After two years extending a measure that had been scheduled for 2022, the Madrid City Council has confirmed that cars without a label that pay their taxes in the city will be able to circulate throughout (almost) the entire city. In these moments, They can do it under certain conditions but it is nothing more than an extension in the application of a measure that should have been activated in 2024. Now they want this to be forever.
What has happened? Borja Carabante, head of the mobility area of the Madrid City Council, has confirmed that the city will allow cars without a label to circulate in the city. In a press release that can be read at Europa Pressthe Popular Group of Madrid points out that the measure has to be approved with a modification of the Mobility Ordinance in which an amendment from this political group will be included.
The modification has to be supported by more political groups but Vox’s support seems guaranteed. With this change, cars without a label that pay the circulation tax in the city will be able to move without restrictions except in the special protection zones, applied in Plaza Elíptica and the most central part of the city, what was once Madrid Central.
But does this already apply? Yes and no. Right now, cars without a label cannot circulate in Madrid unless they are registered and pay their taxes in the city. Since 2024, cameras monitor all entrances to the city and only cars with DGT A badges (without label) those who pay the tax in Madrid can circulate.
This measure should have been extended to all vehicles, without exception, without DGT labeling in 2024. That is, regardless of where their owners lived or where taxes were paid, these cars would be prohibited from circulating. What we want now is to give them free rein without the need for extensions.
Extensions? Yes, extensions. December 12, 2024the Madrid City Council confirmed that the total ban on cars without a label was not going to apply. He then assured that the measure had a great impact on citizens and that since the air quality limits had been met, one more year unlabeled cars could circulate in Madrid as long as they paid their taxes in the capital.
Therefore, in 2025 there was a free pass for these cars and 2026 should be the year in which the ban was confirmed. But as happened last year, On December 11, 2025, the message was repeated: Cars without a label will be able to circulate for another year. This time, however, it was pointed out that the impact of these cars was minimal because they were only counted about 14,000 vehicles who found themselves in this situation.
From 1.2 million to a few. The controversy over the extensions has flown over the months of December 2024 and 2025. In August 2024, Associated European Motorists (AEA) had been warning that the measure left 1.2 million cars outside the city. As we tell you in Xatakathe figure was inaccurate and was due to errors in the vehicle count. In reality, we were talking about 246,000 cars.
Last year, the doubt was raised again in the last days of the year and on December 11 it was confirmed: a new extension until 2026. This time the excuse was that the affected cars had a minimal impact on the city’s air quality. Now the mobility area amounts to just over 11,000 cars those that do not have a DGT label.
This means that, in anticipation of the ban, tens of thousands of drivers had sold their cars to get one with at least a B label. Those same drivers have seen that those who did not sell and keep the car have ended up getting away with it.
a detail. That is, if you want driving around Madrid with a car without a labelright now you can if the car pays its taxes in Madrid. But, yes, it has to be in your name and you must pay this tax in the city from 2022, an exceptional measure that was included so that thousands of drivers did not register their car in the city and circulated normally despite living outside of it.
In the press release sent by the city’s mobility area this detail is not mentioned. In Xataka We have tried to contact this working group to confirm whether this restriction will remain in place or not but, at the time of writing, we have not received a response.
Yes, but. In addition, there are two other vicissitudes to take into account. The first is that the information sent states that vehicles without a label will only be able to park in the regulated parking zones (Zona SER) of the neighborhoods where their owner lives. Therefore, if you want to travel to another neighborhood with Zona SER you will have to park in a public or private parking lot but off the streets.
The other detail to take into account is that the passage will be allowed as long as the stations that monitor air quality levels do not exceed the maximum allowed of 40 micrograms per cubic meter of NOx that would activate the anti-pollution protocol that begins to restrict the circulation of vehicles and that with Manuela Carmena at the helm came to limit circulation by license plate number.
Madrid has been complying with the established air quality limits for four years and with Martínez-Almeida at the helm, this protocol has never been activated, so its activation, if it occurs, would be exceptional.
Photo | NuKi Chikhladze and Quique Olivar
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