Is there a clean air zone in Birmingham?

Yes. Birmingham is covered by the Birmingham Clean Air Zone, run by Birmingham City Council, in force since 1 June 2021. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year..

How many public chargers are there in Birmingham?

Birmingham's clean air zone is a class D scheme covering 2.96 square miles of the city. Class D is the only type that charges private cars, so an older car driven into the zone pays a daily charge whatever its condition.

Are motoring rules different in England?

Vehicle tax, speeding penalties and licensing are set nationally, so they are the same everywhere in Great Britain. What varies locally is whether a charging zone applies and what it costs.

Driving in

Driving in Birmingham

West Midlands, England. What is different here rather than what is the same everywhere.

1,176,960

Population, West Midlands

Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)

Birmingham Clean Air Zone

Charging or low emission zone

Birmingham City Council, Paying the clean air zone (CAZ) daily charge (as of 14 June 2021)

Postcode areas

Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)

Checked on 30 June 2025.Office for National Statistics, Population estimates, local authority based by single year of age (mid-2025) (as of 30 June 2025)

The Birmingham Clean Air Zone

Charged

£8.00 a day

2004 petrol car: No Euro figure is recorded, so we have read it from the first registration date of 1 January 2004. New cars had to meet Euro 3 from 1 January 2001, below the Euro 4 that Birmingham Clean Air Zone asks of a petrol car, so the daily charge of £8.00 applies.

Charged

£8.00 a day

2012 diesel car: No Euro figure is recorded, so we have read it from the first registration date of 1 January 2012. New cars had to meet Euro 5 from 1 January 2011, below the Euro 6 that Birmingham Clean Air Zone asks of a diesel car, so the daily charge of £8.00 applies.

Compliant

2018 diesel car: No Euro figure is recorded, so we have read it from the first registration date of 1 January 2018. New cars had to meet Euro 6 from 1 September 2015. Birmingham Clean Air Zone asks Euro 6 of a diesel car, so there is nothing to pay.

Birmingham Clean Air Zone: the essentials

Operated by	Birmingham City Council
In force since	1 June 2021
Hours	24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
Area	Everything inside the A4540 Middleway ring road. The Middleway itself is outside the zone, so you can drive right round the city centre without paying, but almost every turn off it takes you in.
Penalty for non payment	£120, with 28 days to pay from the date the notice was issued, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days.

Birmingham's zone went live on 1 June 2021 and is one of only two class D zones in England, which means private cars pay. The first fortnight was charge free, with daily charges starting on 14 June 2021. The A4540 Middleway is the part people get wrong: the ring road is outside the zone, so a non-compliant car can circle the centre for nothing, and the £8 charge only lands once it turns in.

Full detail on the Birmingham Clean Air Zone

What is different about driving in Birmingham?

Birmingham is covered by the Birmingham Clean Air Zone, so an older car pays a daily charge that the same car would not pay in most of the country. Vehicle tax, fuel duty and speeding penalties are national and identical everywhere.

Local figures for Birmingham

Birmingham's clean air zone is a class D scheme covering 2.96 square miles of the city. Class D is the only type that charges private cars, so an older car driven into the zone pays a daily charge whatever its condition.
The zone's minimum standard is Euro 6 for diesels and Euro 4 for petrol cars, and it runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year.
About 443,600 licensed cars sat on the Birmingham council area's roads at the end of March 2026, roughly one for every 2.7 residents.
31.7% of Birmingham households had no car or van at the 2021 census, against 23.5% across England.
DfT counted 1,640 public electric vehicle chargers in the city at 1 April 2026, which is 138.6 per 100,000 residents.

The numbers behind those lines

Official statistics for West Midlands
Measure	Figure
Vehicle fleet	Birmingham's clean air zone is a class D scheme covering 2.96 square miles of the city. Class D is the only type that charges private cars, so an older car driven into the zone pays a daily charge whatever its condition.
Public charging	Birmingham's clean air zone is a class D scheme covering 2.96 square miles of the city. Class D is the only type that charges private cars, so an older car driven into the zone pays a daily charge whatever its condition.
Car ownership	31.7% of Birmingham households had no car or van at the 2021 census, against 23.5% across England.

Common questions

Is there a clean air zone in Birmingham?: Yes. Birmingham is covered by the Birmingham Clean Air Zone, run by Birmingham City Council, in force since 1 June 2021. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year..
What does a car pay to drive in Birmingham?: No Euro figure is recorded, so we have read it from the first registration date of 1 January 2012. New cars had to meet Euro 5 from 1 January 2011, below the Euro 6 that Birmingham Clean Air Zone asks of a diesel car, so the daily charge of £8.00 applies.
How many public chargers are there in Birmingham?: Birmingham's clean air zone is a class D scheme covering 2.96 square miles of the city. Class D is the only type that charges private cars, so an older car driven into the zone pays a daily charge whatever its condition.
Are motoring rules different in England?: Vehicle tax, speeding penalties and licensing are set nationally, so they are the same everywhere in Great Britain. What varies locally is whether a charging zone applies and what it costs.