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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:

• You are registered as a resident within the Madrid Central area. You can drive and park in parking meter spots.

• You are not registered as a resident in Madrid Central, but you have a vehicle with the ZERO emissions environmental badge. You can drive without any restricted timetable.

• Your vehicle has an ECO badge. Keep in mind that you can only enter and park within Madrid Central for a maximum of 2 hours.

• Your vehicle has a B or C badge. In this case, you can only access the area to park in public or private car parks in the center of Madrid (remember you’re in the perfect place to book your parking space in the center of Madrid). The following exceptions apply: People invited by residents, owners of garage parking spaces, people with reduced mobility, and essential services.

• Your vehicle does not have a badge and you are not registered as a resident in Madrid Central, but you are someone with reduced mobility and/or you own a garage parking space.

• You come to Madrid Central for academic, work, or tourism reasons. Teachers of preschool, primary, and secondary school can access the area with their cars during the day (from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.) with authorization from their schools.

• You work in Madrid Central (and are not a resident). You can enter and park in the area between 12:00 and 6:30 a.m.

• You are staying in a hotel and book a parking space on their property. (This only applies to vehicles with any badge that is not ZERO emissions. If your vehicle is ZERO emissions, you already know you can enter Madrid Central and park wherever you want.)

You cannot enter Madrid Central if:

• Your car does not have an environmental badge, or if it has a B or C badge but you are not going to park in a public car park.

• You have a vehicle with a B or C badge and you own a home inside Madrid Central but you are not registered as a resident there. Remember that if your vehicle doesn’t have a ZERO or ECO badge, you can’t enter or park in Madrid Central unless you are registered as a resident there.

Regarding the invitations residents have, these are requested through the website, mobile app, or direct message on Twitter of Madrid Central, just like with the former Residential Priority Areas.

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

Regarding motorbikes and mopeds, if you’re a resident, you can enter Madrid Central without restrictions. And if you’re not a resident, but you have the ZERO or ECO badge, you can also enter freely. Those that have B or C badges can only enter Madrid Central between 7:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. However, delivery motorbikes with B or C badges can enter Madrid Central between 7:00 and 12:00 a.m.

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!