Scotland LEZ

Two things drive the check: what fuel the vehicle runs on, and its first registration date, meaning the day it went on the road brand new. For number plates issued from September 2001 onwards, our checker uses the two age digits to estimate the first registration date, while the official mygov.scot checker checks your vehicle's record. The age sits in the 2 digits that follow the first 2 letters. A March plate shows the year itself, so 26 reads as March 2026. A September plate adds 50, so 76 reads as September 2026.

Treat the result as a good guide rather than the last word, since some models hit the standard early and others lagged behind. For the final say, the official checker on mygov.scot pulls up your vehicle's own record by registration number, so run it before your first drive into a zone.

The same test covers all 4 zones. Petrol must meet Euro 4 and diesel must meet Euro 6. A Euro standard sets a limit on exhaust pollution, and every new car had to meet it from a set date, with the numbers climbing as limits tighten. Petrol cars tend to pass once first registered in 2006 or later, and diesels once first registered from September 2015, according to TfL's guide, which uses the same Euro 4 petrol and Euro 6 diesel rules. A petrol hybrid counts as petrol, a diesel hybrid as diesel, and an electric car passes every time. Motorbikes and mopeds fall outside the rules.

For a car first registered in March, here's the usual verdict by year.

On newer vehicles, the Euro standard may appear in section D.2 of the V5C, the paper logbook, so you can check it there.

The zones never close: they operate around the clock, all year long.

You'll receive a penalty charge notice, usually shortened to PCN, the letter that asks the registered owner to pay. The first costs £60, dropping to £30 if paid within 14 days. A repeat entry by that vehicle into the same zone inside 90 days brings a doubled fine, and the doubling continues until the fine reaches £480 for cars and light vans or £960 for buses and lorries, per mygov.scot. If you're not sure whether a penalty counts as a repeat, mygov.scot sets out the rules in full.

Here's how the fines stack up for a car within a 90-day stretch:

• First notice: £60, or £30 paid within 14 days
• Second notice: £180 in total so far, or £90 with quick payment each time
• Third notice: £420 in total so far, or £210 with quick payment each time
• Fourth notice: £900 in total so far, or £450 with quick payment each time
• Fifth notice: £1380 in total so far, or £690 with quick payment each time

A non-exempt diesel car that fails the standard and enters Glasgow's zone on four separate days within 90 days would receive fines totalling £900, or £450 if each is paid within 14 days.

All 4 zones share the same exemptions. Vehicles taxed in the disabled or disabled passenger vehicle class are recognised automatically. A vehicle can also be exempt if a Blue Badge holder drives it or travels as a passenger, or if it is driven with an organisation's badge, but this exemption needs to be registered before entering a zone, and mygov.scot explains how to register. Other exemptions cover historic vehicles, showman's vehicles, emergency vehicles and military vehicles, and mygov.scot gives the details.