Low and zero emission zones for trucks in 2027: what changes city by city

For heavy goods vehicles (HGVs), low emission zones bring few new city steps in 2027: Saint-Etienne is scheduled to ban Crit'Air 3 HGVs on 2027-01-01, Strasbourg planned a Crit'Air 3 step for the same date (its news item does not single out HGVs) and has proposed a one-year delay, and the Dutch step on that date hits class 5 vans rather than trucks. All city facts below come from official pages read on 2026-11-06, with each page date shown. That matters because 73% of urban vehicle access regulations in Europe are low or zero emission zones, according to the European Commission UVAR page , which cites EIT Urban Mobility and states no data year; the page was checked on 2026-11-06. This post sets out what applies now, what is dated for 2027, and which cities have published nothing yet.

Which truck rules change in 2027?

Two dated 2027 steps touch trucks directly: Saint-Etienne (scheduled) and Strasbourg (delay proposed, not adopted). Three other dated items add no truck rule: the Dutch class 5 van step, the Flemish air-quality evaluation, and the end of the Grand Paris teaching period on 2026-12-31.

Most other cities publish no 2027 truck step, as of 2026-11-06 on the pages named. The sections below separate trucks (N2 and N3) from vans (N1). To compare against the baseline that already applies in 2026, check the 2026 road freight regulations overview . To plan for the wider set of changes affecting drivers next year, read the 2027 rules for truck drivers in Europe .

City-by-city table: what applies to trucks and what is dated for 2027

The table covers the cities and countries where an official page could be read. Each row names its source and the date it was read or published.

What changes in Dutch zero-emission zones in 2027?

The 2027 Dutch step hits class 5 vans, not trucks. Emission class 5 vans (N1) lose access on 2027-01-01, according to Staatscourant 2025, 13188 , published by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Water Management on 2025-04-18. Class 6 vans have access until 2028-01-01 in the main text of the decree.

Trucks follow a separate schedule, and no 2027 truck step appears in that text. Euro VI trucks may enter Dutch zero-emission zones until 2030-01-01 if, on 2025-01-01, a rigid truck was at most 5 years old or a tractor unit combination at most 8 years old. Rigid trucks with a first registration date in 2017 to 2019 have an exemption until 2028-01-01. Plug-in hybrid trucks keep access until 2030-01-01 if they demonstrably drive emission-free in the zone. From 2030-01-01 every van and truck must be zero-emission at the tailpipe.

A rigid truck first registered in 2017 to 2019 is the vehicle to watch, because its date is 2028-01-01. To confirm which class a truck belongs to, check the Euro 6 truck standard explainer .

Each municipality sets its own zone, so the national programme site, opwegnaarzes.nl , is the place to check a specific town. As read on 2026-11-06, it says 19 municipalities plus Schiphol have had a zone since 2025-01-01, with about 9 more to follow, though its counts are not fully consistent. For trucks, the date of first admission is what counts.

Which French ZFE cities have a dated 2027 step for HGVs?

Two French cities have a 2027 date on their official pages: Saint-Etienne and Strasbourg. The framework itself stays in force. The Conseil constitutionnel, in decision no. 2026-903 DC of 2026-05-21 , struck down article 37 of the economic simplification law, which would have removed the ZFE-m obligation. It did so on procedural grounds only, because the article was a legislative rider under article 45 of the Constitution. That is not a statement that ZFEs are permanent. Read the French ZFE ruling analysis to see what the decision did and did not settle.

Saint-Etienne: scheduled for 2027-01-01

Saint-Etienne Metropole bans unclassified and Crit'Air 4 and 5 HGVs since 2025-01-01. On 2027-01-01 the ban extends to Crit'Air 3 HGVs, vans and light vans. The zone covers 200 km2 and is regulated 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The M 201, N 88, A 47 and A72 roads are not included. The page is undated, and it was checked on 2026-11-06.

Strasbourg: planned for 2027-01-01, delay proposed

The Crit'Air 3 ban planned for 2027-01-01 in Strasbourg is proposed to be pushed back one year, to 2028, according to an Eurometropole news item dated 2026-10-08. This is a proposal, not an adopted rule. A mandatory public consultation of about two months comes first, and the amending arrete is due before the end of 2026. The article does not single out HGVs, so check how the change applies to your vehicle class once the arrete is published.

Grand Paris and the rest of the ministry list

In the Metropole du Grand Paris, a teaching period runs from 2026-01-01 to 2026-12-31 during which no fines are applied, and 22 derogations of 1 to 3 years exist for professionals and businesses, per a Metropole news item dated 2025-12-22. The item makes no statement on 2027, and nothing has been published for 2027 as of 2026-11-06.

The ministry's ZFE page , updated 2025-08-13, lists current HGV restrictions elsewhere. Unclassified HGVs are banned in Angers, Annecy, Annemasse, Bordeaux (teaching period), Clermont-Ferrand, Dijon (teaching period), Le Havre, Lille, Nantes (set hours and days), Nimes, Rennes and Pau (set hours and days). Crit'Air 5 is restricted in Nancy. Crit'Air 4 is restricted in Aix-Marseille, Reims, Rouen, Saint-Etienne and Toulouse. Crit'Air 3 is restricted in Grenoble, Lyon, Montpellier (teaching period), Nice, Paris (set hours and days, teaching period) and Strasbourg (teaching period). That list shows current rules, not 2027 steps.

Do Brussels, Flanders, Milan, Madrid and Denmark add truck steps in 2027?

None of them has published a 2027 truck step on the pages read, though each has rules worth knowing. Flanders is the only one with a dated 2027 event, and it is a review.

Brussels

The Brussels LEZ already tightened on 2026-01-01, when diesel Euro 5 and petrol Euro 2 vehicles, trucks included, stopped meeting access rules, per lez.brussels . Diesel vehicles, HGVs included, must be at least Euro 6. Petrol, CNG and LPG vehicles must be at least Euro 3. The zone is active 24/7, and the page lists no further step. For newly excluded vehicles, a warning letter comes first, then a 350 EUR fine from 3 months later, which can cover a 12-month period from 2026-07-01; a day pass is available. The Brussels environment agency summarised the 2026 changes on 2026-06-24.

Flanders: Antwerp and Ghent

On 2025-11-28 the Flemish Government withdrew all planned tightening of LEZ access conditions, as the VRT NWS report of that date describes. Current rules stay, and the LEZ covers trucks (N2, N3), according to the Flemish LEZ page , which is undated and was checked on 2026-11-06. A first air-quality evaluation is due in 2027, after which extra measures may be discussed. No truck-specific Euro thresholds are published there beyond a vehicle checker, so use that tool for a specific truck.

Milan Area B

Milan's Area B calendar , updated 2026-10-15, shows no new N2 or N3 step in 2027. Already banned are Euro 0 to IV heavy diesel (N2, N3) without a particle filter and, from 2024-10-01, Euro V heavy diesel without a filter or with a factory filter above 0.01 g/kWh. The next heavy-diesel step is 2030-10-01, when Euro V with a factory filter at or below 0.01 g/kWh and Euro VI heavy diesel (N2, N3) are banned. Euro VI is exempt until the 20th year after first registration if registered by 2020-12-31, or the 14th year if registered from 2021-01-01 to 2025-12-31. In the first year of a new ban there are 50 days of access.

Separately, trucks and buses (M2, N2, M3, N3) need blind-spot warning systems covering pedestrians and cyclists, front and kerb side, to enter. The installation must be registered on the Area B site, per the Comune di Milano blind-spot page , updated 2026-10-15.

Madrid

Madrid banned all A-class vehicles (no DGT label) on 2025-01-01. Ordinance 2/2026 of 2026-03-24 added a transitional regime from 2026-04-07, as the Madrid ZBE page explains. Outside the ZBEDEP Distrito Centro and Plaza Eliptica, A-class vehicles that are not cars, for example trucks and vans, may circulate while nitrogen dioxide limits are met at all monitoring stations. If a limit is exceeded, the regime ends, and fines of 200 EUR (100 EUR if paid early) start six months after publication in the BOCM. These vehicles are still banned on pollution-episode days. The page shows no 2027 change.

Denmark

The Danish environmental zones in Copenhagen, Frederiksberg, Odense, Aarhus and Aalborg require older diesel lorries and buses to have a particle filter or to be at least Euro VI, according to miljoezoner.dk . The fine is 12,500 DKK for lorries and buses. The site, checked on 2026-11-06, shows no change between 2025 and 2027. Treat this row as provisional.

How do you check your truck before 2027-01-01?

Start with the vehicle record, then the municipality. For each truck, note the Euro class, the first registration date and whether it is an N2 or N3 vehicle. Then check the official page of every city on your routes, because the rules differ by municipality and some pages are undated.

A teaching period, such as the one in the Metropole du Grand Paris, means no fines for now. A proposal, such as Strasbourg's delay, is not yet a rule. Some cities require a sticker or registration on top of the zone rules, so order them early with the low emission zone sticker cost guide . Re-read the city pages in December 2026, since the Strasbourg arrete is due before the year ends.

Frequently asked questions

Do HGVs face a new city restriction on 2027-01-01?

Only in a few places. Saint-Etienne is scheduled to extend its ban to Crit'Air 3 HGVs on that date, according to the Metropole page checked 2026-11-06. Strasbourg planned a Crit'Air 3 step for the same date, though its news item does not single out HGVs, and a one-year delay was proposed on 2026-10-08 and has not been adopted.

Does the Dutch Euro VI truck deadline move in 2027?

No Dutch step for trucks (N2, N3) is dated 2027 in Staatscourant 2025, 13188 . Rigid trucks first registered in 2017 to 2019 have an exemption until 2028-01-01, and the other qualifying Euro VI trucks may enter until 2030-01-01. The 2027-01-01 step applies to class 5 vans (N1).

Are French ZFEs still in force after the 2026 court decision?

Yes. The Conseil constitutionnel struck down article 37 of the economic simplification law on procedural grounds in decision 2026-903 DC of 2026-05-21, so the ZFE framework stays. It did not rule on the substance of the obligation.

Will Brussels add a truck step in 2027?

lez.brussels lists no further step as of 2026-11-06. The most recent tightening took effect on 2026-01-01, when diesel Euro 5 vehicles, trucks included, stopped meeting access rules. Diesel vehicles, HGVs included, now need at least Euro 6.

Can a truck without a DGT label still enter Madrid?

Outside two named areas, yes, while nitrogen dioxide limits are met at all monitoring stations, under the transitional regime in the Madrid ZBE page updated 2026-04-07. If a limit is exceeded, the regime ends and fines start six months after publication in the BOCM.

Do the 2027 city steps apply to vans as well as trucks?

Yes, in two places. The Dutch step on 2027-01-01 applies to class 5 vans (N1) only, per Staatscourant 2025, 13188 . Saint-Etienne extends its ban on 2027-01-01 to Crit'Air 3 HGVs, vans and light vans, per the Metropole page checked 2026-11-06.

Use the Logifie Driver Assistant app to keep your 2027 routes in step with the dated city rules above.