C label in 2026: requirements and cities that will limit it
The green label is the most common among modern combustion cars. It gets in almost everywhere today, but dates to restrict it already exist.
Your environmental label
C label
Based on the registration date
| A Coruña | You cannot drive in |
|---|---|
| Albacete | You can drive in |
| Alicante | Yes, with conditions |
| Almería | You can drive in |
| Barcelona | You can drive in |
| Bilbao | You can drive in |
| Burgos | You can drive in |
| Cádiz | You can drive in |
| Cartagena | You can drive in |
| Castellón de la Plana | You can drive in |
| Córdoba | You cannot drive in |
| Donostia / San Sebastián | You can drive in |
| Elche | You can drive in |
| Getafe | You can drive in |
| Girona | You can drive in |
| Granada | You can drive in |
| Jerez de la Frontera | Yes, with conditions |
| L'Hospitalet de Llobregat | You can drive in |
| León | You cannot drive in |
| Lleida | You can drive in |
| Madrid | Only to park |
| Málaga | You can drive in |
| Oviedo | You can drive in |
| Palma | You can drive inchanges on 1 January 2030 |
| Pamplona / Iruña | You can drive in |
| Sabadell | You can drive in |
| Salamanca | Yes, with conditionschanges on 1 January 2039 |
| Sant Cugat del Vallès | You can drive in |
| Santa Cruz de Tenerife | You can drive in |
| Santander | You can drive in |
| Sevilla | You can drive in |
| Tarragona | You can drive in |
| Terrassa | You can drive in |
| València | You can drive in |
| Valladolid | You can drive inchanges on 1 January 2030 |
| Vigo | You can drive in |
| Vitoria-Gasteiz | You can drive in |
| Zaragoza | You can drive in |
How the answer was reached, step by step
- First registered in June 2010: C label under the DGT dates.
- Visitor with an out-of-town plate: free access to 31 of the 38 city zones on this site as of 17 October 2026.
Estimate based on the byelaws and DGT criteria checked on 15 October 2026. The byelaw in force and, for the label, the DGT number-plate lookup have the final word. How we calculate
According to the DGT, the green C label goes to petrol cars and light commercial vehicles with a Euro 4, 5 or 6 standard and to diesels with Euro 6. As a rule of thumb, the DGT cites petrol cars registered from January 2006 and diesels from September 2015, and for vehicles with more than 8 seats and heavy vehicles, those registered from 2014 with Euro VI, whatever the fuel. For motorbikes, Euro 3 and Euro 4 models get the C. With it you can drive freely today in 31 of the 38 cities with zones on this site. The exceptions are Madrid’s Centro district, where a non-resident’s C may only enter to reach a car park, Córdoba’s Old Town, open without a permit only to zero and ECO, and the permit-only historic centres of A Coruña, Alicante, Jerez de la Frontera, León and Salamanca. The byelaws of Palma and Salamanca and Valladolid already set a date from which they will not admit it either, in 2030.
Checked by Radif Partners · Editorial policy · How we calculate
The most debated line: 2015 diesels
For petrol, the 2006 line raises few doubts. For diesel, two years circulate: 2014 and 2015. The DGT says September 2015, when Euro 6 became compulsory for all registrations; new models could be approved to Euro 6 from September 2014. The tool gives the C from September 2015 and warns during the previous twelve months. The 2014-2015 diesel guide explains it with examples.
What the C loses and keeps until 2030
The C pays no surcharge and gets no road-tax relief in the byelaws we have read: relief goes to zero and ECO. In the zones, its horizon is 2030 in cities with long timetables. For a 2016 to 2020 car, that means a decade of unrestricted use in most cities.
C label for diesels: from 2014 or from 2015?
Mapfre writes 2014, other outlets 2015, and the DGT September 2015. Both dates have an explanation, and your car could fall on either side.
2014 or 2015 diesel: B or C?
Label
B label
| Based on | date |
| Result certain | no: look at box V.9 |
The DGT’s official page on the environmental label, updated on 28 October 2025, says that cars and light vans qualify for the C label if they are “diésel a partir de septiembre de 2015” (diesel from September 2015), and its C-label page states the technical criterion: “Diésel EURO 6/VI”. September 2015 is when Euro 6 became compulsory for every new diesel car registered in the European Union; a year earlier, in September 2014, it was already compulsory for approving new models. That is why a diesel registered between September 2014 and August 2015 can be Euro 5, with a B label, or Euro 6, with a C, depending on its model. A 2016 note in the DGT’s magazine referred to diesels “from 2014”, which is where guides still repeating that year come from. For your own car, what counts is the Euro standard on the vehicle register, shown in box V.9 of the technical card and in the DGT number-plate lookup.
Read the details and FAQs
Why two dates are in circulation
EU Euro standards always come in two steps. First they are compulsory to approve a new model: a manufacturer launching a car from September 2014 had to certify it to Euro 6. A year later they are compulsory to register any new car, including older models still on sale: from September 2015 a Euro 5 diesel could no longer be registered. Between the two dates Euro 5 and Euro 6 cars shared the showrooms, sometimes the same model with different engines.
The DGT, which needs a simple rule for drivers, picked the second date: from September 2015 any diesel registered is Euro 6 and gets the C without question. The first date, 2014, lives on in old articles, a 2016 DGT magazine note and insurer or dealer guides that have not been reviewed. Mapfre, Carwow and Conductor Pro write 2014; Que.es writes “diesel after 2015”. Neither year is wrong as such, but 2014 only holds for some cars.
How to settle it in two minutes
There are three ways, from quickest to most reliable. The mini calculator above applies the DGT dates and flags any date between September 2014 and August 2015 as uncertain; if you give it the Euro standard, it uses that directly. Box V.9 of the technical card states the standard your car was approved to. And the DGT’s free online label lookup, with no login, returns from the plate the label the car is entitled to or explains why it has none.
If the DGT lookup and your technical card disagree, the register is what the zone cameras use. It can be corrected: apply to the DGT with the vehicle documents, and once corrected you can buy the matching sticker.
The same with petrol
Petrol has its own grey areas. For the DGT the B starts on 1 January 2001, but many cars registered in 2000 were already Euro 3; and the C starts in January 2006, though some 2005 models were Euro 4. The tool also warns in those years. Work out your car’s label from its engine and date.
Frequently asked questions
My diesel is from January 2015 and the DGT gives it a B: is that a mistake?
Not necessarily. In January 2015 many models approved to Euro 5, which means a B, were still on sale. If box V.9 of your technical card says Euro 6 and the DGT still gives a B, then the register is wrong and you can ask for a correction with the card as evidence.
How do I read the Euro standard if the card only shows a directive number?
Box V.9 may show the reference of the EU emissions directive or regulation instead of the words “Euro 5” or “Euro 6”, sometimes followed by a letter code. The owner’s manual or a dealer can translate it; otherwise the DGT number-plate lookup gives the label directly, with nothing to interpret.
Does the C cut-off affect my diesel in any zone today?
Yes in cities already limiting the B: in Bilbao a B diesel cannot enter during working hours unless you live in the zone, in Madrid’s Centro district and Getafe it may only go to a car park, and in Málaga it will be shut out from 30 November 2026 unless registered there. With a C it gets into all of them.
Do large diesel vans follow the same dates?
For vehicles with more than 8 seats and heavy goods vehicles, the DGT gives the C to Euro VI, with an indicative date of 2014, whatever the fuel. Light vans follow cars, although some heavier N1 vans had an extra year to move to Euro 6.