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Danish low emission zones explained

There are four environmental zones in Denmark. These are located in the capital Copenhagen, as well as in Aalborg, Aarhus and Odense. All these low emission zones are permanently valid and affect diesel buses, vans and trucks, i.e. vehicles of classes M2 and M3 as well as N1, N2 and N3. While until the middle of last year there were still environmental badges with which the vehicles had to be marked, there is now registration and electronic controls.

M1 vehicles, i.e. normal passenger cars, are generally not affected by the environmental zones and are simply allowed to enter. No registration is required, no matter how old the vehicle is or what fuel it uses.

M2 and M3 as well as N2 and N3 vehicles do not necessarily need to be registered either. Namely, not if they have Euro standard 5 or 6 and their first registration was after October 2009. N1 vehicles do not need to be registered if they have at least Euro standard 4 and their first registration was after January 2007. For all these vehicles, the Danish authority can in fact automatically register that the vehicles are allowed to enter. 

Vehicles that do not meet these Euro standards, i.e. buses and trucks that do not have at least Euro standard 5 and vans that do not have at least Euro standard 4, are also not allowed to enter.

But when do I need a manual registration? This is only necessary if the authorities cannot directly see that a vehicle complies with the permitted Euro standards when it enters the country. This is the case if the date of first registration indicates a worse Euro standard than the vehicle actually has. As an example: If I want to enter an environmental zone with a diesel bus or truck from 2008 with Euro standard 5, I have to inform the authorities before entering that the vehicle actually has Euro standard 5. If I do not register the vehicle manually, the first registration date of 2008 will result in Euro standard 4 during the inspection. Since this is prohibited for diesel buses and trucks, I would be fined. So for a van with Euro standard 4 (for example from 2006), I also have to do a manual registration to note in the system that the vehicle is allowed to enter. In addition, the Danish authority accepts the installation of particle filters. If, for example, a diesel truck with Euro standard 4 has a particle filter, it can also enter the environmental zones after manual registration.

These rules are indeed somewhat complex and confusing. If you have any questions, you can always contact our service team. You can also find more information on our website.  If you need a manual registration, you can order it here.