Palma Low Emission Zone: ZBE Rules and the DGT Sticker
Sandor Farkas
Founder and editor of Mallorca Plus
Helps expats and residents navigate authorities, housing and everyday life on Mallorca.
Since 1 July 2025, cameras have been monitoring the entrances to Palma's low emission zone. If you drive into the Zona de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) in the city centre without an approved sticker, the fine arrives automatically through plate recognition: EUR 200, or half that if you pay within 20 days. For residents with a Spanish-registered car, the situation is usually quickly sorted. It gets trickier with foreign plates, because those do not appear in the Spanish sticker register at all. Here you will read where the zone runs, who may enter, how to get the Etiqueta and which special rule has applied to foreign plates since March 2026. For an overview of all the important traffic rules in Spain, see our guide.
At a glance
The ZBE in the centre of Palma has been camera-enforced since 1 July 2025. Until the end of 2026, all vehicles with a Spanish B, C, ECO or Cero sticker may enter. Vehicles without a sticker pay a EUR 200 fine, reduced to EUR 100. Since March 2026, foreign plates need an online registration, which must be requested at least 5 days before entering.
The Zona de Bajas Emisiones (ZBE) is the low emission zone in the centre of Palma. It covers the old town inside the Avenidas ring including the seafront, and since 22 December 2024 it has regulated which vehicles may enter, drive and park there. The legal basis is Spain's climate change law 7/2021, which requires cities with more than 50,000 inhabitants to set up such a zone.
Where the low emission zone runs
Palma's low emission zone covers the area inside the big ring roads. The boundary is formed by the Avingudes and the waterfront road: Avinguda Gabriel Roca, Passeig Mallorca, Avinguda Portugal, Avinguda d'Alemanya, Comte de Sallent, Gran i General Consell, Plaça d'Espanya, Alexandre Rosselló, Gabriel Alomar and Adolfo Suárez. The ring roads themselves are not part of the zone. So you can still drive around the outside without needing a sticker.
The city shows an interactive map with the exact boundary on its official site mobipalma.mobi. The entrances are marked with the blue and red ZBE sign.
Who may currently enter
Until 31 December 2026 the rule is: all vehicles with a Spanish environmental sticker in category B (yellow), C (green), ECO or Cero may enter the zone. Only vehicles without any sticker are locked out. That affects petrol cars first registered before 2001 and diesels before 2006. Motorcycles and mopeds may still enter without a sticker during a transition period until the end of 2026.
Warning: From 2027 the B sticker is out
On 1 January 2027, Palma tightens the rules: from then on, vehicles with the yellow B sticker may no longer enter the zone either. That hits petrol cars from 2001 to 2005 and diesels from 2006 to 2013. From 2030 the green C sticker is excluded as well. If you drive an older car and regularly need to get into the centre, factor that into your next purchase.
There are also exemptions that work even without an eligible sticker:
- Residents registered (empadronados) in the zone can have their vehicle registered
- Public car parks (including Via Roma, Plaça Major, Parc de la Mar) can be reached via signposted routes without a permit
- Fixed access routes apply for Clínica Rotger, Mutua Balear and the Hospital General
- Hotel guests staying overnight are registered through the hotel
- Vehicles for people with reduced mobility and historic vehicles can apply for a permit
Important for everyone living in the centre: the ACIRE areas inside the zone continue unchanged. A ZBE authorisation does not replace an ACIRE permit, and vice versa.
Fines: What a violation costs
Entering without authorisation counts as a serious offence and costs EUR 200. As usual with Spanish traffic fines, the amount is halved to EUR 100 if you pay within 20 days. Enforcement is not done by police officers at the roadside but by cameras at every entrance. They read the plate and query the register of the traffic authority DGT to see which sticker is assigned to the vehicle.
That has a practical consequence: a sticker on the windscreen is not necessary in Palma. What counts is the register entry alone. You can check for free whether your vehicle has a sticker, and which one, using the DGT sticker lookup by plate number.
How to get the Etiqueta
The Etiqueta Ambiental is the physical sticker for your vehicle's sticker category. You do not need it for the cameras in Palma, but it is still worthwhile for trips to the mainland: in Madrid, Barcelona and other cities the sticker must be visibly displayed. You can buy it in three places, in each case on presentation of the vehicle registration document (Permiso de Circulación):
| Posten | Kosten | Dauer |
|---|---|---|
| Etiqueta at Correos (post office) | 6 € | immediately |
| Etiqueta at authorised garages and gestorías | from 5 € | immediately |
| Fine for entering without authorisation | 200 € | per violation |
| Reduced if paid within 20 days | 100 € | per violation |
Which sticker does my car get? The DGT decides that based on fuel type and first registration: petrol cars from 2006 and diesels from 2014 get the green C, older vehicles the yellow B, hybrids and gas vehicles ECO, and pure electric cars the blue Cero. You do not have to apply for the classification; it is automatically in the register.
Foreign plates: Registration instead of a sticker
Vehicles with foreign registration are not classified in the DGT register. The camera finds no sticker for the plate and treats the entry as a violation. After months of criticism, the city adjusted the procedure: by decree of 13 March 2026 (published in the official gazette on 24 March), foreign vehicles can now apply for a temporary permit, provided they meet the zone's emissions requirements.
Apply for registration online
You will find the form on mobipalma.mobi under "Vehículos extranjeros". Have your registration document and plate number ready.
Allow at least 5 days lead time
The application must be filed no later than 5 calendar days before the planned entry. Without a confirmed registration, the zone stays off limits.
Valid for 30 days
The permit is valid for 30 calendar days from the requested entry date. After that, you file a new application if needed.
For a short visit, that is manageable. If you drive around the island permanently on foreign plates, you are in a bad position in the long run, quite apart from the low emission zone: once you move your residence here, you are required to re-register the car anyway. How that works and what it costs is in our guide to re-registering a car on Mallorca. The deadlines that apply to a foreign-registered car on Mallorca are summarised separately. After re-registration, your car gets a Spanish sticker under the same model-year rules as above.
Tip: City centre without your own car
If you only need to get into the centre occasionally, you can sidestep the whole issue: the car parks on the edge of the zone can be reached without a permit, and the EMT city bus runs into the centre from every district. Read more in our post on public transport on Mallorca.
Conclusion
Palma's low emission zone has been live since July 2025 and is enforced by camera without gaps. For most residents with a Spanish-registered car, little changes until the end of 2026, because B, C, ECO and Cero may still enter. It gets serious from January 2027, when the B sticker is excluded. Foreign plates have needed the online registration with 5 days' notice since March 2026. If you live here permanently, do not put off re-registration, even though waiting times are currently long. The latest on that is in our post on the car re-registration backlog on Mallorca.