Free ULEZ & Clean Air Zone Checker

What is ULEZ and a Clean Air Zone?

London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) and the Clean Air Zones (CAZs) in cities such as Birmingham and Bristol charge the most polluting vehicles a daily fee to drive in them. Scotland's Low Emission Zones (LEZs) go further and restrict non-compliant vehicles outright. They all judge a car on the same thing: its Euro emissions standard.

Which cars are compliant?

For cars the rule is straightforward: petrol cars that meet Euro 4 (broadly those first registered from 2006) and diesel cars that meet Euro 6 (broadly those first registered from September 2015) are compliant and pay nothing. Fully electric and hydrogen cars are always compliant. This checker reads your car's fuel type and emissions data from the DVLA and compares it to those thresholds.

Which UK cities charge cars?

As things stand, the zones that charge or restrict private cars are London (ULEZ), Birmingham, Bristol, and the Scottish LEZs in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee. Several other Clean Air Zones, including Bath, Sheffield, Bradford, Tyneside and Portsmouth, only charge commercial vehicles, so private cars are unaffected there.

Check before you buy

If you are buying a used car and drive into any of these zones, check it here first, because a non-compliant car can cost thousands a year in daily charges. You can also run a full free vehicle check for its MOT history, tax status and valuation.