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UK Road Emission Zones
UK Road Emission Zones
Several emission zones have emerged in city centres across the UK. This page provides general guidance on how to comply, with links to more detailed information for each emission zone at the bottom of the page.
Emission Standards
The vehicle types covered vary across zones, but the emission standards themselves are fairly consistent. If the vehicle is Euro 4 Petrol or Euro 6 Diesel, it will not be charged or fined to enter most zones. The exceptions are:
- London Congestion Charge
- Oxford Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ)
Vehicle Checkers
The best place to start is to use the emission zone vehicle checkers. These will tell you whether the vehicle will be charged based on information held by the DVLA.
Use the Clean Air Zone vehicle checker for:
- Bath
- Birmingham
- Bradford
- Bristol
- Portsmouth
- Sheffield
- Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead)
Use the TfL vehicle checker for:
- London ULEZ, LEZ and Congestion Charge
Use the ZEZ vehicle checker for:
- Oxford
Use the Low Emission Zones Scotland vehicle checker for:
- Aberdeen
- Dundee
- Edinburgh
- Glasgow
Payment
Some zones do not charge during specific public holidays, but most do.
The payment window varies across zones, the shortest asks for payment within 3 days. There are generally no notifications that you have entered the zone or reminders to pay the charge (apart from road signage). London is currently the only city to have an autopay function.
Note that many zones run from midnight to midnight and daily charges cover you for that calendar day only, so if your journey happens over two calendar days (i.e. before and after midnight) you will need to pay two daily charges/fines. The exception is the London Congestion Charge, which does not run 24-7.
Zones in Scotland operate a complete ban. If you drive into those zones in a non-compliant vehicle you will be fined, there is no option to pay a daily charge.
If you receive a Penalty Charge Notice, this must be paid within 28 days from the date it is served.
Logistics UK are lobbying for a centralised payment system with autopay functions to make life easier for affected businesses and reduce the risk of receiving a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Work began under the previous government, but has since been paused. CPA fully support Logistics UK’s proposal and welcome a continuation of this work by government as soon as possible.
Map of each zone:
London (ULEZ, LEZ & Congestion Charge)
Specialist vehicles
Specialist and agricultural vehicles such as mobile cranes, pumps, gritters, etc, can apply for an exemption from these emission zones. However, these exemptions are usually not automatic and require an exemption application to be submitted to most cities individually.
I’ve been wrongly charged/fined
If you believe your vehicle is compliant but you have been charged/fined, it might be that the DVLA hold incorrect information about your vehicle. Use the relevant vehicle checker above, and if something looks amiss, contact the DVLA to get the vehicle details updated.
Some zones provide a refund service if you have been incorrectly charged. For zones that don’t provide a refund service, you can still request a refund however you will need to take this up with the relevant local authority directly.
You have a right to appeal a Penalty Charge Notice, if for example you paid the relevant daily charge but were still fined. Details of how to appeal are on the relevant local authority website and should also appear on the Penalty Charge Notice itself.
