Rental or Company Car to Germany: Who Handles the Sticker?

A business trip to Munich, a weekend in Berlin in a rental. It's not your car, so someone else has the emissions sticker covered, right? Not always. If it's missing inside an Umweltzone, the €100 fine goes to the driver, or the rental company passes it on to you, often with an admin fee on top.

Rental cars

- Rented in Germany: cars on German plates almost always have the sticker. Still, glance at the windscreen when you pick it up.

- Rented abroad: no guarantee at all. Ask straight away whether the car has one, and if not, whether you can add one or get a different car.

Company cars

The sticker belongs to one specific car: the registration number is written on it. One sticker for the whole company doesn't work. If your fleet drives to Germany, have the fleet manager order stickers for every car in one go. It takes minutes, and nobody ends up dealing with a fine mid-trip.

Why you can't move the sticker

It's designed to tear when you peel it off. New windscreen or new plates = new sticker. The good news: it never expires as long as the car, plate and windscreen stay the same.

Quick check before you go

1. Is there a green sticker on the windscreen?

2. Does the plate number on it match the car?

3. If not, order one in time.

You can order a sticker for a company or private car online at nemeckaplaketa.cz. Upload a photo of the registration document and it arrives by post in a few days.