ULEZ charge
If your car, van or motorbike falls short of the emissions standard, driving in London means paying the ULEZ charge of £12.50 a day. The charge runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year apart from Christmas Day. Drive in regularly and that daily fee adds up over a year.
Driving in on 138 days a year at £12.50 a day.
The £12.50 daily charge
Cars, vans and motorbikes all pay the same £12.50, and the zone covers all 32 London boroughs plus the City of London. The M25 itself sits outside it. There's no weekend or bank holiday break; the rules match weekdays, and 25 December is the one free date. TfL publishes the current charges for cars if you want to check.
The ULEZ charge in short
- £12.50daily, unless your car, van or motorbike meets the rules
- 24 hoursall year apart from 25 December
- 3 daysafter your trip to settle up
- 90 daysthe most you can pay in advance
These figures come from TfL.
The penalty for missing payment
- £180the full amount on a PCN (penalty charge notice)
- £90when you settle it in the first 14 days
- 28 daysin which to pay or appeal
- £270once a charge certificate arrives
When the charge was not paid, TfL sends a letter called a PCN (penalty charge notice). Count the 28 days from the date of service shown on the letter.
These figures come from TfL.
What the charge costs over a year
Here's how the daily fee builds up across a range of driving habits. The 46-week figures leave room for roughly 6 weeks a year when you stay out of the zone.
| Days a week | Weeks a year | Charged days | Cost a week | Cost a year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 46 | 46 | £12.50 | £575 |
| 3 | 46 | 138 | £37.50 | £1,725 |
| 5 | 46 | 230 | £62.50 | £2,875 |
| 5 | 52 | 260 | £62.50 | £3,250 |
| 7 | 52 | 364 | £87.50 | £4,550 |
Vehicles that pay the charge
You only face the charge if your vehicle misses the standard. That standard comes from Euro emissions ratings, numbered grades that show how clean an engine was when new. Electric cars, vans and motorbikes always meet the rules.
- Petrol car: needs Euro 4, and typically passes if first registered from 2006, with many 2001 models also qualifying.
- Diesel car: needs Euro 6, so registration from September 2015 onwards usually passes.
- Petrol van: needs Euro 4, usually met by vans registered from January 2006.
- Diesel van: needs Euro 6, usually met from September 2016.
- Motorbike or moped: needs Euro 3, usually met from July 2007.
Hybrids are judged by their engine, so one with a petrol engine qualifies just like a petrol car. Around the changeover years, results vary. A petrol car registered in March 2003 might pass or fail, and a diesel first registered in March 2015 carries the same uncertainty.
Paying on time
Payment opens 90 days before you travel. Once you've driven in, the deadline is midnight on the third day after that trip.
What happens if you don't pay?
Miss the deadline and TfL issues a penalty charge notice, a £180 fine. Pay within 14 days and it comes down to £90. You get 28 days to pay or to challenge it. After that window, TfL can send a charge certificate, a formal step that lifts the fine to £270. More detail on ULEZ penalties is on the TfL site.
Say a notice arrives on 1 October 2026. The reduced rate runs to 14 October. Your final date to settle or dispute the fine falls on 28 October, and if it is still unpaid after that, TfL can send the charge certificate.
Common questions
How can I tell whether ULEZ applies to me?
On newer vehicles, the Euro standard sometimes appears in section D.2 of the V5C, the vehicle's logbook. Your number plate gives a rough guide too: on plates from September 2001 onwards, the two numbers show when the vehicle was registered, so 26 means March 2026 and 76 means September 2026, which you can compare with the registration years for your vehicle type. For a definite answer about London's ULEZ, use TfL's official vehicle checker: it checks your vehicle's record rather than estimating from its age.
Can any vehicle avoid the ULEZ charge?
Some can. Anything built before 1 January 1973 is exempt, as are London-licensed taxis. Certain disability exemptions last until October 2027, and some of those require an application to TfL. Every exemption is listed by TfL.
Is this the same as the Congestion Charge?
No, they're two separate charges, and both might apply to you. The Congestion Charge is £18 for same-day or advance payment, rising to £21 if you pay within the following 3 days. It runs on weekdays between 07:00 and 18:00, and at weekends and on bank holidays from 12:00 to 18:00.
Do any other cities run similar schemes?
A few do. In Birmingham, a car that misses the standard pays £8 a day, and Bristol charges £9. In Scotland's low emission zones, you cannot pay a daily charge to drive a vehicle that fails the rules. The first penalty is £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days, and penalties double for repeat entries by the same vehicle into the same zone within 90 days, up to £480 for cars and light vans.