Although it is not mandatory, the need for displaying the environmental badge on your vehicle is becoming increasingly important, especially in larger cities. Since the new year, Barcelona, for example, has tightened the restrictions on where more polluting vehicles are permitted, following on from places like Madrid where the impact on vehicle pollutants has been reducing through controls for a few years.
The environmental badge is a way of classifying vehicles based on their energy efficiency, considering their environmental impact.
The classification aims to positively discriminate against the most environmentally friendly vehicles and be an effective instrument at the service of municipal policies, both restrictive of traffic in episodes of high pollution, and the promotion of new technologies through tax benefits or related to mobility and the environment.
The easiest way of obtaining the badge is through the main post office (correos) network.
To check if a vehicle meets the requirements that entitle you to obtain some type of environmental badge, you can enter the registration number on a special page created by the DGT. We will give you the link at the end of this article.
These are the badges available:
Label 0 emissions, Blue: Identifies the most efficient and electric vehicles with extended autonomy and plug-in hybrids with a minimum autonomy of 40kms or fuel cell vehicles.
Eco Label: Next in efficiency, mostly hybrid vehicles, gas or both.
Label C, Green: Internal combustion vehicles that comply with the latest EURO emissions standards.
Label B, Yellow: Internal combustion vehicles that, while not complying with the latest EURO emission specifications, do comply with previous ones.
The rest of the vehicles, 50% more polluting, do not have the right to any type of badge as they do not meet the requirements to be labelled as a clean vehicle.
In order to check if your vehicle is entitled to display an environmental badge, visit the webpage: https://sede.dgt.gob.es/es/vehiculos/distintivo-ambiental/
Put your Spanish vehicle´s registration number in the box under the saying, “Introduce matrícula a consultar:”, and press the blue “Consultar” button. After a few moments, if your vehicle qualifies, you will be told which badge you can display in your vehicle. Then pop along to your local post office, taking the vehicle´s log book with you, and you can collect your badge for the price of just a few euro.