Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), London

Where does the ULEZ begin on the main roads into London?

The zone runs across every London borough and the City of London, so the useful question is where on your own road it starts. TfL publishes a written description of the boundary, junction by junction, and it holds a few surprises. The line does not always follow the Greater London boundary: several trunk roads stay outside the zone for a stretch after they enter London, and only join it at a named roundabout or junction.

The motorways are the big exception. TfL says the M25 is not part of the ULEZ, even where it passes within the boundary, and the M11 stays out although it crosses the boundary. The M1 is outside until the exit for London Gateway Services and the M4 until junction 3. Heathrow Airport is inside, along with the roads bordering it and its entrances.

Which vehicles pay the £12.50 ULEZ charge?

The charge falls on cars, motorcycles, vans and specialist vehicles up to and including 3.5 tonnes, and on minibuses up to and including 5 tonnes, that miss the standard. Heavier lorries, vans and specialist vehicles over 3.5 tonnes, and buses, minibuses and coaches over 5 tonnes, pay nothing under the ULEZ: the Low Emission Zone judges them instead, against Euro VI and at far higher daily rates.

What counts is the Euro standard, not the age. TfL gives the dates each standard became compulsory for new vehicles, a fair first guess before you use the checker.

How do I check a car or van on TfL's vehicle checker?

The answer that decides a ULEZ charge is the one TfL's own vehicle checker gives for that registration, not the year on the plate or a dealer's advert. Your V5C may carry a Euro status, but the zone decision comes from TfL's record, so a mismatch is fixed by registering the vehicle with TfL.

TfL accepts a letter from the manufacturer's homologation department stating the Euro standard, or the manufacturer's certificate of conformity, each with a copy of the V5C or its foreign equivalent.

1. 1Check the registration on TfL's vehicle checker before your first trip into the zone.
2. 2If it says non-compliant and you disagree, get a homologation letter or certificate of conformity from the manufacturer.
3. 3Register the vehicle with TfL with that evidence and a copy of the V5C, allowing up to 10 working days for a vehicle registered abroad.
4. 4Keep paying the daily charge until TfL confirms acceptance, because an unpaid trip before then can still bring a penalty.

How and when do I pay the ULEZ charge?

You can pay up to 90 days before you travel, on the day, or afterwards up to midnight on the third day following the journey. The charging day runs from midnight to midnight, so a trip that starts at 23:30 and ends at 00:30 spans two days and needs two payments. Nothing is charged on Christmas Day.

Auto Pay removes the deadline problem. There are no registration or renewal fees, TfL says it protects you from a penalty charge notice, and it bills monthly for the Congestion Charge, the Blackwall and Silvertown tunnels and any ULEZ or LEZ charge. Standard Auto Pay takes up to five vehicles, and six or more moves a business to Fleet Auto Pay. It covers journeys made earlier on the day it becomes active, but not journeys on previous days.

• Online through TfL's Pay to drive in London service.
• In the free TfL Pay to drive in London app, on the App Store and Google Play.
• By phone on 0343 222 2222, or +44 343 222 2222 from abroad, 08:00 to 20:00 Monday to Friday.

What does a ULEZ penalty charge notice cost at each stage?

A missed payment brings a penalty charge notice of £180 for a car, van, motorcycle, motor tricycle, moped, motor caravan, ambulance or minibus. Paying within 14 days of the date of service halves it to £90. From the date of service you have 28 days to pay or to challenge it.

To challenge, send TfL a representation within those 28 days. Statutory grounds include not being the keeper at the time, paying correctly, an exempt vehicle, a vehicle taken without consent, an excessive penalty, or a hire firm whose vehicle was on hire. TfL also considers other reasons and mitigating circumstances. The PCN is frozen while TfL decides.

A refusal comes as a notice of rejection, and you then have 28 days to appeal to the Road User Charging Adjudicators at London Tribunals, online with the code on the notice or on the enclosed form. Once a charge certificate is issued, only a statutory declaration remains, for a PCN you never received.

Which ULEZ exemptions and grace periods apply, and until when?

Most ULEZ concessions are grace periods with an end date, and most need an application. A Blue Badge alone does not help: TfL says holders pay unless the vehicle meets the standard or is registered for a grace period, and a Congestion Charge discount does not carry across.

The qualifying benefits include the standard or enhanced mobility rate of Personal Independence Payment, the standard or enhanced rate of Adult Disability Payment, the higher mobility rate of Disability Living Allowance or Child Disability Payment, War Pensioners' Mobility Supplement and Armed Forces Independence Payment. Certain medical circumstances also qualify, including registered blindness, terminal illness and specified needs of a child under three. People over state pension age receiving Attendance Allowance may apply for the disabled tax class grace period even if their vehicle lacks that tax class. NHS patients too ill to travel by public transport can claim charges back from the treating hospital.

Is the ULEZ scrappage scheme still open?

No. The Mayor's scrappage scheme ran from 30 January 2023 and closed to new applicants on 8 September 2024. Applications already made were processed, and the final grant payments went out by the end of July 2025. TfL says it helped remove or upgrade almost 54,000 older vehicles.

The mayoral decision that closed it, signed on 2 September 2024, gives a funding pot of £210m, with over £186m committed across 53,944 approved applications by 4 August 2024, and a £100,000 donation to British-Ukrainian Aid after 330 vehicles were accepted for Ukraine.

How did the ULEZ grow from central London to every borough?

The ULEZ began on 8 April 2019 in the Congestion Charge area, replacing the T-Charge, at £12.50 a day for cars, vans and motorbikes and £100 for lorries, buses and coaches. Heavy vehicles now answer to the LEZ instead and pay no ULEZ at all.

On 25 October 2021 it spread across inner London, up to but not including the North and South Circular roads: 18 times the original area and about four million people, some 44 per cent of Londoners. On 29 August 2023 it reached every borough.

Has the ULEZ cleaned up London's air?

The Mayor's one year report on the London-wide expansion, published on 7 March 2025, puts compliance among vehicles seen driving in London at 96.7 per cent in September 2024, against 91.6 per cent in June 2023 and 39 per cent in February 2017. In outer London it rose from 90.9 per cent to 96.7 per cent, and an average day brought nearly 100,000 fewer non-compliant vehicles than June 2023, a 58 per cent fall.

The pollution figures are modelled against a London without the scheme. For 2024 the report estimates roadside nitrogen dioxide 27 per cent lower across London, 54 per cent lower in central London, 29 per cent lower in inner London and 24 per cent lower in outer London. In outer London it puts NOx from cars 13 per cent lower and from vans 16 per cent lower, with combined exhaust PM2.5 from cars and vans down 31 per cent. City Hall cites 2019 research finding toxic air contributed to the premature deaths of around 4,000 Londoners.

What would a 2014 diesel cost a commuter coming up the A23?

A diesel car first registered in 2014 predates September 2015, when Euro 6 became compulsory for new cars, so it may well fall short. The checker decides for each registration.

Does a 2005 petrol car pay the ULEZ?

Petrol cars need Euro 4, which TfL dates as compulsory for new cars from 2005. That puts a 2005 petrol right on the line, so the registration matters more than the year.

How much does the ULEZ cost a tradesperson with a 2015 diesel van?

Larger diesel vans only had to meet Euro 6 when new from September 2016, a year after cars, so a van first registered in 2015 or early 2016 needs checking with particular care.

Do visitors and foreign-registered vehicles pay the ULEZ?

Yes. TfL says owners of non-UK registered vehicles also need to meet the standards or pay the daily charge. Check the registration with TfL before travel: it already holds records for many foreign vehicles. If the record is missing or wrongly shows a compliant vehicle as chargeable, or the vehicle needs registration for an exemption, register it with TfL. Keep paying until TfL accepts the evidence.

A visitor who stays on the M25 pays nothing. The charge starts once you cross the ULEZ boundary shown on TfL's map or in its road description. Dropping someone at Heathrow in a non-compliant car costs a day's charge.