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Exemptions and dispensations

Vans for private use

Can your van not get a particulate filter retrofitted?

In special cases you can register an exemption or apply for a dispensation. Read about your options below.

Situations where you can register an exemption

If an open, approved particulate filter cannot be retrofitted to your vehicle, you can as the owner or user register an exemption in these situations:

Resident in a low emission zone

You are the owner or user of a van and were resident in a low emission zone before the date when your vehicle became subject to the low emission zone rules.

You can get an exemption for 12 months after your vehicle became subject to the low emission zone rules. The exemption only applies to the low emission zone in which you reside.

You must declare in good faith when registering that the information provided is correct.

Visiting a hospital or a medical specialist

You or a close family member are the owner or user of a van, which is included in the low emission zone rules, and have a medical appointment for treatment at a hospital or a medical specialist in a low emission zone.

The exemption must always be registered on miljoezoner.dk before the van is used in a low emission zone, otherwise you risk receiving a fixed-penalty notice.

The exemption applies to the low emission zone in which the hospital or medical specialist is located. An exemption can be registered for a period from 1 to 14 continuous days. It is possible to register this type of exemption multiple times, if relevant.

Having a medical appointment also includes treatment courses where there is a verbal or other agreement on attendance for treatment at a hospital or at a medical specialist. When registering this exemption, you must declare in good faith that you have been called in for treatment and the information provided is correct.

Treatment can, for example, be driving to surgeries, blood tests, visits to your general practitioner and prior agreements at the emergency room.

If you are unsure whether your errand meets the criteria for the exemption, you can contact the Danish Environmental Protection Agency.

Vehicles for the disabled

You are the owner or user of a handicap vehicle registered for private use, or you have a blue parking card for the disabled.

This exemption applies for 48 months from the moment the exemption is registered.

Is your Danish vehicle not registered in the Danish Register of Motor Vehicles (DMR) with the permit "disabled vehicle", you must upload documentation that financial support has been granted for the purchase of the vehicle in accordance with section 114 of the Social Services Act. For non-Danish vehicles, which is registered as a disabled vehicle in the respective country's vehicle register, you you must upload documentation that financial support has been granted for the purchase of the vehicle.

Please, note that you must create a new registration of exemption in case you need to use your handicap parking card with another vehicle. This must be done before using the vehicle in the low emission zones. When registering a new exemption, the existing exemption registered with the handicap parking card in question, is deleted.

You must create a new registration of exemption in case your handicap parking card expires.

You must declare in good faith when registering that the information provided is correct.

Night-time work within a low emission zone

You are the owner or user of a van and carry out night-time work within a low emission zone, and you can document this by submitting a declaration for night-time work from your employer. Note that the declaration from your employer for night work must not be older than six months at the time of registration of the exemption.

The exemption for night-time work applies only between the hours of 20:00 and 10.00.

The registration for night-time work is valid for six months, after which you must make a new registration of night-time work with a new declaration from your employer.

You must declare in good faith when registering that the information provided is correct.

Register an exemption

See your exemption

Have you already registered an exemption?

Can you get an exemption?

If you are in one of the situations described at the top of the page, you can register an exemption for your van if all three criteria below are met:

There is no open, approved particulate filter available on the market that can be fitted to the vehicle.
You pay full or partial tax on use of private vehicles.
Your vehicle is subject to the low emission zone rules.

When you register an exemption, it is automatically examined whether an approved, open particulate filter is available for your van.

If your vehicle appears on the Danish Environmental Protection Agency's list of vehicles where an approved, open particulate filter is available, you must upload documentation stating otherwise. You can use the declaration below, which must be signed by a mechanic or a particulate filter fitter, and attach it to the registration. The declaration can also be used in situations where a particulate filter e.g. is in backorder and therefore cannot be retrofitted at the point of time when the declaration is signed.

It is not sufficient documentation that there is no original particulate filter according to the vehicle manufacturer.

Download declaration in danish

How to register an exemption

A registration must always be completed before a van is used in a low emission zone otherwise you risk receiving a penalty charge notice.

Have the necessary documentation ready when you register an exemption. You can be asked to provide/upload the following:

The vehicle’s registration number
Contact information
Documentation for the selected exemption
A power of attorney, if you are not the owner or user of the vehicle.

Once the registration has been completed, you will receive a receipt. The exemption takes effect immediately after you have completed the registration.

Random sample control

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency conducts sample controls of registrations and can decide that a registration of an exemption is not valid, if the conditions for the exemption have not been met.

You can read more in in statutory order nr. 1066 of 3 August 2023 on requirements for diesel-powered lorries, busses, vans and passenger cars in municipally determined low emission zones etc. section 27 and 29 (2).

Can you get a dispensation?

In special cases, it is possible for vans where private use tax is paid in full or in part to get a dispensation for a short time-limited period. To receive a dispensation, all four criteria below must be met:

an approved, open particulate filter cannot be fitted to the vehicle (requires documentation from a mechanic/particulate filter fitter)
a public activity of societal interest cannot be carried out
the vehicle cannot be replaced with another vehicle
other circumstances warrant, including that a dispensation will be of secondary importance for the environment and health.

It is not sufficient documentation that there is no original particulate filter available according to the vehicle manufacturer.

As an owner or user of a van, you can apply for dispensation from the particulate filter requirement based on expropriation. Dispensation granted on the basis of expropriation presupposes that the owner or user is atypically severely affected compared to the affected group as a whole.

The Danish Environmental Protection Agency must, upon application from the owner or user of a vehicle, grant dispensation from the particulate filter requirement if the requirement affects the applicant in such a way that fulfilling the requirement would entail expropriation.

How to apply for a dispensation

Start your application by clicking on the button below.

When you have applied for dispensation, you will receive a decision from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency. If you use your vehicle in a low emission zone while your application is being processed, you risk receiving a fixed-penalty notice.

Apply

You will receive a decision from the Danish Environmental Protection Agency in your digital mailbox. In case you do not have Digital Post or are exempt, the decision will be sent per paper post. It may take up to three months for the case to be processed, but the Danish Environmental Protection Agency will strive to process your application as soon as possible.