ULEZ Checker
With most petrol cars from 2006 onwards, or most diesel cars from September 2015 onwards, you won't have to pay London's £12.50 daily ULEZ charge. Pick your vehicle below or type your plate, and you'll see your answer for London and for each clean air zone elsewhere in the UK.
The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) in London
Most cars meet the rules if first registered from2006 (petrol) or Sept 2015 (diesel)Plenty of petrol cars built between 2001 and 2005 also meet the rules. Type your car's number plate, or the year it was first registered, to get your own answer. Any that don't meet the rules are charged £12.50 a day.
TfL's official vehicle checker reads the record held for your vehicle and gives the final answer.
One vehicle across all UK zones
- London ULEZ£12.50 a day unless it meets the rules
- London lorry and large van zone (LEZ)Cars don't pay
- Birmingham£8 a day unless it meets the rules
- Bristol£9 a day unless it meets the rules
- BathCars don't pay
- BradfordCars don't pay
- SheffieldCars don't pay
- PortsmouthCars don't pay
- Newcastle and GatesheadCars don't pay
- Oxford£2 to £10 a day (electric cars don't pay)
- Glasgow£60 fine unless it meets the rules
- Edinburgh£60 fine unless it meets the rules
- Aberdeen£60 fine unless it meets the rules
- Dundee£60 fine unless it meets the rules
How the ULEZ checker works
The ULEZ, short for Ultra Low Emission Zone, charges a vehicle by how clean its engine was built to be. How old it looks doesn't matter. Each engine is built to a pollution rating called a Euro standard, from Euro 1 (the dirtiest and oldest) up to Euro 6 (the cleanest and newest). Your logbook (the V5C) may show it in box D.2 on newer vehicles. That paper comes from the DVLA, the government office for registering vehicles.
Since a Euro standard is something most people don't know, the checker works from your vehicle's first registration date. Number plates issued since September 2001 carry two digits after the first two letters, and those digits show roughly when the car was first registered. There's no maths for you to do, since the checker works it out once you type your plate. Your plate stays on your phone or computer: the checker reads it there and never sends or stores it.
For cars first registered in certain years, age alone isn't enough to be sure, and the checker will tell you if yours is one of them. Then your logbook or Transport for London's (TfL) vehicle checker gives you a definite answer, since it reads the official record for your car.
ULEZ compliance in plain words
A vehicle counts as ULEZ compliant when its engine meets the standard set for its type and fuel, so there's no charge to pay. For petrol cars and vans, the rule is Euro 4. Most petrol cars with a first registration date from 2006 meet it. Many registered from 2001 do too. For diesel cars, the rule is Euro 6. Most diesels first registered from September 2015 onwards meet it. For motorbikes and mopeds the rule is Euro 3, and most bikes registered since July 2007 pass. Electric vehicles meet the rules no matter what.
Any day you drive in with a vehicle below the standard costs £12.50. The zone covers the whole of London.
Beyond London: the clean air zones
Daily charges apply in seven English clean air zones (CAZ). Private cars pay in Birmingham and Bristol. Vans, taxis, lorries and buses pay in Bath, Bradford, Sheffield and Newcastle, but private cars don't. Only taxis, lorries and buses pay in Portsmouth. Oxford has a small zero emission zone where driving in is free only for electric vehicles.
Scotland has four low emission zones: Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. They work differently. There's no charge you can pay to enter. The first fine of £60 applies when your vehicle doesn't meet the rules. Each further visit within 90 days doubles the fine: £120, then £240, up to £480 for a car.
Questions people ask about the ULEZ
Can I use my registration number to check ULEZ?
Yes. Put in your plate, and the checker fills in the month and year from its two numbers. A private plate (one you bought) or a Northern Ireland plate doesn't show the car's age, so enter the year it was first registered instead. In some years, only certain cars met the rules. For cars from those years, the final answer comes from TfL's checker, using its own record.
How much do you pay for the ULEZ?
Cars, vans and motorbikes that fail the standard pay £12.50 a day. A day lasts from midnight to midnight, so two trips in and out on the same day still cost £12.50.
Is the ULEZ 24 hours a day?
Yes. It's active 24 hours a day, all year round, weekends and bank holidays included. Christmas Day is the one day you don't pay.
Is the M25 inside the ULEZ?
No. The zone covers the whole of Greater London: all 32 London boroughs (the local council areas) and the City of London. The M25 motorway around London isn't part of it.
If I don't pay, what happens?
Pay the £12.50 no later than three days after you drive in, or you'll be fined. Say you drive in on a Monday. In that case, pay before midnight Thursday. If you miss that deadline, TfL will post you a penalty charge notice (PCN) of £180. Pay within 14 days and it falls to £90.