Clean Air Zones in England: where you pay to drive and how to check your car

A Clean Air Zone (CAZ) is an area of a city where vehicles that do not meet emissions standards pay a daily charge to drive in. The aim is to cut air pollution. The key point: not everyone pays — only owners of older, more polluting vehicles. If your vehicle meets the standards, driving in is free even where a zone operates.

Which cities have them?

Through the government service you can pay for zones in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead). The rules and charge levels differ in each city, as does which vehicle types are affected: in some places only buses, taxis and lorries pay, in others cars too. So you need to check the rules for the specific city.

What about London?

London has a separate system — the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), run by Transport for London, not this service. You check your vehicle and pay for ULEZ on the TfL website. Scotland has its own Low Emission Zones with separate rules.

How to check your vehicle

Open the GOV.UK service "Check if you need to pay to drive in a clean air zone" and enter your number plate — it tells you whether you must pay in a given zone. The service cannot check vehicles registered outside the UK. Private drivers pay by card; businesses with several vehicles need an account and a list of plates.

What to remember

Whether a vehicle meets the standard usually depends on its emissions standard (often Euro 6 for diesels, Euro 4 for petrol), not on how old it looks. The charge is daily: paying covers a 24-hour period, not a single trip. Not paying leads to a Penalty Charge Notice. For queries the line is 0300 029 8888. Always check the current cities, standards and charges on GOV.UK, and on the TfL site for London.