How long do I have to pay a clean air zone charge?

It varies by zone and it is the detail that catches people out. The English zones on the central service allow payment for several days either side of the journey. Missing the window converts a charge of a few pounds into a penalty of a few hundred.

What happens if I do not pay?

A penalty charge notice is issued to the registered keeper. Most zones offer a reduced amount for prompt payment and increase it if the penalty is not paid or challenged in time, and unpaid penalties can be registered as a debt and enforced.

Can I appeal a clean air zone penalty?

Yes. The first step is an informal challenge to the issuing authority, usually with photographs or documents. If that is rejected you can make formal representations and then appeal to an independent adjudicator, and the deadlines for each step are short.

What grounds actually work?

Factual ones. The vehicle was not in the zone, the vehicle is compliant and the record was wrong, the vehicle was sold before the journey, the charge was paid, or the vehicle qualified for a registered exemption. Not knowing about the zone is not a ground.

Clean air zones

Paying a charge, and challenging a penalty

The charge is small and the penalty is not. Almost every unhappy story about a clean air zone is a missed payment window rather than a disputed charge.

Per day

How every UK zone charges

Transport for London, Ultra Low Emission Zone (as of 8 April 2019)

Payment services, not one

Source not published

Stages in a challenge

Source not published

Checked on 7 September 2026.Transport for London, Ultra Low Emission Zone (as of 8 April 2019)

Where do I pay a clean air zone charge?

There are three services, not one. The English clean air zones share the central GOV.UK payment service. London is paid through Transport for London. The Scottish low emission zones have nothing to pay, because a non compliant vehicle is barred rather than charged.

Every zone page on this site links to the official payment page for that zone. Pay through the operating authority and nowhere else: several sites resell these payments with a fee attached and no advantage.

What each zone charges as a penalty

Penalty for non payment, in the operating authority's own words
Zone	Penalty
Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)	£180 for each day of contravention, reduced to £90 if you pay within 14 days.
Low Emission Zone (LEZ)	£1,000 for a lorry, bus or coach and £500 for a larger van or minibus, each halved to £500 or £250 if you pay within 14 days. Left unpaid after 28 days they rise to £1,500 and £750.
Congestion Charge	£180, reduced to £90 if you pay within 14 days. If the penalty is still unpaid after 28 days a charge certificate raises it by half, to £270.
Bath Clean Air Zone	£120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days of the date of service. The unpaid daily charge, £9 or £100, is still owed on top of the penalty.
Birmingham Clean Air Zone	£120, with 28 days to pay from the date the notice was issued, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days.
Bristol Clean Air Zone	£120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days of the date of service. The daily charge is payable on top, and you have 28 days in total to settle both.
Bradford Clean Air Zone	£120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days, plus the daily charge of £7, £9 or £50 depending on the vehicle. If nothing is paid or challenged within 28 days a charge certificate raises the penalty by half, to £180.
Portsmouth Clean Air Zone	£60 if you pay within 14 days, rising to £120 after that. You can challenge a notice within 28 days. There is also a six day window to pay the daily charge before a notice is issued at all.
Sheffield Clean Air Zone	£120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days of receiving the notice. Unpaid after 28 days it rises to £180.
Tyneside Clean Air Zone	£120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days of receiving the notice. Unpaid beyond 28 days it increases by half and becomes recoverable as a civil debt.
Glasgow Low Emission Zone	£60, reduced to £30 if you pay within 14 days. The amount doubles for each further contravention by the same vehicle in the same zone within 90 days, capped at £480 for a car or light goods vehicle and £960 for a minibus, bus, coach or HGV. Once 90 days pass with no contravention the rate resets to £60.
Edinburgh Low Emission Zone	£60, reduced to £30 if you pay within 14 days. The amount doubles for each further contravention by the same vehicle in the same zone within 90 days, capped at £480 for a car or light goods vehicle and £960 for a minibus, bus, coach or HGV. Once 90 days pass with no contravention the rate resets to £60.
Aberdeen Low Emission Zone	£60, reduced to £30 if you pay within 14 days. The amount doubles for each further contravention by the same vehicle in the same zone within 90 days, capped at £480 for a car or light goods vehicle and £960 for a minibus, bus, coach or HGV. Once 90 days pass with no contravention the rate resets to £60.
Dundee Low Emission Zone	£60, reduced to £30 if you pay within 14 days. The amount doubles for each further contravention by the same vehicle in the same zone within 90 days, capped at £480 for a car or light goods vehicle and £960 for a minibus, bus, coach or HGV. Once 90 days pass with no contravention the rate resets to £60.
Oxford Zero Emission Zone pilot	£60, reduced to £30 if you pay within 14 days of the date of service. You have 28 days to pay in full or to challenge it.

The three stages of a challenge

Informal challenge to the issuing authority, as soon as the notice arrives. Attach the evidence: a photograph of the V5C, a receipt for the payment, a sale document. Most successful challenges end here.
Formal representations, if the informal challenge is refused. This is a defined statutory step with its own deadline, and missing the deadline usually removes the right to go further.
Appeal to an independent adjudicator. Free, decided on the papers unless you ask for a hearing, and the adjudicator is not part of the issuing authority.

What is worth challenging?

Anything factual. The vehicle was outside the zone, the vehicle meets the standard and the record is wrong, it had been sold before the journey, the charge was paid, or a registered exemption applied. Anything about fairness or awareness of the zone is not a ground and will not succeed.

Where the record is wrong rather than the notice, fix the record first. A vehicle whose Euro status is missing from the DVLA record will keep generating charges until the manufacturer's certificate of conformity is submitted to the operating authority.

Common questions

How long do I have to pay a clean air zone charge?: It varies by zone and it is the detail that catches people out. The English zones on the central service allow payment for several days either side of the journey. Missing the window converts a charge of a few pounds into a penalty of a few hundred.
What happens if I do not pay?: A penalty charge notice is issued to the registered keeper. Most zones offer a reduced amount for prompt payment and increase it if the penalty is not paid or challenged in time, and unpaid penalties can be registered as a debt and enforced.
Can I appeal a clean air zone penalty?: Yes. The first step is an informal challenge to the issuing authority, usually with photographs or documents. If that is rejected you can make formal representations and then appeal to an independent adjudicator, and the deadlines for each step are short.
What grounds actually work?: Factual ones. The vehicle was not in the zone, the vehicle is compliant and the record was wrong, the vehicle was sold before the journey, the charge was paid, or the vehicle qualified for a registered exemption. Not knowing about the zone is not a ground.

Sources

Penalty amounts and deadlines come from the operating authority for each zone.