Madrid SER parking: hours, rates, limits and cancelling a ticket

What to do first

If you are going to leave your car on the street in Madrid, follow this order:

1. Check the colour of the bay: blue, green or, in some places, the dashed orange and blue line of the park and ride areas.
2. Check the time and day: the service only operates during official hours and never on Sundays or public holidays.
3. Buy a ticket at a parking meter or through an approved mobile app, with the correct number plate and the correct district.
4. Respect the maximum stay for the type of bay and do not park again in the same district before the waiting period has passed.

According to Madrid City Council, the purpose of the SER is to manage and control parking in certain areas of the public highway so that use of public space can be balanced with parking. The SER Area is divided into districts, and the district is crucial: your ticket is only valid for the district in which you bought it.

SER operating hours

According to Madrid City Council’s page on hours and boundaries, the service operates as follows:

• Monday to Friday, except public holidays: from 9:00 to 21:00.
• Saturdays: mornings only.
• August, Monday to Saturday except public holidays: mornings only.
• 24 December and 31 December: mornings only.
• Sundays and public holidays: no service.

Outside these periods you do not have to pay in SER bays, provided there is no other parking restriction.

To find out whether a specific address is inside the regulated zone, the City Council offers the “Consulta General de Urbanismo, SER” tool.

Blue bays: 4 hours maximum

In blue bays any user can park for a maximum of 4 hours. Once you reach that maximum, you cannot park again in the same district until 1 hour has passed since your parking end time.

On streets that separate one district from another you may park on either side, provided you have paid the amount corresponding to the colour of the bay.

Residents with a permit can use the blue bays in their district from 20:00 to 21:00.

Green bays: 2 hours for visitors

Green bays are intended mainly for residents. Anyone with a resident’s permit can park with no time limit within their district, including in the green bays on both sides of the street that separates their district from another.

All other users can park for a maximum of 2 hours. As with blue bays, once you reach the maximum you must wait 1 hour from the end of your parking before parking again in the same district.

High turnover bays: maximum stay

Madrid City Council states that, unless specific arrangements are shown on upright signs, the maximum stay in high turnover bays is shorter. Once it is used up, you cannot park in high turnover bays in the same district until 30 minutes have passed since the end of your authorisation.

These bays have their own grace margin: if you exceed the limit by less than 30 minutes, you can pay a supplement for the extra time and your parking is considered valid, so you avoid an offence.

Park and ride areas

The Ámbitos Diferenciados Disuasorios (ADD) are SER bays in low occupancy areas, preferably near public transport interchanges or stations, designed to encourage drivers to leave the car and continue by public transport. They are marked by a dashed line of alternating orange and blue.

The rate is €0.5 per hour and there is no turnover rule: you can park continuously for the full 12 hours of service with a single ticket. According to the City Council, ADD currently exist around Paseo del Rey, in Parque del Oeste and on Cuesta de la Vega.

How to pay

At the parking meter

According to the City Council’s page on parking meters and apps, the process is as follows:

1. Enter your number plate and press “aceptar” (accept).
2. Choose your payment method: bank card, cash or prepaid card.
3. Use the plus and minus buttons to select the amount. The screen shows the corresponding time limit.
4. If paying by card, insert it or, on newer readers, hold it against the contactless reader. You can request a bank receipt.
5. If paying in cash and you insert more than needed, the excess is kept as virtual credit linked to that number plate for future parking.

The meter can also be used to cancel penalty notices, top up a prepaid card and buy tickets at other rates for sales representatives and workshops.

By phone

You can pay with any of the apps registered by Madrid City Council, and all of them work interchangeably throughout the SER Area. Before confirming, check that the district, time, amount and zone shown in the app are correct. If the location is wrong, you can manually drag the GPS icon to where you have parked.

Unpark: pay only for the time used

If you pay with an app that offers this feature, the final amount reflects the time you actually parked. To do so, you must press “Desaparcar” (Unpark) before your ticket’s limit expires. This option is not available for parking meter tickets.

Prices by zone and label

Madrid City Council refers drivers to its tables of rates, reductions and surcharges for the exact amount for each bay. What it does explain is how the price is calculated:

• The classification of vehicles by DGT label (Zero emissions, ECO, C and B) is set out in the Tax Bylaw regulating the Parking Fee.
• The vehicle class is taken from the DGT’s General Vehicle Register and matches its environmental badge.
• The meter or app applies the reduction or surcharge by connecting to the DGT database.
• If it cannot determine the reduction or surcharge within 18 seconds because of a connection failure, the base rate is charged.

The only hourly rate the City Council gives on its hours page is for the park and ride areas: €0.5 per hour.

Residents’ fee

For residents registered in a district of the SER Area, the residents’ permit page sets these amounts:

• Annual fee: 24.60 euros, base rate.
• Monthly fee, per month or part month: 2.05 euros, base rate.

The fee is reduced by 75% for ECO vehicles and by 10% for C vehicles. The permit can be paid online by card or at citizen service offices with Visa, Visa Electron, MasterCard or Maestro.

Enforcement and penalty notices

SER enforcement staff issue penalty notices both for breaches of the service’s rules and for general parking offences they see within the area.

When a notice can be cancelled

According to the City Council’s cancellation page, a notice can only be cancelled if you hold a valid ticket and have overstayed its end time by less than an hour. The regulations page describes this as exceeding the authorised limit by less than 1 hour: it is the same rule.

How to cancel

1. Go to a parking meter and choose the penalty cancellation option.
2. Enter your number plate or the cancellation code shown on the notice and press “aceptar” (accept).
3. Pay 4 euros by bank card, cash or prepaid card.

Duplicate cancellation receipts are not issued. You can only request proof through a general application or by emailing the Legal Department of the Comprehensive Mobility Contract, dtvoresidentes@madrid.es, stating the number plate, date and place of parking.

If the meter is faulty, use another one that works. If the problem persists, call 900 50 54 63, a free line run by Línea Madrid.

If it cannot be cancelled

You will receive notification of the penalty at your home address. From then on you can submit an appeal to the Subdirección General de Gestión de Multas de Circulación (traffic fines management office).

Exemptions

• Zero Emissions: according to the City Council’s information page, vehicles classified as such in the DGT Vehicle Register need no permit and can park in green and blue bays with no time limit and free of charge, unless a general or specific prohibition applies.
• Two and three wheelers: not subject to the SER.
• Reserved zones: vehicles parked in zones reserved for their category or activity do not pay either.
• Taxis: taxis on duty do not pay if the driver is present or has left briefly for work reasons.
• Commercial and industrial vehicles: with a permit they can park throughout the SER Area, in blue and green bays, for up to 8 hours a day, continuous or not, paying for a maximum of 5 or 8 hours. In August the daily maximum is 6 hours. Only vehicles in category B, C or ECO qualify, and always with a parking meter ticket.
• Car sharing: authorised companies park in blue bays with no time limit.

New zone from 3 November 2026

The SER is being extended to part of the Opañel district and a new section of the San Isidro district. It will start operating on 3 November 2026, and residents can already apply for their permit, preferably online.

Helpline

For any problem you can call 010 Línea Madrid, or 914 800 010 from outside the city. One of the residents’ pages shows the number 914 800 0100, but all other council pages give 914 800 010.

Checklist before parking

• Check the day and time: Monday to Friday from 9:00 to 21:00, Saturdays and August mornings only.
• Identify the bay colour: blue 4 hours, green 2 hours, high turnover with a shorter stay.
• Check the number plate and district on the ticket or in the app.
• If you use your phone, remember to press Unpark when you leave.
• Do not park again in the same district until 1 hour has passed after using up the maximum.
• If you overstay by less than an hour, cancel the notice at the meter for 4 euros.
• Carry a card or coins in case the app fails.