Emissions standard
Euro 7
Checked on 24 April 2024.EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/1257, Annex I table 1: Euro 7 exhaust emission limits for M1 and N1 (as of 24 April 2024)
Euro 7 clean air zone status
Compliant
A petrol car at Euro 7 meets the Euro 4 pass mark every UK zone applies to petrol.
Compliant
A diesel at Euro 7 meets the Euro 6 pass mark every UK zone applies to diesel.
What is Euro 7?
Euro 7 is a stage of European vehicle pollutant limits. The tailpipe limits barely move. What changes is what is measured: particles are counted down to 10 nanometres rather than 23, the particulate limit applies to every petrol engine rather than direct injection only, and for the first time the regulation sets limits for brake particles and tyre abrasion. In the EU and Northern Ireland it applies to new car registrations from 29 November 2027. Great Britain has consulted on adopting Euro 7 but has not yet legislated, so Euro 6 remains the standard for new cars in England, Scotland and Wales.
Euro 7 limits, in g/km
| Pollutant | Petrol | Diesel | Change from Euro 6 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carbon monoxide (CO) | 1 | 0.5 | 0 per cent lower on diesel |
| Hydrocarbons (HC) | 0.1 | No limit set | |
| Hydrocarbons and NOx combined | No limit set | 0.17 | 0 per cent lower on diesel |
| Nitrogen oxides (NOx) | 0.06 | 0.08 | 0 per cent lower on diesel |
| Particulate matter (PM) | 0.0045 | 0.0045 | 0 per cent lower on diesel |
This stage also sets a particle number limit of 6e+11 particles per kilometre, which counts the particles rather than weighing them. A filter can pass on mass and still fail on number, which is why the second limit was added.
Which cars will have to meet Euro 7
Euro 7 applies to new passenger car type approvals from 29 November 2026 and to new registrations from 29 November 2027 under Regulation (EU) 2024/1257. Those dates apply in the EU and, under the Windsor Framework, in Northern Ireland. Great Britain has consulted on adopting Euro 7 but has not yet legislated, so Euro 6 remains the standard for new cars in England, Scotland and Wales. There is not yet a compulsory Euro 7 used car on a UK drive.
The tailpipe numbers for M1 passenger cars in Annex I table 1 barely move from Euro 6. Petrol carbon monoxide stays at 1.0 g/km, hydrocarbons at 0.1 g/km, nitrogen oxides at 0.06 g/km, particulates at 0.0045 g/km and particle number at 6e11 per kilometre. Diesel carbon monoxide stays at 0.5 g/km, combined hydrocarbons and nitrogen oxides at 0.17 g/km, nitrogen oxides at 0.08 g/km, with the same particulate mass and number.
What changes is what is measured, and what else is limited. Particles are counted down to 10 nanometres rather than 23. The particulate limit applies to every petrol engine rather than direct injection only. For the first time the regulation sets limits for brake particles and tyre abrasion.
Why the tailpipe table looks like Euro 6
Printing the Euro 7 petrol and diesel columns next to Euro 6 is the honest way to show the stage. Carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, nitrogen oxides, particulate mass and particle number for cars are the same figures this site already stores for Euro 6. A page that invents tighter tailpipe milligram numbers for Euro 7 is not reading Regulation (EU) 2024/1257 table 1 as this dataset does.
The 10 nanometre particle count is a measurement change, not a new particle number cap in the g/km table. More of the particles that already existed are brought into the count. A filter that passed at 23 nanometres is being asked to deal with a finer cut of the same exhaust.
Applying particulate mass to every petrol engine closes the port injection gap that Euro 5 and Euro 6 left open. Direct injection petrol has had a mass limit since Euro 5. Euro 7 removes that restriction.
- Tailpipe petrol: carbon monoxide 1.0 g/km, hydrocarbons 0.1 g/km, nitrogen oxides 0.06 g/km, particulates 0.0045 g/km, particle number 6e11 per kilometre.
- Tailpipe diesel: carbon monoxide 0.5 g/km, combined 0.17 g/km, nitrogen oxides 0.08 g/km, particulates 0.0045 g/km, particle number 6e11 per kilometre.
- New at this stage: 10 nanometre particle counting, petrol particulate mass on every petrol engine, and brake and tyre limits.
Brake and tyre limits sit outside the old exhaust table
Euro 1 to Euro 6 only limited what came out of the tailpipe. Euro 7 is the first stage in this dataset that also limits brake particles and tyre abrasion. Those limits are in the regulation. This page does not invent milligram per kilometre brake figures that are not stored in the passenger car exhaust table above.
A clean air zone camera today does not read brake particle certification. The UK pass marks remain Euro 4 petrol and Euro 6 diesel. Euro 7 will sit above both when a car holds it, but a zone that still asks for Euro 6 diesel will not start asking for Euro 7 unless that operator publishes a new pass mark.
Euro 7 and today's clean air zones
A car that holds Euro 7 will meet Euro 4 on petrol and Euro 6 on diesel, because 7 is above both pass marks. That is arithmetic on the stage number, not a new zone scheme. Until 29 November 2027 the compulsory new registration stage remains Euro 6.
Buying a current used diesel for a clean air zone is still a Euro 6 question, not a Euro 7 question. A 2016 diesel that holds Euro 6 already passes. Waiting for Euro 7 does not change that 2016 car.
Example
A petrol car type approved on 29 November 2026, registered on 29 November 2027
- Fuel
- Petrol
- Type approval from
- 29 November 2026
- New registrations from
- 29 November 2027
- Petrol NOx at Euro 7
- 0.06 g/km, the same published figure as Euro 6
- Particle counting
- Down to 10 nanometres rather than 23
- 29 November 2026 is the type approval date. 29 November 2027 is the date a new car has to meet Euro 7 to be registered in the EU and Northern Ireland. Great Britain has not set a date.
- Petrol nitrogen oxides remain 0.06 g/km, matching Euro 6. The tailpipe table is not the story.
- Particles are counted to 10 nanometres, and the particulate mass limit applies to this petrol engine even if it is not direct injection.
- Euro 7 is above Euro 4 and Euro 6, so a car that holds it meets today's zone pass marks on the stage number.
A new petrol car registered in Northern Ireland from 29 November 2027 has to meet Euro 7; in Great Britain that depends on legislation not yet made. Today's ULEZ diesel test remains Euro 6. Do not treat Euro 7 tailpipe limits as a published cut from 0.06 g/km of nitrogen oxides, because this table does not cut them.
How Euro 7 will be proved, when it is on a V5C
The paperwork route does not change. V.9 will carry Euro 7 when DVLA holds that status. The certificate of conformity will show the type approval against Regulation (EU) 2024/1257. A zone that still asks for Euro 6 diesel will treat Euro 7 as a pass on the stage number.
Until cars are actually registered to the stage, there is no Euro 7 V.9 to correct. If a seller describes a current used car as Euro 7, ask for the certificate. A 2024 or 2025 car in this timetable is a Euro 6 car.
- For a car registered before 29 November 2027, and for any car registered in Great Britain until it adopts Euro 7, treat Euro 6 as the compulsory new registration floor unless V.9 already shows Euro 7 by early certification.
- From 29 November 2027, a new car registered in Northern Ireland has to meet Euro 7. Great Britain has not yet set a date.
- Read V.9 once that field starts to show Euro 7, and check the zone's own vehicle checker.
- Use the certificate of conformity if a zone has the car as an earlier stage.
- Do not send brake or tyre paperwork to a zone that still publishes a Euro 6 diesel pass mark. That is not the test those schemes run today.
What Euro 7 does not change this year
It does not change the petrol Euro 4 or diesel Euro 6 pass marks in the London ULEZ, the English clean air zones or the Scottish low emission zones. It does not put a charging zone in Wales or Northern Ireland. It does not turn RDE2 into Euro 7. RDE2 remains an extra diesel on road test used in tax.
It does not let this page publish van or motorcycle Euro 7 dates. The dates above are passenger cars, M1, from the car table in the regulation as stored in this dataset. A van or a motorcycle needs its own source.
- A Q plate will still carry no age when Euro 7 cars exist. The mark will not prove the stage.
- Early type approval from 29 November 2026 can put Euro 7 on a car registered before 29 November 2027. V.9 would then show it.
- Inventing a lower nitrogen oxide number than 0.06 g/km petrol or 0.08 g/km diesel is not reading this table.
Common questions
- When does Euro 7 become compulsory for new cars?
- New type approvals from 29 November 2026, and new passenger car registrations from 29 November 2027, under Regulation (EU) 2024/1257. Those dates apply in the EU and in Northern Ireland. Great Britain has consulted on adopting Euro 7 but has not yet legislated, so Euro 6 remains the standard for new cars in England, Scotland and Wales.
- Do Euro 7 tailpipe limits change from Euro 6?
- Barely, for cars in this dataset. Petrol nitrogen oxides stay at 0.06 g/km and diesel nitrogen oxides stay at 0.08 g/km, with the same carbon monoxide, hydrocarbon, particulate mass and particle number caps. The change is what is measured and what else is limited.
- What does counting particles to 10 nanometres mean?
- The count includes smaller particles than the 23 nanometre cut used before. The particle number cap in this table stays at 6e11 per kilometre. It is a finer measurement of the same limit, not a new number invented on this page.
- Does Euro 7 apply particulate mass to every petrol engine?
- Yes. Euro 5 and Euro 6 applied the petrol particulate limit only to direct injection. Euro 7 removes that restriction, so port injection petrol is inside the particulate mass limit as well.
- Will a Euro 7 car pass today's clean air zones?
- Yes, on the stage number. Euro 7 is above Euro 4 for petrol and above Euro 6 for diesel. Today's schemes still publish those pass marks. They have not been rewritten as Euro 7 tests in this dataset.
- Are brake and tyre limits a ULEZ test?
- Not in the schemes this site stores. Those schemes still ask for a tailpipe Euro stage. Brake particles and tyre abrasion are new Euro 7 limits in the regulation. They are not the camera test in London, Birmingham or Glasgow today.
- Is Euro 7 the same as RDE2?
- No. RDE2 is an extra on road nitrogen oxide test used in first year tax and, as Euro 6d, in company car tax. Euro 7 is a later stage with its own dates in 2026 and 2027.
- Can I buy a Euro 7 car now to pass the ULEZ?
- A current used diesel that already holds Euro 6 already passes the ULEZ. Euro 7 is not required for that pass, and a new car does not have to meet Euro 7 until 29 November 2027 in Northern Ireland, or until Great Britain adopts it. Ask for V.9 on any car a seller labels Euro 7 before that date.
Sources
- EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2024/1257, Annex I table 1: Euro 7 exhaust emission limits for M1 and N1 (as of 24 April 2024)
- Department for Transport, Updating the minimum emission standard for new road vehicles (consultation, government analysing feedback) (as of 10 September 2026)
- EUR-Lex, Council Directive 1999/37/EC, Annex I: harmonised codes on vehicle registration documents, V.9 environmental category of EC type-approval (as of 29 April 1999)