Ulm's Umweltzone Is Gone in 2026, Withdrawn Back in 2024
Umweltzone · Germany · Abolished on 4 June 2024 — no longer in force
Source: official source · Verified: 2026-08-30
Ulm no longer has an Umweltzone. The zone was withdrawn on 4 June 2024, so you do not need a green Umweltplakette to drive here and there is no emission-zone fine. Until then the penalty was EUR 100. Other German cities still operate zones, so check your whole route rather than assuming the sticker is dead everywhere.
Ulm Umweltzone 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.
This zone is not in force — no vehicle check applies
Ulm abolished its Umweltzone on 4 June 2024. No green Umweltplakette is required to drive here any more, and no low-emission fine applies. Source: Umweltbundesamt federal register.
Planning a wider trip? Check the zones that do apply on your route.
Exemptions
Driving Guide: Germany
Speed limits, traffic rules, and equipment requirements for Germany.
View driving guideRenting a Car in Ulm?
Compare prices from all major rental companies. Free cancellation on most bookings.
See Ulm Rental PricesSome links on this page are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Learn more.
Ulm abolished its Umweltzone on 4 June 2024, according to the Umweltbundesamt’s federal register, so no green Umweltplakette has been required here since. There is no low-emission fine any more either — the EUR 100 penalty for driving in without the sticker only applied before the withdrawal date. Other German cities nearby may still operate a zone, so it’s worth checking the rest of a route separately.
Ulm has no Umweltzone any more
Ulm withdrew its Umweltzone on 4 June 2024. You do not need a green Umweltplakette to drive here, and there is no emission-zone penalty — the green circular signs that used to mark the boundary have been taken down. The zone had been in force since 2008.
This matters because the old rule is still repeated almost everywhere. Sticker resellers, hire-car counters and most travel guides have not updated, so drivers still buy a EUR 5-15 sticker they no longer need for Ulm. The authority here is the federal register kept by the Umweltbundesamt, which lists the zone as withdrawn.
What changed, and what did not
| Until 4 June 2024 | Now | |
|---|---|---|
| Green Plakette required | Yes | No |
| Penalty for non-compliance | EUR 100 | None — no zone to enforce |
| Boundary signs | In place | Removed |
| Applies to hire cars | Yes | No |
Normal traffic law is unchanged: speed limits, parking rules and any resident-only or pedestrian streets in the Ulm centre still apply. Removing the Umweltzone did not open anything else up.
Where you still need the green sticker
Germany still has active Umweltzonen, and the nearest ones to Ulm are:
If your route crosses any of those city centres, the green Plakette is still compulsory and the usual penalty applies. A sticker bought for an earlier trip stays valid — they do not expire.
If you were fined here before it closed
A penalty issued while the zone was still in force remains valid. The withdrawal on 4 June 2024 is not retroactive, so an old ticket does not disappear — it only means no new ones can be issued.
Source: Umweltbundesamt federal Umweltzonen register, checked 29 August 2026.
Part of the TyreMap Emission-Zone Dataset — 596 verified European emission zones, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
No. Ulm abolished its Umweltzone on 4 June 2024, so no Umweltplakette is required and there is no emission-zone check when you drive in. Many guides and sticker resellers still say otherwise — the federal Umweltbundesamt register is the authority, and it lists the zone as withdrawn.
There is no fine, because there is no zone. Until 4 June 2024 the penalty was EUR 100; since the zone was withdrawn there is nothing to enforce.
Zones were withdrawn once nitrogen dioxide and particulate readings stayed under the EU limits without them — older, dirtier vehicles had largely left the fleet, so the zone no longer changed the measurements. The withdrawal is recorded in the federal register kept by the Umweltbundesamt.
No. The sticker does no harm and it is still valid in the cities that do keep a zone, so leave it where it is if you plan to drive elsewhere in Germany.
The closest German cities that still operate an Umweltzone are Memmingen (48 km), Augsburg (67 km), Stuttgart (73 km). If your route passes through any of them you still need the green Plakette.
No. A penalty issued while the zone was in force stays valid; the withdrawal on 4 June 2024 is not retroactive. It only means no new penalties can be issued.