Is my car ULEZ compliant?
Put your number plate in, or your car's fuel and year, and the checker tells you at once whether London's £12.50 ULEZ charge applies to it. Usually, you only need the date your car was first registered. That means the date it was first put on the road.
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.
Compare your vehicle across the UK's other 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
Which cars are ULEZ compliant by year?
Every car is built to a limit on exhaust pollution, and that limit is called its Euro standard. The dirtiest and oldest is Euro 1, while Euro 6 is the cleanest and newest. A car that meets the limit for its fuel counts as ULEZ compliant and can drive in without paying. For a petrol car, the rule is Euro 4. Most petrol cars meet it if first registered from January 2006, and many registered between 2001 and 2005 do as well. For a diesel car, the rule is Euro 6. Diesel cars first registered from September 2015 mostly meet it. A hybrid runs on a battery and an engine. The engine sets the rule: petrol hybrids are treated like petrol cars, diesel hybrids like diesel cars. An electric car meets the rules in every case.
Take these years as a rough guide. The law gave car companies a deadline for each standard, and some reached it early. If your car is from one of the years when the rules changed, its logbook tells you for sure. The logbook is the V5C, the DVLA's paper record of your car. The DVLA is a government office that registers vehicles. On newer cars, box D.2 of the logbook may list the Euro standard. That's according to Transport for London (TfL), who run the zone.
The numbers on your plate and what they say
A plate's two numbers tell you when the car first went on the road. For example, a car with 14 on its plate was first registered between March and August 2014, and a car with 64 between September 2014 and February 2015. Type your plate and the checker works this out for you. A private plate, or one moved over from another car, can be older or newer than the car itself, so use the year in the logbook instead.
Older plates, from before September 2001, begin with a letter that gives the age instead, like Y for 2001. The checker understands those as well, so just type one in.
These figures come from the DVLA.
If your car fails the rules
You can still drive into the zone, but each day there costs £12.50. You can also pay after the trip, up to midnight three days later: drive in on a Monday and you have until midnight on Thursday. If it goes unpaid, TfL will fine you £180. Pay the fine within 14 days and it drops to £90.
A few cars pay nothing at all. That includes any car built before 1973, and cars over 40 years old that are taxed as historic vehicles. Until 24 October 2027, cars in the disabled tax class pay nothing. People who receive certain disability benefits use that tax class. Check your logbook to see which tax class applies to your car.
ULEZ questions people often ask
Which diesel car years meet the ULEZ rules?
Diesel cars first registered from September 2015 mostly meet Euro 6, so there's no charge. A few cars first registered from September 2014 were already built to it. For your own car, check TfL's vehicle checker.
Does a 2005 petrol car meet the ULEZ rules?
Yes, often. Every new petrol car had to meet Euro 4 from 2006. Many cars from 2001 through 2005 were already built to that standard. To know for sure, use your logbook or TfL's checker.
How can I find out my car's Euro standard?
Start with your logbook (the V5C). According to TfL, newer cars may list it in box D.2. Can't find it? Ask the company that made your car, or use TfL's vehicle checker, which reads it from the car's record.