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How much are the penalties for the environmental zones?

Entering the European environmental zones without a sticker and registration can be expensive. Here is an overview of the fines and why it pays to enter the environmental zones well informed and with the correct sticker.

With fines of up to 2250 euros, the Dutch environmental zones are probably the most expensive. Even though no prior registration or sticker is required here - with the exception of the Maasvlakte low emission zone at the port of Rotterdam - a violation, i.e. driving into the zone with a vehicle that does not comply with the rules of the low emission zone, can be very expensive.  

However, in other countries such as Great Britain, Denmark, Spain and Austria, fines of up to about two thousand euros are also incurred if the correct registration or sticker is not presented.

In other countries, such as Belgium and France, the penalties are relatively mild. Here, however, an offence still costs up to 350 euros, so it is definitely not a bargain that you want to accept on a holiday trip or when visiting relatives and friends. In Germany, the penalties are the lowest in Europe. It only costs 80 euros to enter a country without a green sticker. Sweden and Finland are close behind with 100 euros.

If a truck enters a French low emission zone without the correct sticker, the authorities can even confiscate the vehicle. No freight forwarder would want to take this risk, which guarantees a delivery failure.

Whether it's only 80 euros or several thousand, it pays to be correctly informed before the journey or a haulage trip and to have all the necessary registrations electronically stored and stickers on the windscreen. Since the stickers are valid indefinitely, and many registrations are also valid for several years, the purchase only needs to be done once to save yourself the hassle of fines and have a worry-free journey. To see at a glance which registrations and stickers you need, and where you may simply not be allowed to enter with your vehicle, download the Green-Zones app now.

By the way: In Italy, the penalties are probably the most confusing, just like the environmental zones themselves. Each municipality has its own rules and costs. With fines averaging 180 to 200 euros, it can get really expensive here if you drive through several low emission zones on your journey and are asked to pay several times.