Spain Low Emission Zones 2026: €5 Label or €200 Fine
Spanish ZBEs read the DGT label, not your Euro number. Issuing it costs €5; ignoring a zone is a €200 fine, halved if you pay inside 20 days.
Spain grades cars once, on a DGT label — 0, ECO, C or B — that costs €5 to issue and is tied to your plate. Ignore a ZBE and the national tariff is €200, or €100 paid within 20 days.
Spain does not judge your car at the zone boundary; it grades it once, on a DGT label that costs 5 euros to issue and is read by every ZBE in the country — 0 for electric and long-range plug-ins, then ECO, then C, then B as the oldest still labelled, with the rest of the fleet getting no label at all (dgt.es). What that costs you when it goes wrong is not set by the city: a ZBE breach is a serious infraction worth 200 euros, halved to 100 if you pay inside 20 days. National law pushed the zones far beyond Madrid and Barcelona, and the Spanish zones we track are listed below with the rule each one applies.
Your case: The label follows your fuel and first-registration date rather than how new the car feels — petrol from 2001 and diesel from 2006 reach B, petrol from 2006 and diesel from September 2015 reach C — and a hire car collected in one city can carry a sticker the next city no longer accepts. Run the exact vehicle through the emission zone checker, then read down the city rows below to see which thresholds it actually clears.
| City / Zone | Type | Min petrol | Min diesel | Fine |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A Coruña | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 (for unauthorised entry into the restricted old-town/Marina access area) |
| Alcalá de Henares | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 under art. 80 of RDL 6/2015 (serious offence); the Ayuntamiento publishes no tariff of its own |
| Alcobendas | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (standard Spanish ZBE penalty; Sanctions apply only from 1 April 2026. |
| Alcorcón | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within ~20 days) per Spanish traffic-law framework. NO economic sanctions currently: six-month grace period from launch after Pleno approval on 28 May 2026; enforcement to begin via manual Polica Municipal checks after grace period. |
| Alicante | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (EUR 100 with prompt payment within 20 days) |
| Almería | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (Ordinance art. 17.2), increased by 30% for repeat offences |
| Ávila | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 for prompt payment) - confirmed as the national figure for a serious offence |
| Badalona | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 |
| Barcelona | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within ~20 days); rises to EUR 260 during a declared pollution episode |
| Bilbao | ZBE | Euro 4 | Euro 6 | EUR200 (reducible to EUR100 if paid promptly), no licence points |
| Burgos | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (EUR 100 within 20 days) - suspended: the sanctioning moratorium runs 6 Feb 2026 to 5 Aug 2027 |
| Cádiz | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 base (+30% surcharge for repeat offenders, ~EUR 260); sanctions currently suspended until end of 2026 |
| Córdoba | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within 20 days) |
| Cornellà de Llobregat | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | From EUR 100 (light infraction) up to EUR 500 for serious/repeat; EUR 200 is an intermediate tier |
| Cuenca | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 (serious offence, RDL 6/2015 art. 76 z3 and art. 80); EUR 100 if paid within 20 days (art. 94) |
| Elche | ZBE | — | — | Nominal EUR 200 in the framework, but no sanctions currently applied to drivers (sanction-free / deferred). |
| Esplugues de Llobregat | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | Approx. EUR 100 for cars (light infraction), up to EUR 500 for graver/repeat; |
| Fuenlabrada | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 |
| Getafe | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 (EUR 100 if paid within 20 calendar days) - statutory, Ley sobre Trafico arts. 76 z3, 80.1 and 94 |
| Girona | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200, reduced to EUR 100 if paid within 20 calendar days (RDL 6/2015 arts. 76 z3, 80, 94) |
| Granada | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within 20 days; no licence points) |
| Guadalajara | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (EUR 100 if paid within 20 calendar days) - statutory, Ley sobre Trafico arts. 76 z3, 80.1 and 94 |
| Jerez de la Frontera | ZBE | — | — | No emission-based sanction is in force. If a restriction were activated, the statutory penalty is EUR 200, halved to EUR 100 within 20 calendar days (RDL 6/2015). |
| L'Hospitalet de Llobregat | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 100 for light vehicles (cars/motorcycles) entering without authorization; higher (up to ~200-500) for heavy vehicles or aggravated/repeat infractions |
| La Línea de la Concepción | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (serious offence, RDL 6/2015 art. 76 z3 and art. 80); EUR 100 if paid within 20 days (art. 94) |
| León | ZBE | — | — | Municipal scale: minor up to EUR 150, serious EUR 151-450, very serious EUR 451-900; breaching an episode restriction is a serious offence |
| Lleida | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | The authority publishes no fixed amount; the fine is set by the applicable traffic law. |
| Lugo | ZBE | — | — | No fines during the one-year adaptation period set in the ordinance; after that EUR 200 (EUR 100 if paid within 20 days) |
| Madrid | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (EUR 100 if paid within 20 days) |
| Malaga | ZBE | — | — | EUR200 (reduced to EUR100 if paid within 20 days) |
| Málaga | ZBE | — | — | EUR200 (reduced to EUR100 if paid within 20 days) |
| Marbella | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | Warning only during the transitional phase; EUR 200 (EUR 100 prompt payment) would apply once a sanctioning ordinance is in force |
| Móstoles | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid promptly, within ~20 days); no licence points |
| Ourense | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | Not published by the Concello de Ourense; unauthorised entries by unlabelled vehicles have been sanctionable since 1 July 2026 |
| Oviedo | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 as a serious offence under Spain's traffic law, reduced to EUR 100 if paid within 20 days; no licence points |
| Palma de Mallorca | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid promptly) |
| Palma de Mallorca | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid promptly) |
| Pamplona | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 with prompt payment / pronto pago) |
| Reus | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 |
| Rivas-Vaciamadrid | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within 20 days; no licence points) |
| Sabadell | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (EUR 100 with prompt payment / pronto pago) |
| Salamanca | ZBE | — | — | Not published by the city. Salamanca's ZBE pages state only that the Zona Peatonal is plate-camera controlled and that entry needs an authorisation obtained through the municipal digital platform. |
| San Sebastián | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (increased 30% for a repeat offence within the same year; 50% discount for prompt payment) |
| Sant Adrià de Besòs | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | 100-500 EUR (ordinance range; ~200 EUR commonly cited for unauthorised entry) |
| Sant Cugat del Vallès | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within ~20 days) |
| Sant Joan Despí | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (standard AMB/Spanish ZBE sanction; exact amount not stated on official page) |
| Santa Coloma de Gramenet | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 |
| Santander | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within 20 days) |
| Sevilla | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 |
| Seville | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within ~20 days) |
| Tarragona | ZBE | — | — | EUR 200 as a serious offence under Spain's traffic law; up to 30% more for a repeat |
| Terrassa | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 |
| Torrejón de Ardoz | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid within ~20 days); classed as a serious infraction, no licence points |
| Valladolid | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (serious infringement, art. 76 z3 and art. 80 RDL 6/2015), reduced to EUR 100 if paid within 20 calendar days (art. 94) |
| Vitoria-Gasteiz | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (EUR 100 if paid early) |
| Zaragoza | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | EUR 200 (reduced to EUR 100 if paid promptly) |
| Zaragoza | ZBE | Euro 3 | Euro 4 | Not published by the city. Zaragoza's ZBE FAQ states only that sanctions 'se aplicarán conforme a lo que establezca la Ley de Tráfico, tanto en su calificación como en su cuantía'. EUR 200 is the national grave-infraction amount for unauthorised ZBE entry, halved for prompt payment. |
57 zones currently in force · verified against official sources. Click any city for its full rules and the exact sticker or permit.
How the Spanish ZBE system works
Ley 7/2021 article 14 obliges municipalities above 50,000 inhabitants, the island territories, and municipalities above 20,000 where air quality limit values are exceeded, to establish a ZBE before 2023; Real Decreto 1052/2022 then set the common minimum requirements for how one is drawn and enforced. Obliged is not the same as operating, and MITECO keeps the official map that marks each zone in force, in progress or pending — which is why no honest national total appears on this page.
Access is controlled by the DGT distintivo ambiental. A 0 label (battery electric, extended-range electric, plug-in hybrids with 40 km of electric range, fuel cell) goes everywhere; ECO covers shorter-range plug-ins, ordinary hybrids and gas vehicles; C covers petrol from January 2006 and diesel from September 2015; B covers petrol from 2001 and diesel from 2006. Cars older than that get nothing, and Madrid has shut its whole municipality to them since 1 January 2025.
Buy the label from Correos or another authorised outlet — it is tied to your plate, so get it before you travel. A foreign plate cannot be issued one, but the DGT states you may drive in Spanish restricted zones on your own country’s sticker via its published equivalence; individual cities, Barcelona among them, still require the foreign vehicle to be registered with them first.
Before you drive
- Work out your DGT label from fuel and first-registration date, not from the Euro number on the V5C.
- Buy the €5 sticker in advance if the car is Spanish-registered; if it is not, check the DGT equivalence and the city’s own foreign-vehicle register.
- Thresholds differ between Madrid, Barcelona and smaller ZBEs — and the €200 tariff is the same wherever you trip over one.
For neighbouring countries, see our emission zones in France guide and the full State of Europe’s Emission Zones 2026 report.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It is the sticker Spanish ZBEs actually read: 0, ECO, C or B, assigned from your fuel and first-registration date rather than your Euro number. Issuing it costs 5 euros and it is sold at Correos offices and a long list of other authorised outlets, with postage able to push the price up. The DGT calls displaying it voluntary in itself — but municipal ordinances restrict circulation by label, so without it on the windscreen you cannot claim the category you qualify for. A foreign-registered car cannot obtain one at all; the DGT instead publishes an equivalence with the German, Austrian, Danish and French classifications.
200 euros, set nationally rather than city by city. Article 76.z3 of the Ley de Tráfico makes it a serious infraction to ignore a low emission zone's circulation restrictions, and article 80.1 prices every serious infraction at 200 euros; pay within 20 calendar days and article 94 halves it to 100. The threshold that triggers it differs by city: Madrid has closed its entire municipality to unlabelled category A cars since 1 January 2025, while Barcelona's ZBE Rondes admits 0, ECO, C and B.
More than the famous two, and fewer than the obligation implies. Ley 7/2021 required municipalities over 50,000 inhabitants, the island territories, and municipalities over 20,000 where air quality limits are exceeded, to establish a zone before 2023 — but obliged, in progress and actually in force are three different things, and MITECO's official map is what separates them. The table below lists the Spanish zones in our own database with the rule each applies.