Portsmouth Clean Air Zone
Private cars, vans and motorbikes don't have to pay anything in the Portsmouth Clean Air Zone, so the daily charge never applies to most drivers coming into the city. The only vehicles charged are taxis, private hire vehicles and lorries that fall short of the emissions standard.
Which vehicles have to pay in the zone?
A private car, van or motorbike pays nothing to drive there, no matter how old it is or what fuel it uses. That holds even if it's an older diesel that some other cities would charge.
Taxis and private hire vehicles that miss the standard owe £10 for the day. A private hire vehicle means a minicab or similar car you have to book ahead rather than flag down. Lorries that miss the standard pay £50 a day.
| Vehicle | Daily charge when it misses the standard |
|---|---|
| Private car | Nothing to pay |
| Van | Nothing to pay |
| Motorbike | Nothing to pay |
| Taxi or private hire | £10 |
| Lorry | £50 |
The numbers come from the charges page on Portsmouth City Council's website.
Portsmouth Clean Air Zone at a glance
- No chargea day for a van, unless it meets the rules
- 24 hours a dayevery day
- £120penalty if you don't pay, £60 if paid early
- 29 November 2021when charging or enforcement began
These figures come from Portsmouth City Council.
The zone's location and hours
The zone sits in the south western part of Portsea Island. It started on 29 November 2021 and runs 24 hours a day, every day.
What standard must taxis and lorries meet?
To avoid the charge, a taxi or lorry needs to meet Euro 4 if it runs on petrol, or Euro 6 if it runs on diesel. Euro standards are European emissions levels that vehicles were built to, and the newer the vehicle, the higher the level it usually reaches.
Every new petrol car had to meet Euro 4 from January 2006 onwards. For diesel, the date was September 2015, when all new cars had to meet Euro 6, per the RAC guide to Euro standards. Vehicles registered just around those dates could sit on either side, so the year by itself isn't always enough to tell.
Paying the daily charge
Need to pay for a taxi or lorry? The window runs from 6 days before the day you drive in to 6 days after. Miss that window and a £120 penalty applies, reduced to £60 for early payment.
Questions people often ask
How can I tell if my vehicle is exempt?
In Portsmouth, a private car, van or motorbike isn't charged. For taxis and lorries, the V5C logbook sometimes lists the Euro standard for newer vehicles in section D.2. The GOV.UK checkers look up the vehicle's individual record and settle the question for good, which is a real help when the registration date falls in a year when standards were changing over.
Do other Clean Air Zones charge my car?
Each city decides its own rules. Take an older diesel first registered in March 2014: it goes free in Portsmouth, Bath, Bradford, Sheffield and Newcastle, yet Birmingham charges £8 a day, Bristol £9, and London's ULEZ £12.50.
Is Bath the same as Portsmouth?
Almost, but not quite. Private cars are spared in Bath too, yet vans that miss the standard pay £9 a day there, taxis pay £9, and lorries £100. In Portsmouth, vans are not charged at all.
What about Birmingham?
The A4540 Middleway marks Birmingham's zone boundary, though the road itself sits outside it. Failing cars and vans pay £8 a day and lorries £50, and the payment window and penalty match Portsmouth's: 6 days before to 6 days after, £120, dropping to £60 with early payment.
How does London compare?
Every one of the 32 boroughs plus the City of London falls inside the ULEZ, where a failing car, van or motorbike costs £12.50 a day. It runs daily apart from Christmas Day, and payment is due by midnight on the third day after you drive. The penalty is £180 there, or £90 if you pay within 14 days, as explained on TfL's ULEZ page.