Not ULEZ compliant? Your options
If your car is not ULEZ compliant, you can still drive it in London. You pay £12.50 for each day you use it in the zone, or you can plan around the zone, look for an exemption, or switch.
Pay for the days you drive in
The charge is £12.50 a day, and a charging day runs from midnight to midnight. You can pay up to 90 days ahead, or until midnight on the third day after your trip.
Auto Pay bills you once a month, so a day is never missed. If nobody pays, the keeper gets a penalty of £180, cut to £90 if paid within 14 days. How to pay the ULEZ charge.
Drive around the zone
The zone covers every London borough and the City of London. The M25 itself is outside it, so you can use the motorway without paying.
You could also park outside the zone and take a train or bus for the last part. The ULEZ zone map shows where it starts.
Retrofit: only for some vans, minibuses and motorhomes
No approved retrofit can bring a private car up to the ULEZ standard. For some vans, minibuses and motorhomes, TfL accepts a kit certified under the government’s Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS), as its van page explains.
London-licensed taxis don’t pay the ULEZ at all, so a black cab driver there doesn’t need one.
Scrappage: the scheme has closed
TfL’s scrappage scheme paid people to scrap or replace cars that failed, but it is now closed. More on the scrappage scheme.
Check for an exemption
Some vehicles never pay, whatever their age: those built before 1 January 1973, and those over 40 years old in the historic vehicle tax class.
Cars in the disabled tax class don’t pay until 24 October 2027. Owners of a wheelchair accessible vehicle, and people on certain disability benefits, can apply to TfL for more time. Every ULEZ exemption.
Sell it and switch to a car that passes
A car that fails is still legal to own, drive and sell. It only pays when it’s used inside a zone that charges it.
If you switch, a petrol car from 2006 or a diesel from September 2015 usually passes, and an electric car always does. See which cars pass and popular models by year.
Outside London
Each clean air zone sets its own rules. Birmingham and Bristol charge cars that fail. Bath, Bradford, Sheffield and Newcastle charge some vans, taxis, buses and lorries, but not private cars.
Oxford’s zero emission zone charges every car that isn’t electric, and Scotland’s zones fine instead of charging. Check one vehicle in every UK zone.
Common questions
Can I still drive a car that isn't ULEZ compliant?
Yes. Nothing stops you driving it in London. You pay £12.50 for each day it’s driven in the zone.
Is it illegal to own a car that isn't ULEZ compliant?
No. You can keep it, drive it outside the zones and sell it. The charge only applies on days it’s driven inside one.