Cologne 2026: 2010 Petrol Euro 4 Clears the Green Line

The figure worth correcting first: Euro 4 is Cologne’s diesel line, not its petrol line. Petrol qualifies for the green Plakette with a regulated catalytic converter, so a 2010 petrol Euro 4 clears the requirement by three classes. What remains is the badge itself — EUR 5-15, once — and the flat EUR 100 for driving inside the ring without it.

Same year, two very different answers

The registration document settles which row applies, and it is the fuel entry rather than the date of first registration that decides the outcome.

Why the two fuels were never held to the same standard

The badge colours map to pollutant groups, not to Euro numbers. Group 4 admits diesel from Euro 4 because that is where diesel particulate output fell far enough; it admits petrol on the presence of a regulated catalytic converter because that is where petrol output fell far enough, and that happened in the early 1990s. The zone has sat at the green stage since 1 July 2014, and the federal register records no further step scheduled.

The part that still costs money

Qualifying gets a car nothing on its own. The badge is bought once — EUR 5-15 at a TUEV or DEKRA station, a Zulassungsstelle, or online with about a week’s delivery — and then stays with the vehicle for life. Inside the ring, where the Dom, the Altstadt and the Rhine waterfront all sit, its absence is a flat EUR 100, charged on a parked car as readily as a moving one.

Cologne checklist for this car

• ✅ Ignore the Euro 4 figure quoted for petrol; it is the diesel rule
• ✅ Check the fuel line on the registration document before anything else
• ✅ Buy the green badge once, EUR 5-15, and leave it on the glass
• ✅ Allow about a week if ordering online for a foreign-plated car
• ✅ Assume any Cologne city visit puts you inside the zone