General informations in English about German environmental zones

Environmental zones in Germany: foreign visitors can now obtain environmental badges for their cars and trucks online at www.green-zones.eu. Without a badge you will be liable for a fine!

The first of January 2008 marked the introduction of the first three environmental zones in Germany in Berlin, Cologne and Hanover. These green zones are designated by special road signs. Starting in March 2008 other German cities will also follow suit. Every vehicle entering an environmental zone - no matter whether registered in Germany or another country - now needs to display an environmental badge. These badges have unrestricted validity for the individual vehicle and all German environmental zones. They represent the implementation in German law of EU Framework Directive 1996/62/EC and Daughter Directive 1999/30/EC on ambient air quality and fine particles (PM2.5).

To be eligible for an environmental badge, your vehicle must be registered in your country and fulfil certain conditions as per validation of the key number in the vehicle registration.

The Internet portal at www.green-zones.eu offers extensive information on the German environmental zones in 21 languages including French, Polish, Swedish, Dutch, and Turkish as well as an easy way to order environmental badges for all vehicles with a non-German European registration.

Visitors intending to travel in Germany can order their badge conveniently per credit card in their own country before embarking on their journey. The service charge is Euro 29.90 for vehicles with EU registration or Euro 39.90 for vehicles with registration in other European non-EU countries, many of which are also eligible for the badges.

As the management of the Climate Company/Green-Zones notes, validation of vehicle registration documents is a complicated process conducted on a case by case basis and involving considerable costs, including for the information portal itself. Of course tourists and visitors are free to apply for the badge at an authorised garage/auto mechanic in their home country before embarking on their journey. Yet as of now the Climate Company/Green-Zones is unaware of the existence of any such locally based service for foreign vehicles which in any case would involve delays and be hardly possible at weekends.

The Climate Company/Green-Zones has established this user-friendly service on its portal in response to numerous requests from hotels, restaurants and tourist associations as well as at the instigation of many embassies and media both in Germany and abroad.

You can buy the Umweltplakette in our Shop for foreign cars http://www.umwelt-plakette.de/foreign_cars.php

Report of the Ecologigal Society from 22.01.2008 about the german environmental zones and Green-Zones/Climate Company.
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