London ULEZ charge: Check if you need to pay

The Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) means drivers of certain cars must pay a charge to enter London. Here's how to check if you're liable.

How to check if you need to pay the ulez

The Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has operated for 24 hours a day in London since early 2019. It previously covered the same inner-city area as the Congestion Charge, but now includes everywhere within the North and South Circular roads.

From 29 August 2023, the ULEZ will expand again, this time to most of the area inside the M25 orbital motorway.

Cars must meet certain Euro-mandated exhaust emissions standards to comply with the ULEZ. Diesel cars registered as recently as 2015 could be eligible for the £12.50 daily charge.

Transport for London (TfL) has created an online check tool to see if you must pay to enter the ULEZ. Click here and input your registration number to discover if your car is liable for a fee.

If in doubt, this online checker from data firm HPI offers a breakdown of the different Euro emissions standards for cars.

London ULEZ: Do I need to pay?

The London ULEZ is coming

Drivers who enter the London ULEZ in vehicles that do not comply with the emissions standards are subject to a £12.50 daily fee. That’s on top of the £15 Congestion Charge if you enter the central zone, don’t forget.

Unlike the Congestion Charge, the ULEZ is enforced 24 hours a day, seven days a week. It applies every day of the year apart from Christmas day.

Vehicles affected are those with pre-Euro 6 diesel engines and pre-Euro 4 petrol engines. Diesel cars that meet the standards are generally those registered after September 2015. Petrol cars registered after 2005 should meet the minimum requirements.

Riders of motorcycles built before 2007 also have to pay the ULEZ charge.

Read our full guide to the London ULEZ charge here, including more details of the forthcoming expansion to the zone in autumn 2023.

ALSO READ:

How to save money on motoring

What are Low Traffic Neighbourhoods – and why are they so controversial?

Read all our new car reviews

Related Articles

Gavin Braithwaite-Smith
Gavin Braithwaite-Smithhttp://www.petrolblog.com
Writer with a penchant for #FrenchTat. Owns 15 vehicles of varying degrees of terribleness. Also doing a passable impression of Cousin Eddie in an Italian-German beige motorhome. Doesn't get out much.

14 COMMENTS

  1. Hopefully London will end up as a ghost town, thanks to the irresponsible decisions, that this inept government have come up with. Why didn’t they simply insist, that the big car manufacturers, build more environmentally friendly cars, and let all of the older models die a natural death in their own time, which they would inevitably do in any case. But what will happen instead, is that the more impoverished drivers will be driven out of London altogether. So who will be anywhere near London to do your important deliveries then? The answer to this is NO-ONE!!!

  2. It’s really frustrating and back down below set back. Car dealers need to be penalised by the motoring industry. When in business Consignments and transactions made on the background, privately without telling the consumers nothing regarding the oncoming ULEZ charges.
    What a wicked world.

  3. like the cladding scandal it will be the owners of vehicles and not the car manufacturers who will suffer and pay –
    again appalling short sightedness by a government who cares nothing about the environment and will do anything or big business.
    i voted Green right across the elections…

  4. Back door toll road charge. Also because it was central London making the traffic move outwards its become necessary too expand it. They are just moving the problems not solving them.

  5. I have a EUR 02, and live in w6. Is this mean every time I use my car within W6 area I will be charged 12.50 a day.

  6. £27.50 every time a motorist crosses the “Ulez lines. This has been kept very secret
    and people are going to go “nuts” with these charges.The idiot who is Sadiq Khan
    Mayor of London will be providing the biggest loss to all the small businesses in London as as soon as this “ clicks in” and they have a heavily reduced income stream, will result in many closures as the customer base will no longer be there.
    These people in govt never think things through beforehand.Khan thinks that everyone will jump on a bus or tube and fill up the London transport coffers.
    What a crock of “S—t”. Bye bye businesses! £27.50 a day ha ha ha !

  7. I drove a little van that does 60mpg into London yesterday thinking it would cost me around £30, it cost £130. I am so angry that I will never do work in London again. There is no way that my van as old as it is causes more pollution than a bigger van that is a few years newer. This is just a TAX on the poor. I get the same money anywhere in the country so I just will not work anywhere where I there is charges to enter even if I have an exempt vehicle.

  8. Just another money making idea being a stealth tax. Most businesses will close down and cripple london plus working people will not be able to travel to work or get to urgent places like hospital. Plus disabled drivers will be unable to get out and about. Thank you chancellor for not hitting the rich with the tax’s just pensioners and the frail

  9. Sadiq Khan is nothing but a pickpocket, he knows nothing about London. I still can not believe that people voted for the worst mayor that London has ever had. They will now feel the pain that he is will inflict on hard working Londoners.

  10. The REAL truth about ULEZ has very little to do with “air quality” – and masses to do with an incompetent Sadiq Khan trying to pay off the 11.17 billion pounds (yes 11.17 BILLION pounds) he is in debt following his financial mismanagement of an avaricious Transport for London.

  11. Has anyone set up a petition it’s ridiculous. I got one fine on the way out and on the way back I got stuck in traffic so missed midnight by an hour so I got another £80 fine. So £160 in total. I called up TFL to see if there was anything that can be done. It was quickly obvious the people answering the phone do not have a clue! At £160 I could have got a return flight, much greener !!!!

  12. I got scammed by this taxation; sorry charge which I contested, Despite my 22 year old car only being Euro 3 the NoX level meets the standard required by ULEZ. This was confirmed by Mercedes who gave me a letter to register with TfL so it’s now exempt from payment.

    Might be worth checking with your own car manufacturer if it meets the required standards and get it registered.

  13. I have tried to check if I need to pay ulez I am at a loss trying to check. In this age of computers why is this so difficult.At the moment I don’t if I will be fined

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Find a Car Review

Latest

New Volkswagen ID.Buzz GTX gets 340hp and all-wheel drive

The retro-styled ID. Buzz people carrier is now offered with 340hp, making for an unlikely addition to Volkswagen’s sporty GTX range.

Salon Privé London to host three days of champagne and supercars

Salon Privé London returns to the Royal Hospital in Chelsea next month, with special celebrations of McLaren and the Porsche 911 Turbo.

How to protect your car with an OBD port locking device

We explain how to prevent your car being stolen by criminals targeting its On-Board Diagnostics (OBD) port.

Kia EV9 is World Car of the Year 2024

The Kia EV9 is the latest pure electric car to be named World Car of the Year – and it also scooped the World Electric Vehicle 2024 prize