The fact that the DGT has not sent you the sticker at the time does not mean that all is lost…
If yours is one of the (mis)called A vehicles, you need to access restricted areas and you are not willing to change it for a more modern one, you can resort to one of these three tricks so that a car without a DGT label can enter in a Low Emission Zone (LEZ).
The DGT’s environmental classification leaves out gasoline-powered vehicles that do not comply with Euro 3 or earlier regulations, normally registered before 2001. Diesel vehicles that do not comply with Euro 4 or earlier regulations do not have an environmental label either, usually registered before 2006.
There are four DGT stickers: Zero Emissions, ECO, C and B. There is no A label, although it is the one that is figuratively attributed to all vehicles that are not classified.
These are also the most affected by the Climate Change Law, which imposes that all municipalities with more than 50,000 inhabitants must have a ZBE with restricted access for the most polluting models. Yes, exceptions are established; but if you do not comply with them, your car will not be able to enter without being penalized unless you resort to these tricks…
1. Make it historic
In order to register a vehicle as historic, it is essential that it is over 30 years old. In addition, you must have the ITV in force in order to demonstrate that it has not been subjected to major modifications.
Although its emissions remain the same as before it became a historic vehicle, a car with the VH badge has free access to the LEZ. This is one of the novelties included in the new Regulation on Historic Vehicles prepared by Traffic.
2. ‘Pass it’ to LPG
Going from not having a DGT sticker to sporting the ECO label suddenly is possible if the fuel used by the vehicle is changed, in this case, to Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG).
However, this option is only available for cars that comply with the latest Euro emissions, that is, those registered from January 2006 if they are gasoline and, in the case of diesel, those put on sale from September 2006. 2015. In this link you have everything you need to know to convert your car to LPG.
3. Get the DGT sticker
This is not a matter of stubbornness, if your car does not meet the requirements, no matter how hard you try, you will not get a sticker that opens the doors of the LEZs.
Now, you should know that although when the DGT set the environmental classification criteria it did so based on the registration date, but there are vehicles that due to age could not have the sticker but it does correspond to them due to emissions.
All those vehicles that comply with the Euro 3 and Euro 4 regulations are entitled to wear the B label (the yellow sticker) and, therefore, have access to the ZBE (although in some, such as Madrid Centro, they have certain restrictions. ).
Taking this into account is especially important if yours is an imported car, since many Europeans applied the Euro 3 and Euro 4 emission standards before Spain. If you are in this group, here is the information you need to request the DGT sticker.