Description
What is the intent of the Umwelt-Pickerl certificate?
Cleaner air for citizens in Austria’s cities. This is the objective of the environmental zones, which so far have been created in 6 of the 9 federal provinces. The environmental sticker reduces emissions of fine dust and nitrogen oxides (NOx). So far, however, this only affects delivery traffic, as this is the main source of harmful exhaust gases in Austria. An extension of passenger transport to cars and buses is very likely in the future, as the requirements of the EU Directive on particulate matter and NOx are not yet met in Austria.
Since 01.01.2015, the environmental sticker “Umwelt-Pickerl” has been introduced in Austria, mandatory for all trucks, regardless of fuel type and permissible total weight, if they intend to enter one of the environmental zones. This also includes so-called tax passenger cars registered as N1 trucks.
Mandatory cities
In the following cities or areas there are one or more environmental zones and the Austrian environmental sticker is mandatory: AuĂŸerfern, Burgenland, Linz, Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Vienna.
Appearance
The environmental sticker, also known as the exhaust gas sticker, exists in 6 colors: black, red, yellow, green, blue, violet and measures 50mm x 100mm. The colors represent the respective European standards: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Each sticker has its own registered serial number. This number can be traced back to the issuing office by fraud protection authorities.
The letters P, M, N, D, B, A are located separately in the Euro standard. P means particulate filter, M for M class vehicles for passenger transport, N for N class vehicles for freight transport, D for diesel powered vehicles, B for gasoline powered vehicles and A for alternative energy powered vehicles.
The last 6 digits of the chassis number are written or punched into the sticker. In addition, there are holes in the corresponding letters.
Affected Vehicles
The following vehicles are affected by the low emission zones in Austria and require an environmental sticker upon entry:
Vans (N1), trucks (N2), heavy trucks (N3)
Motorcycles such as motorcycles, passenger cars (except tax cars), buses or agricultural and forestry machines are not affected. All vehicles can, however, voluntarily acquire an environmental sticker and thus underline the “ecological cleanliness” of the vehicle.
Which sticker to choose?
General exceptions occur for:
• Emergency vehicle
• Public service vehicles
• Agricultural and forestry vehicles
• Airport administration specified vehicles
• Public interest vehicles (individual assessment), e.g. amusement park cars
Individual exceptions
The Austrian environmental badge, mandatory for trucks to drive in Austrian environmental zones, requires the EURO 1 standard for the vehicle. If this is not the case, because the vehicle is not equipped with a particle filter or even if it is, it does not meet the requirements of the EURO 1 standard, an exceptional authorization may be requested for the vehicle. This authorization is usually limited in time and will be issued in the form of a 15-20 cm IG-L sign.
The issuance of exceptional authorization is at the discretion of the competent environmental agencies of the federal state or municipality.
To apply for an exceptional permit, the Austrian environmental authorities need the following information:
Reasons why an exceptional authorization should be granted
Vehicle information including current EURO standard
EURO standards for other vehicles in the applicant’s fleet
Economic evidence justifying why the vehicle cannot be equipped with a particulate filter
The above information may be provided in English or German.
Beantragung von Ausnahmen
There are exceptions to all rules, which can be applied by the competent environmental agencies. The exceptional authorization is valid for a specific period of time or for a specific trip and for one or more of the applicant’s vehicles. You will find more details in paragraph §14 (3) of the IGL-L 2003. If an exceptional authorization has been granted, the vehicle in question receives an IG-L signal from the environmental authorities.
The laying of the IG-L board
Fixing the IG-L board must be done as follows:
For trucks over 3.5 tonnes, a white round plate must be affixed next to the registration plate at the front and rear of the vehicle.
For car convoys, a sticker with a diameter of 20 cm must be affixed next to the number plate at the front and rear of the vehicle.
For small trucks of up to 3.5 tons, a plate affixed to the side of the plate at the rear of the vehicle is sufficient. In this case, the IG-L signal can be smaller (the diameter must however be at least 15cm).
