Avignon ZFE 2026: Lorries Restricted, Cars Are Not
ZFE-m Avignon · France · Active since 2025
Source: official source · Verified: 2026-09-27
ZFE-m Avignon covers the urban perimeter but, unlike most French ZFEs, restricts only heavy goods and polluting utility vehicles — private cars, including rentals, are never checked here. Tourists driving a car can ignore the Crit'Air question entirely in Avignon; it only matters for hauliers and van operators, who face a €135 fine if caught without the right vignette.
Locally the zone is called ZFE-m Avignon (France) — that is the wording on the boundary signs, on the official portal and on any penalty notice, so it is the phrase to search for once you are there.
Next
- Check your own car against Avignon — enter your fuel and Euro class, get a yes or no in one step.
- Nimes has a zone too — the nearest one to Avignon, and the rules are not identical.
- If a fine arrives after you get home — who pays on a hire car, and what is actually enforceable across borders.
Practical answers for Avignon
- When is the Avignon zone active?
- 6h00-20h00 (per inter-prefectural order); the days are not clearly specified.
- How much does it cost to drive into Avignon?
- EUR 5.11 for a foreign-registered car, EUR 3.85 on French plates (including postage) · Crit'Air vignette Get it wrong and the penalty is EUR 135 (heavy goods vehicles / utility vehicles); EUR 68 for light vehicles under the general Crit'Air regime - but no car restriction is enforced in Avignon.
- Do I need to register or buy anything first?
- Crit'Air vignette Official portal.
- Who is exempt in Avignon?
- Electric vehicles (Crit'Air 0), Hydrogen vehicles, Emergency vehicles and Disabled badge holders. Exemptions are usually not automatic — most require registering your number plate in advance.
Didn’t France abolish its low-emission zones?
No — the repeal never took effect. Parliament did vote in April 2026 to abolish France’s ZFEs, which is why so many guides and news reports say they are gone. The Conseil constitutionnel struck that article down on 21 May 2026 (décision n° 2026-903 DC), so the ZFE provisions of the code général des collectivités territoriales (articles L. 2213-4-1 and L. 2213-4-2) stayed on the books.
The zone in Avignon is therefore still in force and you still need a Crit'Air vignette on the windscreen. Turning up without one because you read that ZFEs were scrapped is the expensive version of this mistake — the penalty is EUR 135 (heavy goods vehicles / utility vehicles); EUR 68 for light vehicles under the general Crit'Air regime - but no car restriction is enforced in Avignon.
One caveat most coverage misses: the article was annulled on procedure, not on its merits — the Council held it was a “cavalier législatif”, an amendment with no link to the bill it was attached to (Constitution, art. 45). Parliament can pass the same repeal again in a properly related bill, so this is settled for now rather than settled for good. Read the decision.
Avignon ZFE-m Avignon Map
Interactive map of the zone location — zoom in to see the streets around the marker, and confirm the exact boundary signs on arrival.
Requirements
Who pays in a hire car, whether insurance covers it, and how to appeal.
Can My Vehicle Enter Avignon?
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Exemptions
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Avignon’s ZFE-m currently restricts only heavy goods and utility vehicles that fail the Crit’Air threshold, with a €135 fine; private cars are not restricted by this zone, though France’s general €68 Crit’Air fine can still apply elsewhere.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Zone type | ZFE (heavy goods / utility vehicles only) |
| City | Avignon |
| Country | France |
| Vehicle scope | HGVs and polluting utility vehicles — private cars are not restricted |
| Sticker / registration | Crit’Air Vignette (only relevant to restricted vehicle categories) |
| Sticker cost | €5.11 (postage included) |
| Fine | €135 (HGV / utility vehicles); no car-specific fine |
| Petrol minimum | Not applicable to private cars |
| Diesel minimum | Not applicable to private cars |
| Operating hours | 6h00-20h00 (per inter-prefectural order); exact days not specified |
| Active since | 2025 |
Can your car enter Avignon?
Enter your vehicle's fuel + Euro class → instant verdict for Avignon (ZFE). Fine if wrong: EUR 135 (heavy goods vehicles / utility vehicles); EUR 68 for light vehicles under the general Crit'Air regime - but no car restriction is enforced in Avignon.
Avignon Emission Zone
The ZFE-m Avignon has been active since 2025, but it restricts only heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and polluting utility vehicles below the Crit’Air threshold — private cars are not banned by this zone.
🛞 Check your car: Emission Zone Checker — instant verdict for 596 European emission zones, free.
Who Can Enter?
- Private cars: Not restricted by Avignon’s ZFE — any Euro class, any fuel type, enters freely
- HGVs and polluting utility vehicles: Must meet the zone’s Crit’Air threshold or stay out
- Electric and hydrogen vehicles: Always allowed (exempt)
- Disabled badge holders: Exempt
Sticker & Registration
Private car drivers need nothing here. Operators of restricted HGV/utility categories need a Crit’Air Vignette — cost €5.11 (postage included).
Enforcement
ANPR cameras and police patrols target HGV/utility traffic. Operating hours: 6h00-20h00 (per inter-prefectural order); the exact days in force are not clearly published.
Fine for Non-Compliance
A non-compliant HGV or polluting utility vehicle caught inside the zone faces a fine of €135. Private cars have no zone-specific fine to pay in Avignon — the general France-wide €68 Crit’Air fine only applies in cities whose ZFE actually restricts cars, and Avignon’s does not.
What the zone covers
Avignon’s ZFE-m boundary is signed for the vehicle categories it actually restricts — HGVs and polluting utility vehicles below the Crit’Air threshold. A private car crossing the same boundary is not checked against those signs.
Sticker, registration, or neither
For a private car: neither. Avignon does not require a Crit’Air Vignette to drive a car here. If you operate a restricted HGV or utility vehicle, the Crit’Air sticker costs EUR 5.11 from the official site (certificat-air.gouv.fr) — vehicle-specific, category 1-5 or exempt, lower number meaning cleaner and more access elsewhere in France.
Mistakes worth avoiding
Buying a Crit’Air sticker “just in case” for a private car visiting Avignon. It isn’t required here — save the EUR 5.11 and the three-week wait, unless you’re also driving into a city whose ZFE does restrict cars (most other French ZFE cities do).
Assuming Avignon’s rules match every other French ZFE. Most French ZFEs restrict private cars by Crit’Air category; Avignon currently does not — check each city’s own rules rather than assuming they’re the same.
If you do operate a restricted HGV or utility vehicle: don’t try to buy the sticker at the border. It doesn’t exist at border shops, gas stations or rest stops — online only, through certificat-air.gouv.fr, with about three weeks’ delivery for a vehicle registered abroad.
Ditch the car
Trams have made a comeback in French cities. Lyon, Bordeaux, Strasbourg, Montpellier — they all have modern tram networks that connect suburbs to city centers. The Paris Metro speaks for itself. Single tickets run EUR 1.90-2.10.
French cities mark Park & Ride lots as ‘P+R’ or ‘Relais Tram.’ Usually free parking if you have a transit ticket. City center parking runs EUR 2-3/hour and spaces are scarce.
Bike rentals are everywhere in Avignon. Faster than driving in the center, and you don’t have to think about zones, stickers, or parking.
More on driving rules, speed limits, and equipment requirements: Driving in France. For seasonal tyre regulations: France tyre laws.
Driving in Avignon — Quick Reference
Here is what you need to know about parking options and costs in Avignon.
| City centre | Metered parking available in centre |
| Park & Ride | P+R facilities at public transport hubs where available |
Tip: Check local parking apps for real-time availability and payment options in Avignon
| Service | Number |
|---|---|
| General emergency | 112 |
| Police | 17 |
| Ambulance | 15 |
| Fire | 18 |
Recent changes to this page
- Crit'Air sticker price corrected to EUR 5.11 for a foreign-registered car (EUR 3.108 certificate + EUR 2.00 postage, certificat-air.gouv.fr price service); EUR 3.85 applies only to French plates.
- Removed a major internal contradiction: the title/direct-answer already said Avignon's ZFE restricts only HGVs and utility vehicles, but the body, key-facts-table, FAQ and insider tip still described a full passenger-car Euro-class zone with a €68 car fine. Rewritten throughout to state private cars face no zone-specific restriction in Avignon; HGV/utility fine is €135. Re-confirmed against the official government ZFE register : https://mieuxrespirerenville.gouv.fr/fiches-thematique/se-deplacer/zfe-francaises
- Title, description and introduction rewritten from this page's own data (no shared template wording).
- Re-verified fine (€68) and requirements against France authority portal.
- Confirmed Crit'Air Vignette remains mandatory; 2026 ruleset unchanged.
- Updated enforcement procedure notes after seasonal review cycle.
Part of the TyreMap Emission-Zone Dataset — 596 verified European emission zones, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
No, not for a private car. Avignon's ZFE-m only restricts heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) and polluting utility vehicles below the Crit'Air threshold — a private car of any Euro class or fuel type can drive in without a sticker. Operators of the restricted HGV/utility categories do need a Crit'Air Vignette.
There is no car-specific fine in Avignon — the zone doesn't restrict private cars at all. A non-compliant HGV or polluting utility vehicle caught inside the zone is fined €135.
The question doesn't really apply to cars, since Avignon's ZFE doesn't restrict private vehicles of any kind. Electric and hydrogen HGVs/utility vehicles are exempt from the zone's own restriction.
Yes, freely — for a private car there is nothing to comply with in Avignon's ZFE. For a restricted HGV or utility vehicle, entering briefly still counts as entering; cameras and police don't distinguish a quick pass-through from a full day inside.
For a car, it doesn't matter — Avignon's zone doesn't check cars either way. Commercial operators renting HGVs or utility vehicles should confirm Crit'Air compliance with the rental company before pickup.
A private car cannot be fined under Avignon's ZFE, because it doesn't restrict cars. Only a non-compliant HGV or utility vehicle risks the €135 fine, sent to the registered operator or charged to a rental company's card plus an admin fee. What does not exist is automatic EU enforcement — Directive 2015/413 covers only eight road-safety offences, and emission-zone violations are not among them.
Not from the official source. Certificat-air.gouv.fr takes 2-3 weeks for international delivery. Some unofficial resellers claim faster delivery but charge more. The official one is EUR 5.11 — relevant only if you operate a restricted HGV or utility vehicle here, since private cars need no sticker in Avignon.