Regulations and vehicles

Owners of non-Danish diesel-powered vehicles, which are registered the first time before the current date limits, must register the vehicle with documentation for the vehicle being fitted with a diesel particulate filter or the Euro standard in order for it to be used legally in the low emission zones.

You must register your vehicle no later than on the same day that you enter the low emission zone.

If you fail to register your passenger car with particulate filter, along with the required documentation mentioned below, you can be charged a fixed-penalty notice of 1.500 DKK.

It is possible to get the fixed-penalty reduced to 1.000 DKK if you subsequently forward documentation that the vehicle applies with the low emission zone rules.

Passenger cars that do not meet the date requirements and do not have a particulate filter or meet the Euro standard requirements do not have access to the low emission zones, and will be charged a penalty of DKK 1,500.

The particulate filter requirement is met in case your passenger car is at least Euro 5 or has a particulate filter fitted. In the Danish Register of Motor Vehicles (DMR) is it possible for owners of Danish vehicles to see the Euro standard of your car or whether it has a particulate filter fitted. For non-Danish vehicles, the information will often appear on the registration certificate or in the respective country's vehicle register.

The rules apply to both Danish and Non-Danish passenger cars.

The fixed-penalty for passenger cars used illegally in the Danish low emission zones is DKK 1,500.

Retrofitting a particulate filter in Danish passenger cars

You must contact a workshop if you want to retrofit a diesel particulate filter to your passenger car. Once the filter is fitted, it must be registered by an inspection centre. At the inspection centre, the filter is tested, and the inspection centre also ensures that the filter is registered in the Danish Register of Motor Vehicles (DMR).

There are no requirements for the type of particulate filter that must be fitted to a vehicle in order for it to meet the low emission zone requirements. Passenger cars may get booth open and closed particulate filters retrofitted.

Please, note that not all particulate filters are approved for all car models, which is why some passenger cars may need to be retrofitted with a more expensive, closed particulate filter if they are to be used in the low emission zones.

Open particulate filters are cheaper than closed filters, but they do not filtrate equally efficient. If approved for your vehicle, open particulate filters can usually be ordered and installed by a mechanic, while closed particulate filters must be ordered from specialist particulate filter fitters and can be installed on the vast majority of vehicles.

If your car gets a particulate filter, you will be able to save DKK 1,000 in taxes per year.

The detailed rules for retrofitting particulate filters for passenger cars are laid down in:

If your passenger car has a factory-fitted or retrofitted particulate filter that is not properly registered, you can have it registered by taking it for an inspection. You can read more on the Danish Road Traffic Authority’s website.

Possibility for exemption or dispensation

In special cases, it is possible to register an exemption or apply for a dispensation. Please, note that some exemption options require that it is not possible to retrofit a particulate filter to the vehicle.

The rules in the low emission zones do not apply to:

• Vehicles registered in Denmark as vintage. This must be stated in the Danish Register of Motor Vehicles (DMR).

• Non-Danish vehicles, which are more than 30 years old.

• Vehicles used by the military, police, emergency services or similar emergency services, if these vehicles do not usually drive in a low emission zone and there is an extraordinary need to use the vehicle in a low emission zone, or the vehicle is used for training activities.
  
  

  The Danish Environmental Protection Agency must be contacted as soon as possible after an extraordinary need for use of a vehicle in a low emission zone or use of a vehicle for training activities. For further guidance the Danish Environmental Protection Agency must also be contacted.