How and Why You Should Obtain your Eco Sticker

Although obtaining and displaying the Eco Badge is voluntary, it is becoming less of a choice on account of the benefits, as cities and towns start to use the classification to reduce pollution causing congestion.

Early in October, Madrid restricted access to parts of the city, preventing more polluting vehicles from entering, with only those displaying the eco-friendly badge allowed access, or a charge was levied on the vehicle owner, think of it more of a congestion charge, rather than a fine.

It is also becoming a requirement in order to sell your vehicle through some companies, and so the need is certainly increasing without mandatory enforcement.

The origin of the labels resides in the National Air Quality Plan 2013-2016. Its purpose is to classify vehicles according to the pollution they are emitting. Their purchase is possible at any post office, although you may have to wait a while depending on your vehicle due to the high demand.

In order to obtain your eco sticker, you have to go to the post office with the vehicle’s registration certificate, the license plate number and ID of the owner or the authorisation of the owner if you are obtaining it on their behalf. The national vehicle database will be able to ascertain whether your vehicle is suitable for one of the four categories, Zero emissions, Eco, C and B.

You can also check the categorisation yourself by entering the registration number on the website set up by the DGT.

Once you have your sticker you then have to put it in the correct place on the windscreen, which , according to the DGT, is the lower right corner of the front windshield, as you’re looking out, so the ITV would be at the top right, the eco sticker at the bottom right. If this is not possible, any visible site is accepted, but may cause problems if it is not in the exact or visible location where observers might check.