New city restrictions for 2023: bans and fines for cars with a B label

The city centres have been suffering from several restrictions on the circulation of vehicles with combustion engines for years, but these restrictions are set to become tougher from 2023 onwards. The DGT plans to introduce new restriction measures for vehicles with combustion engines in city centres in cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants.

The vehicles most affected will be those with the B environmental label, which identifies the most polluting petrol or diesel vehicles. In the case of petrol cars, this label applies to vehicles registered from 2000 onwards, under the Euro 3 standard. If we talk about diesel vehicles, those registered from 2006 onwards, with the Euro 4 and Euro 5 standards, fall under this label.

Vehicles with more than 8 passenger seats and commercial vehicles registered from 2005 onwards also count as vehicles with the B environmental label, under the Euro 5 standard.

The new Climate Change Law will require cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants, or with more than 20,000 inhabitants that have problems with polluting emissions, as well as all island territories, to limit the circulation of these vehicles in their city centres.

These low-emission zones must be in operation from 2023. They will affect 149 cities across Spain, which together account for 53% of the country’s population. The DGT has already prepared a sign to identify these zones and the ban on circulation of this type of vehicle with a B label.

The sign shows a car emitting polluting gases and the permitted labels: 0, ECO and C. The measure will leave the specific regulation of these restrictions in the hands of the town councils, although the DGT recommends that vehicles without an environmental label and cars with a B label not be allowed to circulate in these specially protected zones.

The fine for failing to comply with these restricted traffic zones will be 200 euros. Although the date for the creation of the restricted zones is 2023, fines may already be issued from March 2022 in the zones already established with this restriction. It is therefore important to find out about the regulations of each city and check what type of restriction applies in each of them.