environmental badge: negligence can cost money. © bu – lawyer search service
Environmental zones have been set up in many German cities. What happens if you are caught without the required environmental sticker?? And what is valid for cars that are only parked in the environmental zone??
Since 2008, the environmental sticker has indicated which of three pollutant groups a car belongs to. The green sticker (group 4) allows unrestricted access to all environmental zones. Cars with a yellow sticker (group 3) are only allowed to enter the environmental zone in Neu-ulm – nowhere else. Older diesels with a red sticker (group 2) are no longer allowed anywhere in the environmental zone. Some cars are no longer issued with a sticker at all – for these, the environmental zone is also off-limits. Each environmental sticker must be labeled with the license plate number of the vehicle that bears it – otherwise it is invalid.
Who is allowed in the environmental zone?
Which vehicles are allowed to enter the environmental zone is indicated on the signs – as a rule, only cars with a green sticker are allowed to enter.
Exceptions from the sticker regulation exist for ambulances, two-wheelers, police cars, fire departments, classic cars with H license plates and certain military vehicles, among others. in some cities, exemptions are also granted if a vehicle cannot be retrofitted. The last point can be regulated differently from city to city.
The environmental zones have nothing to do with the diesel driving bans that were enforced by the German environmental aid organization Deutsche umwelthilfe. These are based on local regulations of the respective cities.
Which law regulates the environmental stickers??
The regulations on environmental zones and stickers can be found in the 35th Federal Immission Control Ordinance. Ordinance on the Implementation of the Federal Immission Control Act. This is also referred to as the regulation on the labeling of motor vehicles with a low contribution to pollution – 35 for short. Bimschv. The regulation applies nationwide to cities and municipalities that decide to introduce an environmental zone.
Confusing numbers: euro standards and pollutant groups
The number on the environmental sticker does not indicate which euro emission standard the vehicle meets. A green sticker with the "4" does not mean that the vehicle is "euro-4" has. Even if some car dealers like to present it that way. The number only stands for the pollutant group to which vehicles with different european standards belong. the euronorm can be found on the basis of the key number in the registration certificate I (vehicle registration certificate).
A blue sticker, for example for euro 5 diesels, does not currently exist. Cars with the euro 5 standard receive a green sticker (pollutant group 4).
Where can you get an environmental sticker and what does it cost??
Environmental stickers can be purchased from TuV, dekra, vehicle registration offices, citizens’ advice bureaus or online.
At TuV Nord, the sticker currently costs 9.90 euros online. The sticker is then printed on the car. A copy of the vehicle registration certificate and a signature are required. Of course, it must be proven at the time of purchase that the vehicle also complies with the relevant emission standards.
Do electric cars also need an environmental badge?
Yes, also electric cars or. Electric vehicles are not exempt. You will receive a green environmental sticker.
What are the fines for missing / invalid environmental stickers??
Currently, driving in an environmental zone in violation of traffic regulations (without a valid environmental sticker) costs a fine of 100 euros. There are no points.
What applies to journeys with transfer plates?
In addition to the generally applicable legal exceptions, cities can also make further exceptions. For example, some cities, such as Berlin, have exempted vehicles with short-term license plates from the requirement to display a sticker if they are on a test drive, transfer or workshop trip. But here you should find out what applies locally.
What to consider after moving or buying a car?
If you are transferring your car to a new place of residence or registering a used car that you have bought, you must make sure that the environmental badge matches the new license plate number. A new sticker is therefore due, otherwise a fine may be imposed.
What applies to parking with an invalid emissions sticker??
the courts do not rule uniformly on this issue. In 2013, the Higher Regional Court of Hamm dealt with the case of a driver who had parked his car – with a green environmental sticker – in an environmental zone. However, the sticker did not show the current registration number of the car. Something like this can happen after the vehicle is sold, if the new owner simply keeps the old sticker. The driver received a fine of 40 euros and a point in flensburg according to the fine catalog at that time.
The Higher Regional Court of Hamm upheld the fine notice. The vehicle was only allowed to participate in traffic in the environmental zone with a valid environmental sticker. his car did not have this because the license plate on the sticker did not match the vehicle’s current license plate. However, this kind of compliance is required by law in order to make it possible to check whether a vehicle is allowed to enter an environmental zone.
A parked vehicle also takes part in traffic in the environmental zone. Traffic in this sense is also parking, which according to the road traffic regulations belongs to stationary traffic. This interpretation of the regulation is not disproportionate. In the case of a parked vehicle, it is usually clear that it has been moved by means of engine power or that the vehicle has been moved by means of an engine. Moved and therefore makes an undesirable contribution to pollutant pollution. The rather unlikely exception that a vehicle is transported to or through the environmental zone by means of a trailer without starting its engine is not to be taken into account in the interpretation (ruling of 24.9.2013, az. 1 rbs 135/13).
However, the local courts of marburg and bremen took a different view. the district court of marburg categorically stated that the environmental zone regulation did not apply to stationary traffic because no pollutants were emitted when the vehicle was parked (ruling of 25.2.2018, az. 52 owi 2/18).
The district court of bremen saw the problem rather in the fact that only in the case of parking violations the vehicle owner is liable without further ado. A violation of the sticker requirement, however, is not a parking violation. A fine can be imposed for parking without a sticker, but only on the person who demonstrably drove the vehicle in the environmental zone and parked it there. Thus the holder got away with no fine here (decision of 5.10.2017, az. 74 owi 650 js 39674/17).
Falsified environmental sticker: material defect when buying a car
If a used car is sold with an environmental sticker that it should not have on account of its emissions, this constitutes a material defect. The buyer is then entitled to withdraw from the purchase contract. This applies in particular if the topic of "environmental sticker and pollutant emissions" is discussed during the contract negotiations was addressed. A blanket exclusion of warranty in the purchase contract does not change this (dusseldorf Higher Regional Court, judgment of 22.12.2011, az. I-22 U 103/11).