Foreign vehicles
Description
Vehicles registered outside Spain are not classified according to the environmental criteria of the Spanish Traffic Authority DGT. For this reason, all foreign vehicles must be registered before they can drive in the low emission zone.
Requirements
Natural or legal persons owning foreign-registered vehicles may apply for inclusion of their vehicle in Barcelona's low emission zone Register.
Vehicles that meet the environmental requirements will be granted a long-term permit (valid for two years) to drive in Barcelona's low emission zone.
To obtain the long-term permit, the vehicle must meet the European emissions standards as listed here.
Motorcycles and mopeds (category L): classified as Euro 2 or higher (typically those registered after 2003).
Private cars (M1) and vans (N1): electric, petrol Euro 3 or higher (typically those registered after 2000), or diesel Euro 4 or higher (typically those registered after 2005).
Lorries (N2, N3), buses and coaches (M2, M3): electric or LPG, Euro 4 petrol or higher (typically those registered after 2005).
Buses, coaches and vehicles for goods transport that fail to meet environmental standards are granted a grace period and will be authorised to drive in the low emission zone until 1 January 2021.
Vehicles which are not eligible for any of the environmental labels issued by the DGT, and which are not granted a grace period, may apply for up to ten daily permits, to be used for occasional access to the low emission zone of Rondes de Barcelona.
Procedure
Interested parties may apply to have a vehicle included in the Metropolitan Register of Foreign Vehicles and other Authorised Vehicles.
After checking that all the requirements have been meet, applicants will be informed of their vehicle's inclusion in the Register and of the granting of authorisation to drive in the low emission zone.
Additonal documentation:
For long-term permits:
If the vehicle qualifies for a long-term permit because of its typology, the kind of fuel and date of first registration, the applicant will need to attach the vehicle documents that state the owner, the registration number (number plate), the type of fuel and the Euro emissions category. If the applicant does not have the official documentation containing these details, they will need to provide an official document issued by the vehicle manufacturer (in Catalan, Spanish or English) to prove compliance with equivalent emissions levels of NOx and particulate matter.
Schedule
The application for registration of the vehicle will be processed (accepted, denied or returned as incomplete) within 15 business days of submission. During this period, until the moment you receive confirmation of inclusion in the Register, the vehicle is not considered to be registered and is not allowed to enter the low emission zone. This applies both to vehicles that meet the environmental standards, and to those that do not and are seeking to obtain daily permits.
If the user does not deregister the vehicle, it will remain included in the Register for a period of two years.
Price
Since, in the case of foreign-registered vehicles, compliance with the requirements cannot be checked automatically, a one-off administration fee of 5 euros will be charged for the initial registration of the vehicle.
For daily permits, there is a 2-euro fee to cover the activation of the authorisation for the day in question.
https://www.zbe.barcelona/es/