🇩🇪 Germany — HGV driving bans 2026
In Germany, heavy goods vehicles are banned from the roads on Sundays and public holidays for almost the entire day, and in summer an additional Saturday restriction applies on major routes. On top of this, urban Umweltzonen require a sticker. Here are all the details.
1. General rule
The basic ban applies throughout the entire country:
🚫Sundays and public holidays. HGVs over 7.5 t GVW, as well as all trucks towing a trailer — even unladen — may not travel on Sundays and public holidays between 0h and 22h.
2. Public holidays 2026
Some public holidays are observed only in certain Länder. Note: for some, the regional public holiday status does not trigger the driving ban (explicitly indicated below).
1 January — New Year's Day
6 January — Epiphany (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Saxony-Anhalt — ban not applicable)
3 April — Good Friday
5 April — Easter Sunday
6 April — Easter Monday
1 May — Labour Day
14 May — Ascension Day
24 May — Whit Sunday
25 May — Whit Monday
4 June — Corpus Christi (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, Hesse, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland)
15 August — Assumption of Mary (Saarland — ban not applicable)
3 October — German Unity Day
31 October — Reformation Day (Brandenburg, Bremen, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, Schleswig-Holstein, Thuringia)
1 November — All Saints' Day (Baden-Württemberg, Bavaria, North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Saarland)
18 November — Day of Repentance and Prayer (Saxony — ban not applicable)
25 December — Christmas Day
26 December — Boxing Day
3. Exemptions
The following are exempt from the Sunday and public holiday ban:
- Combined rail-road transport: journey from the consignor to the nearest loading/unloading point, within a radius of 200 km.
- Freight transport within port areas, between loading and unloading points, within a radius of 150 km.
- Transport of fresh and perishable goods — including unladen returns —: fresh milk and fresh dairy products, fresh meat and butchery products, fresh fish and fishery products, perishable fruit and vegetables.
- Vehicles of the federal authorities, with special permit.
- Tractor units alone as well as those fitted with a small accessory flatbed.
4. Summer Saturday restriction
In July and August, in addition to the Sunday and public holiday ban, an extra restriction applies on Saturdays from 7h to 20h on certain heavily used motorway and federal road sections. Expand the full list of affected sections below:
View sections banned on Saturdays (July–August) ▾
A1 — from Köln-West to Leverkusen-West, Wuppertal, Kamener Kreuz, then from Münster to Cloppenburg.
A2 — from Oberhausen to Bad Oeynhausen.
A3 — from Oberhausen to Köln-Ost, and from Mönchhof Dreieck via Frankfurter Kreuz to Nürnberg.
A4/E40 — from Erfurt-Vieselbach to Hermsdorf-Ost.
A5 — from Darmstädter Kreuz via Karlsruhe to Neuenburg.
A6 — from Schwetzingen-Hockenheim to Nürnberg-Süd.
A7 — from Schleswig/Jagel to Hamburg-Schnelsen-Nord, from Soltau-Ost to Göttingen-Nord, and from Schweinfurt/Werneck via Biebelried, Ulm/Elchingen and the Allgäu to the border at Füssen.
A8 — from Karlsruhe via München-Obermenzing, and from München-Ramersdorf to Bad Reichenhall.
A9/E51 — from the Berliner Ring (Leipzig/Potsdam) to München-Schwabing.
A10 — from the Berliner Ring (except Berlin-Spandau area) via Havelland to Oranienburg, and from the Spreeau area to Werder.
A45 — from Dortmund-Süd via Westhofener Kreuz and Gambacher Kreuz to Seligenstädter Dreieck.
A61 — from Meckenheim via Koblenz to Hockenheim.
A81 — from Weinsberg to Gärtringen.
A92 — from München-Feldmoching to Oberschleißheim, and from Neufahrn to Erding.
A93 — from Inntal to Reischenhart.
A99 — from München Süd-West via München-West, München-Allach, München-Feldmoching, München-Nord, München-Ost, München-Süd to München/Eschenried.
A215 — from Bordesholm to Blumenthal.
A831 — from Stuttgart-Vaihingen to Stuttgart.
A980 — from the Allgäu to Waltenhofen.
A995 — from Sauerlach to München-Süd.
B31 — from Stockach-Ost (A98) to Sigmarszell (A96).
B96/E251 — from Neubrandenburger Ring to Berlin.
5. Local night-time bans
In North Hesse, HGVs over 3.5 t are banned at night, from 22h to 6h, on the sections between Borken and Colbe (B3) and between Diemelstadt and Lahntal-Goettingen (B252).
Other regional or local night-time bans apply on sections indicated by road signs.
6. Special transports
Abnormal and special transports may not use motorways at the weekend, from Friday 15h to Monday 9h.
7. Environmental zones (Umweltzonen)
Many cities ban the most polluting vehicles from entering an environmental zone. A sticker (red, yellow or green depending on the emission category) must be compulsorily displayed on the windscreen. Expand the list of affected cities below:
View cities with environmental zone ▾
Augsburg, Berlin, Bochum, Bottrop, Bremen, Dortmund, Duisburg, Düsseldorf, Essen, Frankfurt am Main, Freiburg im Breisgau, Gelsenkirchen, Hanover, Heidelberg, Heilbronn, Herne, Herrenberg, Ilsfeld, Karlsruhe, Cologne, Leipzig, Leonberg, Ludwigsburg, Mannheim, Markgröningen, Mühlacker, Mülheim, Munich, Münster, Neu-Ulm, Oberhausen, Osnabrück, Pfinztal, Pforzheim, Pleidelsheim, Recklinghausen, Regensburg, Reutlingen, Schwäbisch Gmünd, Stuttgart, Tübingen, Ulm, Wuppertal.
8. Good to know
🚦Speed limits: 50 km/h in built-up areas; 80 km/h on motorways; on other roads, 80 km/h up to 7.5 t and 60 km/h above 7.5 t.
🍺Alcohol: maximum 0.5 g/L; zero tolerance (0.0 g) for drivers under 21 and drivers who have held their licence for less than 2 years.
❄️Tyres: snow chains compulsory in winter in mountain areas, except in the Bad Reichenhall / Lofer / Austrian border triangle; studded tyres are prohibited.
💡Lights: dipped headlights compulsory in tunnels and during the day in poor visibility; fog lights if visibility is below 50 m; driving on sidelights only is prohibited.
📞Useful numbers: 110 (police), 112 (emergency), 0180-510.11.12 (road traffic information).
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