from a manufacturer’s certification. The required car documents or registration document must be scanned and attached to the email or photocopied and sent by mail.

It is recommended to order the sticker at least three weeks before arriving in Berlin, to ensure the delivery abroad.

Summarised information for foreign tourists is available in a flyer

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Does the validity of the sticker expire at any time?

The validity is not restricted in time.

However, you will need a new one, if you re-register your car and the vehicle registration changes, as the number entered on the sticker must match the vehicle’s registration number.

A new sticker is also required when the registration number entered is no longer legible because, for example, the ink has faded.

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How much does the sticker cost?

No standard charge has been specified for the sticker in the Federal Marking Ordinance or other federal regulations. Private issuing offices are therefore free to charge whatever they wish. The Berlin licensing authority charges 5,- € and in case of online ordering and shipment 6,- €.

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What does the Marking Ordinance regulate?

The Marking Ordinance for the implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act (35. BImSchV) regulates the marking of vehicles according to emission groups using windshield stickers as well as exemptions to the driving ban. It defines four emission groups, which apply to cars and trucks. The ordinance thus allows for the introduction of low emission zones with driving bans based on emission levels.

The Marking Ordinance itself does not specify any low emission zones. This can only be done by the relevant authorities of the federal states and municipalities on the basis of air quality plans, if the air quality limit values are exceeded and road traffic is a major cause.

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How are emission groups defined?

The four emission groups are based on the Euro emission standards of diesel vehicles at the time of the drafting of the regulation in 2007. By retrofitting with a particulate filter, diesel vehicles can upgrade to higher emission groups.

There are only two levels for vehicles with petrol engines.

Enlarge photo: emission groups

emission groups

Image: SenUVK

  • definition of the emission groups

    PDF-Document (70.5 kB)

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More detailed differences may result due to the complexity of emission standards for petrol vehicles and in particular for diesel vehicles. A vehicle registered in Germany is assigned to an emission group according to its emission key number.

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Which emission group does my vehicle belong to?

The assignment of the sticker to a vehicle is derived from the emission key number listed in the vehicle documents, if applicable, together with the particulate filter retrofit.

If registered in Germany, you can also determine the sticker (emission group) for your vehicle in the Internet database www.feinstaubplakette.de.

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Enlarge photo: key number in the German vehicle documents

Key number in the German vehicle documents

Image: SenUVK

Where can I find my key number in the German vehicle documents?

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Enlarge photo: Assignment of the key number to emission groups

Assignment of the key number to emission groups

Image: SenUVK

Assignment of key numbers to the emission groups

1) For gas-driven vehicles according to Directive 2005/55/EC (formerly 88/77/EEC)

2) Car with key number “27” (or “0427”) and labelled “99/69/EC I” with a permitted total weight exceeding 2,500 kg is to be assigned a green sticker in accordance with Annexe 2, Section 1, Number 4 of the Marking Ordinance. This will be effected after verification that the car meets the requirements of Level PM 1 of Annexe XXVI StVZO.

  • Assignment of the key number to emission groups

    PDF-Document (102.6 kB)

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Vehicles with the exhaust standard Euro 5 or 6 and electric vehicles without combustion engine belong to emission group 4.

Special stickers for ultra-low emission vehicles like vehicles that comply with the standard Euro 6 do not exist yet.

Electric vehicles with an E-registration plate may drive in the Berlin low emission zone without a sticker.

Notes concerning the particle reduction levels PM and PMK

The German Road Traffic Authorisation Regulations (StVZO) regulate the technical requirements for the retrofitting of particle filter systems.

They also define the assignment to the particle-reduction classes PM 01 to PM 4 (for cars) and PMK 01 to PMK 4 (for trucks). Fitted particulate filters must meet the specified requirements so that the vehicle complies with the green sticker.

  • Explanation of individual particulate filter classes

    PDF-Document (54.8 kB)

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How are foreign vehicles assigned to the emission groups?

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