Parking in APR Zones in Madrid

AS OF JANUARY 1, 2020, VEHICLES WITHOUT ENVIRONMENTAL BADGES CANNOT ENTER OR DRIVE IN MADRID CENTRAL

In addition, the following new measures will be implemented:

• Mártires de Alcalá and Seminario de Nobles Streets will be streets where cars can drive freely.

• Vehicles that weigh more than 3,500 kg without an environmental badge can enter Madrid Central until December 31, 2020.

• Driving school vehicles with environmental badge B from the DGT CANNOT enter or drive through Madrid Central.

• It was already imposed with the former Government, but we remind you that ONLY delivery motorbikes with environmental badges B and C can enter and drive through Madrid Central from 7:00 a.m. until 12:00 a.m. Motorbikes with environmental badges Zero or ECO can enter freely.

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As of April 24, 2019, and in accordance with the Law of Air Quality of the City Hall of Madrid, all vehicles that drive or park within the municipality of Madrid must have their environmental badge from the DGT visible.

To avoid fines when you drive through Madrid, it’s important to have your corresponding sticker from the DGT in a visible place on your vehicle. Click here to find out what category your vehicle falls under and to buy your sticker if your vehicle is ZERO Emissions, ECO, B, or C.

And focusing on Madrid Central… Want to know if your vehicle can drive in Madrid Central and what the exact restrictions are? Keep reading this post!

The name Madrid Central references the Residential Priority Area of the city of Madrid. It is a limited traffic zone created to greatly reduce both air and noise pollution levels from street traffic in the city. Madrid Central is the result of the union of different Residential Priority Areas in the center of Madrid and became active on November 30, 2018. In general, it’s an area that prohibits the circulation of vehicles, except for authorized ones.

That being said, we’re sure you’re asking yourself things like: “Can I park in the center of Madrid?”, “Is my car authorized to drive in Madrid Central?” If you want the answers to these questions and to become an expert on Madrid Central, all you have to do is keep reading this article, in which we explain in detail which streets makes up the area and which vehicles are authorized to drive around and park in the center.

Which vehicles can drive in Madrid Central?

And now let’s get to what you really want to know. In this section, you’ll find out if your car can (or can’t) enter Madrid Central. Keeping in mind that Madrid Central is a measure to combat pollution in the center of Madrid, the first thing you have to check is if your vehicle has an environmental badge. These badges are to identify the pollution level of each vehicle and is managed by the General Department of Traffic (DGT). Without a badge, you cannot go to the city center with your vehicle (unless you’re a resident). All vehicles with environmental badges can access short-term car parks (regardless of timetables) and those without badges can access them as long as they have permission. Next, we’ll show you some specific rules:

You can enter Madrid Central if:

• Vehicles with a B or C environmental badge may only enter to park in a public car park, private garage or non-public parking reservation, unless they are vehicles for guests authorised by residents, for PMR, for essential services, or professional services that provide services or deliver supplies, within the established hours and in accordance with the established calendar.
• Vehicles with an ECO environmental badge may enter and circulate freely in the area and, in addition, park in the SER zone for a maximum of 2 hours.Vehicles with a ZERO emissions environmental badge may circulate and park in the SER zone without time restrictions.
• If you are a resident registered in the Central District register and you have a vehicle with an A label, you can continue to circulate within the area, but only while the temporary moratorium for residents is maintained, at the end of 2025.​
• The access exception for vehicles with environmental classification B with a GVM of less than 3,500 kg is extended for another year.

You cannot access Madrid Central if:

• Your car does not have an environmental label, or it has a B or C label and you are not going to park in any public car park.
• You have a vehicle with a B or C label and you own a home in Madrid Central but you are not registered there. Remember that, if your vehicle does not have a ZERO or ECO label, you cannot access and park in Madrid Central unless you are registered there.
• The Bar Association will no longer be able to authorise A vehicles.
• Night workers will no longer be able to authorise their A vehicles.
• The workshops located in the ZBEDEP Distrito Centro will no longer be able to authorise access to A vehicles.

As for the invitations that residents have, these will be requested through the website, the Madrid Central mobile application or by direct message on Twitter, as was already done with the old Residential Priority Areas.

We advise you to check which environmental label your vehicle has.

In the case of motorcycles, these tags will allow them to access the ZBE Distrito Centro as long as they park in a public parking lot, private garage or non-public parking reservation, however, this will not be necessary from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.

One piece of Parclick advice that we can give you: Check what environmental badge your vehicle has.

General Information

The idea of Madrid Central is to group the four Residential Priority Areas in the center of Madrid together and include new neighborhoods, like Justicia and Universidad. Having reduced the street traffic that used to still exist in the Residential Priority Areas, the new perimeter is much easier to recognize and navigate.

The major beneficiaries of this initiative are, mainly, residents of the center of Madrid, people with reduced mobility, and public services. If all of this comes as a surprise to you, don’t worry. The City Hall of Madrid is implementing the project in phases: During the summer of 2018 they changed 1,250 blue street parking spaces to green spaces (residents have priority) and they’ve been working to put up signs that demarcate the area.

In November of 2018, the new Madrid Central regulations became active, with manual traffic control and stops that served to inform drivers and residents. As of March 15, 2019, however, the traffic in the center of Madrid began to be controlled by security cameras and the first fines were sent to drivers who had committed infractions by driving in that area.

Vehicle Control in Madrid Central

Vehicles that access Madrid Central are monitored by security cameras, which take a photo of the rear license tag of the vehicle and check it against the database of authorized vehicles. In the event that you do not have any authorization, they will fine you. Parclick has different car parks within Madrid Central, which you can access without any problem. So that you don’t have to risk it, use our car park search engine and you can have a car park in the center of Madrid that suits all of your needs. Park worry-free and easily with Parclick!

Madrid Central Perimeter

As we mentioned above, the perimeter of Madrid Central is much more intuitive and recognizable than the old Residential Priority Areas. This is primarily due to the fact that the Residential Priority Areas were four separate zones with spaces in between them that were exempt from any regulation, so it was fairly easy to accidentally enter one of the zones without realizing and receive a fine.

Below, we will list the streets the form the Madrid Central perimeter:

Alberto Aguilera, Glorieta de Ruíz Jiménez, Carranza, Glorieta de Bilbao, Sagasta, Plaza de Alonso Martínez, Génova, Plaza de Colón, Paseo de Recoletos, Plaza de Cibeles, Paseo del Prado, Plaza de Cánovas del Castillo, Paseo del Prado, Plaza del Emperador Carlos V, Ronda de Atocha, Ronda de Valencia, Glorieta de Embajadores, Ronda de Toledo, Glorieta de la Puerta de Toledo, Ronda de Segovia, Cuesta de la Vega, Calle Mayor, Calle Bailén, Plaza de España, Calle Princesa, and Calle Serrano Jover.

However, you can drive on these streets or sections within Madrid Central to orient yourself and the flow of traffic when it’s absolutely necessary:

• Calle Santa Cruz de Marcenado

• Calle Ventura Rodríguez

• Calle Duque de Liria

• Avenida Gran Vía de San Francisco

• Calle Bailén

• Calle Algeciras

• Cuesta Ramón

On the other hand, there are two streets with free access, which means you can drive on them without receiving a fine:

• Calle Mártires de Alcalá

• Seminario de Nobles

If you prefer looking at a map, here’s one so you can better orient yourself. 

After all this, we can say you’re a total Madrid Central expert! Now, don’t get any fines!