Where should DGT environmental labels be placed?

With the arrival of 2023, cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants have set up a Low Emission Zone, which regulates the circulation of polluting vehicles. This means that some vehicles will have their entry restricted. To properly identify those vehicles that cannot and must not circulate through these zones and those that can, the DGT environmental labels exist.

We have known about these labels for quite some time, and we know which cars correspond to each one. Yet, despite this, many drivers still do not display this label on their windscreen. Does everyone know which label corresponds to their car and where they must officially place it?

Five categories, four labels

There are five categories, although only four labels are usually seen. Label A is not usually displayed, as it refers to the oldest cars, and there are probably very few cars that fall into this category. These are the most polluting cars, registered before 2001 in the case of petrol engines and diesel cars registered before 2006.

The B label is yellow and applies to petrol-engined cars registered after January 2001 and diesel-engined cars registered in January 2006. The C label is green and corresponds to petrol cars registered from January 2006 and diesel cars registered from January 2015.

The ECO label is for hybrid and mild-hybrid vehicles. It also applies to vehicles that can run on LPG, LNG and CNG. It is also applied to plug-in hybrids with a range of less than 40 kilometres. Finally, the 0 label is blue and applies to electric cars, hydrogen fuel cell cars and plug-in hybrids with a range of more than 40 kilometres.

The labels can be purchased at Correos post offices, on their website or at many workshops. They cost five euros plus VAT, and to obtain one you must present the vehicle’s registration document and your ID card.

Where should it be placed?

The DGT environmental sticker must be placed on the inside of the windscreen, always in the lower right-hand corner. Until now, it has not been mandatory to display the label in the car. But from this year, when the Low Emission Zones have been established, many town councils have made it mandatory to physically display the label in the car. The fines for not displaying it can be considerable, and so can the penalty for not displaying it correctly.

In this case, if officers consider that it obstructs visibility through the windscreen, it can lead to a fine of 200 euros, so it is best to make sure where it is going to be placed.