ULEZ Questions Answered

What is the London ULEZ?

London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone was introduced to improve air quality in central London by imposing a fee for driving into designated areas in more polluting cars. This zone has steadily expanded over the years and will soon cover all London boroughs.

Improving air quality is important, but some people are in a difficult situation where their current car doesn’t meet the low emission requirements. A charge for entering London on a visit isn’t too bad, but a daily charge as part of your commute or simply living within the zone with your current car will be unsustainable for many.

What is changes are being made to the ULEZ in London?

From 29^th August 2023 the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) will extend to all boroughs, meaning that living in or entering London might result in a daily fee dependant upon your car. Particularly for those living in London, this could quickly become costly.

What is a Clean Air Zone (CAZ)?

Essentially, like with the London ULEZ, CAZs are areas within a city where the Council or Local Authority has aims to reduce air pollution.

There are some cities which have introduced non-charging CAZ, where the focus is on traffic-flow management and local solutions to reroute traffic, rather than imposing a charge per vehicle.

Most CAZ are chargeable, where, like with the London ULEZ, drivers pay a fee to drive into the designated area, if their vehicle is non-compliant.

There are four classes of CAZ: A, B, C and D. They exempt various vehicles, but the emissions standards are broadly in line with the London ULEZ.

Which cities have CAZs?

• Bath (type C, private cars non-chargeable)
• Birmingham (type D, private cars are chargeable)
• Bristol (type D, private cars are chargeable)
• Portsmouth (type B, private cars non-chargeable)
• Bradford (type C, private cars non-chargeable)
• Newcastle and Gateshead (type C, private cars non-chargeable)
• Oxford (slightly different as this is a Zero Emission Zone, but private cars are chargeable)
• Sheffield (type C, private cars non-chargeable)
• Glasgow (type D, private cars are chargeable)

*list correct as of 14/6/23

How can I check if my vehicle is compliant with the ULEZ/CAZ requirements?

The Government’s Joint Air Quality Unit have an online vehicle checker to help drivers prepare for Clean Air Zones.

Simply enter your vehicle’s registration number and this free tool will tell you if there’s a daily charge to drive your vehicle in a specific Clean Air Zone.

To check whether you’ll be charged for driving in the London ULEZ or LEZ, use the TfL vehicle checker instead.

CAZ Checker  ULEZ Checker

Are some cars exempt from ULEZ?

The good news is that not all cars face the ULEZ charge, but over time these restrictions will increase to further reduce pollution in the capital. Currently petrol cars built to at least Euro 4 emission standards and diesels of Euro 6 or better do not face a ULEZ charge. This is the same for hybrid and plug-in hybrid vehicles.

Do electric cars have to pay ULEZ/CAZ charges?

Electric cars produce zero tailpipe emissions, and so do not pay the ULEZ/CAZ charge at all. In fact, they’ll never have to as they have no emissions. The news gets even better as a new EV on your driveway is more attainable than ever before with CPC Drive in partnership with Tusker’s salary sacrifice scheme. One predictable monthly amount will get you on the road, fully insured and with the peace of mind that this also includes any vehicle maintenance.