London ULEZ: charges, hours, fines and how to check your car
5 September 2026·5 min read
What the ULEZ is and where it runs
The Ultra Low Emission Zone covers the whole of Greater London, right out to the M25 in places. Drive inside the boundary in a non-compliant vehicle and you owe the daily charge whether you spend ten minutes or ten hours there.
It runs 24 hours a day, every day of the year except Christmas Day. There is no evening or weekend pause, and the charge is per calendar day, not per trip, so crossing the boundary three times in a day still costs once.
Which cars pay and which are clear
The rule is the same as every other UK zone. Petrol cars meeting Euro 4, roughly 2006 onward, and diesels meeting Euro 6, roughly 2015 onward, are compliant and pay nothing. Battery electrics are exempt everywhere.
Age is only a rough guide. The exact standard is what matters, and two cars from the same year can differ. The only answer that counts is a registration check against the emissions record.
- Petrol Euro 4 or newer: compliant, no charge
- Diesel Euro 6 or newer: compliant, no charge
- Older than those standards: £12.50 per day
- Unsure: check the reg, it takes a minute
Paying on time and the penalty for forgetting
You can pay in advance or in the days just after you drive. Miss the window and the £12.50 becomes a £180 penalty notice, cut to £90 if you pay within 14 days. One forgotten trip costs more than two weeks of charges.
Do not rely on memory for a zone you enter regularly. A commuter who assumes the car is compliant without ever checking is the most common way these fines happen.
Check before you drive
Put the registration into a CAZ checker before you set off and you get the answer for London plus every other UK zone at once. It also shows the Euro standard the decision is based on, so a borderline car holds no surprises.
Buying a car for London driving? Check it before you pay. A cheap pre-2015 diesel looks like a bargain until it bills you £12.50 every working day.