The Metropolitan register of foreign vehicles and other vehicles authorised to travel in the ZBEs of the metropolis of Barcelona.
The Metropolitan register (Metropolitan Register of Foreign Vehicles and other Authorised Vehicles) is a service for the processing of permits for vehicles to drive within the restricted area of ZBE (low emissions zones) of the metropolis Barcelona, according to the regulations in force.
If you own a vehicle that does not have an environmental label, or if you own a foreign-registered vehicle, the service enables you to obtain information about, apply for and manage — mainly through digital means — the different types of permits to drive in the restricted area.
There are currently 10 types of permits included in the Regulations:
Vehicles for transporting people with reduced mobility: for owners of vehicles transporting people with reduced mobility, in both private and collective transport.
Emergency and essential services: for vehicles providing medical, funeral, civil protection and firefighting services, the police and Spanish security forces.
Vehicles for special services: for adapted vehicles undertaking special activities with temporary access to the ZBE.
Foreign vehicles: for vehicles registered abroad that meet the requirements for traffic in the ZBE.
Daily permits: for all kinds of vehicles in need of occasional access to the ZBE of the metropolis of Barcelona.
Persons diagnosed with illnesses limiting their use of public transport: vehicles for persons diagnosed with illnesses limiting their use of public tranport and who need the private vehicle for their journeys.
Persons undergoing periodic medical treatments: vehicles for persons diagnosed with illnesses that require periodic medical treatments in health centres located within the ZBE of the metropolis of Barcelona.
Vehicles under tests in car workshops: vehicles under test in car workshops shall apply for an authorisations in order to carry out tests to vehicles under custody or to move the vehicle to an ITV station (vehicle inspection station).
Grace period for professional vehicles: for vehicles category M1 and L vehicles which are used for the execution of professional activities by self-employed workers with low income.
Grace period for lorries and buses set to be replaced: this applies to vehicles of N2, N3 and M3 categories that are substituted with a new one that complies with the environmental and technological requirements for driving in the low emissions zones (ZBE).
If you own a vehicle that is affected by the restrictions, you can apply for a single-day permit which allows you to drive in the low emissions zones (ZBE) of the metropolis of Barcelona on the day of your choice. You can register your vehicle and request up to 24 of these permits per day.
Registration for the ZBE metropolitan permit is a one-off procedure. To register, the owner of the vehicle must send an application form to the Metropolitan register.
Once your application has been accepted, you can activate and pay the single-day permits, up to 24 per year, from the user area on the registration website. A single-day permit can be activated up until 11.59 pm on the day after accessing the ZBE. You can also request and pay single-day permits at any post office (Correos), with the correponding management cost.
Exceptionally, single-day permits can be requested two days after access presenting a urgency justificant.
Already requested and paid single-day permits can be modified, but cannot be cancelled. You will need to access the user area on the website with your ID number and password to change any data you have entered, and to apply for and pay for the day permits.
Under exceptional circumstances, in medical emergencies, you can apply for a permit afterwards, within a period of three days, including the day you accessed the ZBE. The vehicle may be subject to a penalty, but you can appeal with documentary proof of a medical emergency and confirmation of the daily permit.
The following vehicles may obtain a VPRM authorisation: vehicles for persons with reduced mobility and vehicles for collective transport for persons with reduced mobility.
You need to request inclusion in the ZBE Register of Authorisations only once. To do this, the owner of the vehicle must submit an application form to the Metropolitan Register.
You can apply for an authorisation to drive in the low emissions zones (ZBE) of the metropolis of Barcelona with vehicles used to provide health care services and funeral services, and with fire engines, and vehicles used by the police, civil protection agencies and national security forces. Those vehicles will be able to access the ZBE while the authorisation is in force.
The application for registration must be submitted by the legal representative of the competent public authority for each of the services, or by an authorised person, or the vehicles must be registered at the Spanish Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT) with the classification by vehicle usage or service criteria coincident with the services described above.
You need to request inclusion in the ZBE Register of Authorisations only once. To do this, the owner of the vehicle must submit an application form to the ZBE Register of Authorisations.
Vehicles registered outside Spain are not classified according to criteria of the DGT environmental label. Therefore, all these vehicles need to be registered before they can drive in the ZBE Rondes de Barcelona.
Vehicles that can prove that they meet the equivalent technological requirements may apply for a long term permit:
Motorcycles, mopeds and other category L light vehicles classified as Euro 2 or higher (typically those first registered after 2003).
Cars (M1) and vans (N1) classified as electric, petrol Euro 3 or higher (typically those first registered after 2000), or diesel Euro 4 or higher (typically those first registered after 2005).
Lorries (N2, N3), buses and coaches (M2, M3): 'electric', 'diesel Euro 4' or higher (typically those first registered after 2005). By way of exception, during the grace period stated in the bylaws, commercial vehicles, buses and coaches are granted a permit, even when they do not meet the environmental standards.
It is necessary to attach the vehicle's documentation, showing the owner, the registration, as well as the type of fuel, the Euro level and the date of first registration. If you do not have the official documentation showing the information about the Euro level, you must demonstrate compliance with emissions levels of NOx and equivalent particles by means of an official document.
Vehicles that do not meet the environmental requirements or need an urgent permit may request one-day permits (up to 24 daily permits per year).
Persons diagnosed with illnesses limiting their use of public transport can apply for inclusion in the ZBE Register of Authorisations. It is not mandatory that applicants are actually the owners of the vehicle, but it only will be granted one vehicle authorisation per applicant.
You can submit the application by filling out the form on the website, by traditional post office mail, in-person at the Metropolitan citizen attention office, or at several local citizen attention offices.
Once compliance with the requirements has been verified, you will be notified of the decision (accepted, denied, or returned as incomplete) within a period of 15 working days.
You only have to apply for inclusion in the Register once through the corresponding form on the website.
If you authorise us to verify your details at other public administrations, and no issues are found, you will not need to provide any additional documentation.
Once compliance with the requirements has been verified, you will be notified of the decision (accepted, denied, or returned as incomplete) within a period of 15 days.
If you are the owner of a M1 or L type of vehicles used to carry out your professional activity, and your personal income is lower than twice the current IPREM index (the official Spanish reference index for income), you can apply for your vehicle to be covered by the grace period, and therefore not be subject to the restrictions in the low emissions zones (ZBE) of the metropolis of Barcelona.
The grace period validity is stated in the bylaws of each low emissions zone. The grace period for the ZBE Rondes de Barcelona ended on 31st March 2021.
You only have to apply for inclusion in the Register once through the corresponding form on the website, by traditional post office mail or in person.
If you authorise us to verify your details at other public administrations, and no issues are found, you will not need to provide any additional documentation.
Once compliance with the requirements has been verified, you will be notified of the decision (accepted, denied, or returned as incomplete) within a period of 15 days.
The fiscal byelaw of the AMB establishes two types of authorisations: authorisations that are free of charge and authorisations with a specific cost.
The authorisations that are free of charge include vehicles for people with reduced mobility (VPRM), vehicles used to provide services (healthcare services, funeral services, fire engines, and vehicles used by the police, civil protection agencies and national security forces). Temporary authorisations for special activities or special vehicles are also free of charge. While none of these vehicles is required to pay a fee, they do need to be included in the ZBE Register of Authorisations to avoid being fined.
Authorisations for which a fee is payable are subdivided into two categories which may complement each other and take into account cases of people with low income.
Single-Day permits, up to 10 permits per year, for those vehicles that cannot obtain an environmental label from the Spanish Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT). Each single-day permit to drive in the low emissions zones (ZBE) of the metropolis of Barcelona has an associated fee, revisable, annually published. From January 2022 cost of daily permits is 5€ for cars and motorcycles and 6€ for vans, lorries, coaches and buses. However, reduced prices have been established for persons who live inside the ZBE areas and have low incomes. If you own a polluting vehicle (L, M1 or N1 without the DGT environmental label) that is registered in the area of ZBE of the metropolis of Barcelona and you can prove that your personal income is lower than 2 times the current IPREM index (the official Spanish reference index for income), the cost of the fee is 2€. Single-day permits are free of charge if the applicant’s income is lower than 1.1 times the current IPREM index.
Permits for foreign-registered vehicles (non-Spanish), without the enviromental label set by the Spanish Directorate-General for Traffic (DGT). For vehicles complying with the same technological requirements that apply to vehicles registered in Spain to drive inside the low emissions zones of the metropolis of Barcelona, an administration fee of 7€ is payable for a verification procedure and for registration to the ZBE Register of Authorisations. Once registered, vehicles are allowed to freely drive inside the ZBE of the metropolis of Barcelona. Foreign vehicles that do not comply with the above-mentioned requirements must request inscription to the Register under the category of single-day permits (registration with no cost associated). Once they are included in the Register, they can apply for single-day permits (up to 10 permits per year) and pay the corresponding fee: 5€/authorisation for cars and motorcycles, and 7€/authorisation for vans, lorries, coaches and buses.
To complete an application submitted through the from on the website, you will need to sign it with a digital id. The accepted certificates are:
For natural persons - idCAT Mòbil, idCAT, Cl@ve PIN, Cl@ve permanente, DNI electrónico and electronic certificates such as that issued by the FNMT (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre)
For legal persons - electronic certificates such as that issued by the FNMT (Fábrica Nacional de Moneda y Timbre).
In the case of registration of foreign vehicles no signature is required.
Persons undergoing periodic medical treatments in health centres located within the low emissions zones (ZBE) of the metropolis of Barcelona can apply for inclusion of a vehicle in the ZBE Register of Authorisations. It is not mandatory that applicants are actually the owners of the vehicle, but it will only be granted one vehicle authorisation per applicant.
You can submit the application by filling out the form on the website, by traditional post office mail, in-person at the Metropolitan citizen attention office, or at several local citizen attention offices.
Once compliance with the requirements has been verified, you will be notified of the decision (accepted, denied, or returned as incomplete) within a period of 15 days.