Low emission zones in Spain with a foreign car: Madrid, Barcelona and other cities in 2026

Spanish labels and foreign vehicles

Spain sorts vehicles with environmental labels issued by the DGT, the national traffic authority: 0 (zero emissions), ECO, C, B, and no label at all for the oldest. Low emission zones (zonas de bajas emisiones, ZBE) decide who may enter by those labels.

The DGT only gives labels to vehicles registered in Spain, so a foreign vehicle never has one. What matters is the Euro emission standard, which is on your registration document (in EU certificates, usually field V.9). For cars and light vans, the Spanish criteria are:

Battery electric cars and plug-in hybrids with at least 40 km of electric range get 0; other hybrids and gas vehicles get ECO. If your car has a German, Austrian, Danish or French emissions sticker, the Spanish government treats it as the equivalent Spanish label.

Barcelona: the Rondes low emission zone

The ZBE Rondes de Barcelona covers Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat, Sant Adrià de Besòs and parts of Esplugues de Llobregat and Cornellà de Llobregat. It applies on working days, Monday to Friday, from 7:00 to 20:00. At weekends and outside those hours anyone can drive in.

Vehicles that get a long-term permit:

• Cars and vans (M1, N1): electric, petrol Euro 3 or higher (usually registered after 2000) or diesel Euro 4 or higher (usually after 2005).
• Motorcycles and mopeds (L): Euro 2 or higher (usually after 2003).
• Lorries, buses and coaches (N2, N3, M2, M3): electric or Euro 4 or higher.

Campervans and motorhomes follow the category on their registration document.

1. Fill in the form on the AMB register website (also in English and French). Foreign vehicles do not need a Spanish digital signature.
2. Attach the vehicle document showing the owner, the plate, the vehicle category, the fuel and the Euro level. If yours does not show them, a manufacturer's document in Catalan, Spanish or English proving the emission levels.
3. Pay the one-off fee of 7 euros.
4. Wait for the answer, which can take up to 15 working days. Until it arrives, the vehicle is not registered and must not enter.

Once accepted, the vehicle stays registered as long as it still meets the requirements.

If your vehicle does not meet the standard, or you need to go in before your registration is accepted, register it for daily permits: registration is free and gives up to 24 days a year, at 5 euros a day for cars, motorcycles and mopeds and 6 euros for vans, lorries, coaches and buses. You can activate a day up to 23:59 on the day after you drove in.

The AMB register only covers the Barcelona metropolitan area. Other Catalan towns with a low emission zone use zbe.cat.

Madrid: the whole city, plus Distrito Centro

Madrid ZBE covers every urban street in the municipality. Since 1 January 2025 it bans vehicles without a label, the Spanish class "A": in practice, petrol cars older than Euro 3 and diesel cars older than Euro 4. The fine is 200 euros (100 euros if paid promptly). Historic vehicles and those of people with a reduced-mobility parking card registered with the city are exempt.

A temporary regime still lets some vehicles without a label drive outside the two special zones below: cars registered in Madrid since 2022, and vans, lorries and motorcycles. It ends if nitrogen dioxide limits are exceeded. The city's page does not say how it applies to foreign plates, so do not count on it.

Madrid's website describes no registration for foreign vehicles in the city-wide zone. It does for the two special protection zones (ZBEDEP):

• Distrito Centro (the old "Madrid Central"): if you do not live there, vehicles with label 0 or ECO can drive in freely. Those with label B or C may only enter to park in a public or private car park inside the zone. Vehicles without a label cannot enter.
• Plaza Elíptica: vehicles without a label cannot drive there.

If you are going to a hotel in the centre, ask whether its car park registers your plate with the Distrito Centro access system before you drive there.

Valencia, Bilbao, Seville and other cities

Spain's Climate Change Law requires towns of over 50,000 inhabitants to set up low emission zones. Most only keep out vehicles without a label (petrol older than Euro 3, diesel older than Euro 4), but several ask a foreign vehicle to register before it enters, even when it complies. This is the situation in the largest cities, checked against each city's ordinance or official website:

In every one of these cities the fine is 200 euros, usually halved if paid promptly. The Spanish labels mean the Euro standards in the table above.

Valencia

València ZBE covers most of the city, inside the Ronda Norte, Avenida de los Naranjos, Serrería and Bulevar Sur. It applies 24 hours a day, every day, and only to cars, motorcycles and mopeds without a label; vans and lorries are not restricted. Since 1 December 2025 such vehicles are fined if they are registered outside the province of Valencia, as a foreign vehicle is.

The ordinance says that motor vehicles with foreign plates, of any type, must be entered in the city's register before they go into the zone (article 7.3). Vehicles that do not comply can still use 48 single-day accesses a year after notifying the city. Look up the current procedure on valencia.es before you travel.

Bilbao

The zone covers Abando and Indautxu, the city centre. On working days, Monday to Friday from 7:00 to 20:00, only vehicles with label C, ECO or 0 may enter: since 15 June 2025, label B is out too. For a foreign car that means petrol Euro 4 or higher, or diesel Euro 6.

Under the ordinance (article 11.3), a foreign vehicle that meets the standard must either notify each visit online or register once with the city, sending a document that shows its Euro standard, fuel and date of first registration. Vehicles with the equivalent of label B may still drive to a pay car park connected to the city's control system until the end of 2029. The procedure is on bilbao.eus.

San Sebastián

San Sebastián requires every foreign-registered vehicle, electric and hybrid included, to request authorization before entering the central zone. Fill in the city's form (in English and French too) with the owner, vehicle type, plate, date of first registration, fuel and technical data sheet. You only hear back if something is missing, and the authorization lasts until the end of 2027. Until then, these vehicles qualify:

• Cars and vans, petrol or diesel, registered after 1 January 2006.
• Motorcycles and mopeds registered after 1 July 2004.
• Lorries, buses and coaches: petrol registered after 1 October 2001, diesel after 1 October 2006.
• Hybrid, gas and electric vehicles, whatever their age.

From 2028 the dates move forward: diesel cars will need to be registered after 1 January 2014. The fine goes up by 30% for a repeat offence within a year.

Zaragoza

The zone applies Monday to Friday from 8:00 to 20:00; outside those hours and at weekends, anyone can drive in. If you enter by mistake and leave within 15 minutes, you are not fined. Foreign vehicles are registered in the city's ZBE register with the certificate of conformity (CoC) or the environmental sticker of their country, plus the registration document and insurance. If you register online, the authorization is valid as soon as you sign.

Palma (Mallorca)

The zone covers the centre, inside the Avenidas ring and the seafront. Every foreign vehicle that meets the standard must be entered in the city's register at least 5 days before you drive in. You send your passport or driving licence, the technical data sheet, the registration document, proof of ownership (or the leasing contract) and, compulsorily, the ferry ticket that shows the vehicle arrived on the island. The authorization lasts 30 days from the date you ask for.

Until 31 December 2026, petrol cars and vans of Euro 3 or higher, diesel ones of Euro 4 or higher, alternative-fuel vehicles and two-wheelers of Euro 2 or higher qualify. From 1 January 2027 vehicles with label B are banned too, and from 2030 label C; motorcycles and mopeds can still enter.

If your car is registered in Spain

Hire cars and cars bought in Spain carry a Spanish plate, so the DGT has already given them a label, or none. You can check the label of any Spanish car for free from its plate (page in Spanish). If you are about to buy one, read our guide to buying a used car in Spain.

Frequently asked questions