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The ULEZ can be difficult to navigate and properly understand. We’ve created guides that cover everything you need to know about the ULEZ and initiative tools that you can use to see how the ULEZ affects you and your journeys.
Want to find out more about the London ULEZ zone? A large portion of UK drivers will be impacted by the Ultra Low Emission Zone at one point in their lives, especially as other cities adopt similar schemes.
Browse our site to find out if your car is compliant, check if your postcode is in the ULEZ zone, or use our various other features to help you manage the charge. All our ULEZ tools are free to use.
Since the 29th of August 2023, the ULEZ zone operates across all London boroughs and the City of London.
Perform a ULEZ check to see if your vehicle is ULEZ compliant.
Simply enter a postcode to see if it is within the ULEZ zone.
Perform a CAZ check to see if your vehicle is Clean Air Zone compliant.
Perform a LEZ check to see if your vehicle is Low Emission compliant.
We have a wealth of resources, articles and tools to help you navigate the ULEZ zone and stay up-to-date with all the changes and updates due to be happening to the area soon. Browse our latest guides to see the ULEZ is changing, or use the following tools to find out how the ULEZ impacts you.
Only cars that emit too much pollution will have to pay a charge when entering the ULEZ zone. That means, before making a journey into London, it’s a good idea to check the status of your vehicle to see if you need to pay the charge or not.
Knowing if you need to pay can help you avoid penalty notices and also allows you to make payment arrangements so that you don’t forget.
The ULEZ charge affects millions of drivers daily, so use our ULEZ Checker to see if the scheme impacts your vehicle.
If you live in London, knowing if your home address, office, or other important destination falls within the ULEZ area can be worthwhile. In addition, if you’re visiting London from further afield, it can also be beneficial to know if you’re destination is part of the ULEZ area.
Knowing what specific locations that are important to you fall into the ULEZ zone can help you plan your journeys better and help you prepare to pay for a charge.
With our ULEZ postcode checker, all you need to do is enter your postcode, and it’ll determine whether your searched location is in the ULEZ. It will indicate its position with a pin on a map, allowing you to explore the local area to see if there are public transport options for you to make alternative travel arrangements.
You can use our ULEZ Postcode Checker to search any London postcode.
The interactive ULEZ map is a great way to fully understand the vastness of the ULEZ area and to see which locations and boroughs are affected.
With the ULEZ now covering the entire London, many residential, business and tourist areas will be impacted by the ULEZ zone.
With our interactive map, you can see the zone’s boundaries and find out what key public transport options, such as bus stations and tube stations, operate within the ULEZ area.
Our ULEZ Map is a great initial resource to help you fully grasp what areas you need to avoid if you drive a non-compliant vehicle.
There are multiple different ways to pay the ULEZ charge. You can choose to pay on the TFL website directly or set up automatic payments so that you’re charged automatically every time you enter the zone.
There are many ways to pay the ULEZ charge, with there being an option to suit everyone, be it if you’re a frequent traveller in the zone or are entering it for a single trip. You can use this guide to learn more about how to pay the ULEZ charge.
If you’re currently driving a car that is not ULEZ compliant, you may be thinking about upgrading your vehicle to one that is. Paying a ULEZ charge every time you commute to work or leave your home could have you paying over £3,000 a year to cover the charge. By getting a compliant car, you can save a lot of money.
We have a detailed guide on all the best ULEZ-compliant cars that you should consider getting, helping you to get the most out of driving within London.
Entering the ULEZ zone with a vehicle under 3.5 tonnes that isn't compliant with the emission restrictions costs £12.50. Lager vehicles do not pay ULEZ. Instead, these vehicles must pay LEZ charges if they're not compliant, which operates across most of Greater London. There are three potential LEZ charges, depending on the size of your vehicle.
The ULEZ charge is a flat daily fee, meaning you won't get charged more for completing more than one journey in a single day. You get charged for every 24 hours, meaning if you start a trip before midnight on one day and complete it after midnight the following day, you will be charged for two days.
If you don't pay your charge within three days of driving through a ULEZ area, you will get a penalty notice and instead have to pay £90.
The ULEZ operates continuously without any breaks 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This means that regardless of what time you drive into the ULEZ area, you will still be charged.
The only exception is that the ULEZ does not operate on Christmas day. However, it is still operating on other public holidays throughout the year.
The ULEZ area originally spanned the same area as the congestion zone when it was first introduced in 2019. This means that it was concentrated in the most central areas of London, such as Westminster and Soho.
In 2023, the ULEZ zone expanded to cover all London boroughs and the City of London. This now means that many residential areas are part of the ULEZ zone, affecting millions of residents.
Vehicles producing low pollution levels will be exempt from having to pay the ULEZ charge. For petrol cars, vehicles that are Euro Emission Level 4 or above will not have to pay ULEZ, and diesel cars will avoid a charge if it's Euro Emission Level 6.
Each car is given an emission level when the DVLA registers it. This level is checked when a vehicle enters the ULEZ area and is caught by one of its many cameras.
Motorbikes don't have to pay ULEZ if their NOx emission is no more than the Euro Level 3 level, and most hybrid and electric vehicles will also avoid having to pay too.
Other exempt vehicles include military vehicles, farm vehicles, cars with historic road tax classification, and some cranes and showman vehicles.
The ULEZ was first introduced in 2019 by the Major of London to tackle the rising pollution problems within London. The capital has some of the worst pollution levels in the UK and wider Europe, so the ULEZ scheme was designed to reduce the number of heavily polluting vehicles driving in central London areas.
Since its introduction, the pollution levels in London have dropped significantly, with some areas having their pollution levels drop by more than 50%, making the air safer and cleaner.
The congestion charge is an entirely separate scheme operating in London. The area where the congestion charge operates overlaps with the ULEZ zone and charges all vehicles, regardless of their emission output, to enter the area.
The purpose of the congestion charge is to reduce the number of vehicles entering specific areas of central London so that traffic conditions are improved.
The congestion charge costs £15 a day, or £17.50 if you pay a day late. Unlike the ULEZ area, the congestion charge only applies at set times, between 07:00-18:00 on weekdays and 12:00-18:00 on weekends.