ULEZ Check: Is This Car ULEZ Compliant?

Is my car ULEZ compliant?

Enter the registration in the search box above. The free check reads the vehicle's DVLA record (fuel type, date of first registration and Euro status where it is recorded) and shows whether it is likely to meet the London ULEZ standard, together with its MOT history, tax status and mileage. If a car is not compliant, driving it anywhere in the zone costs £12.50 a day. The full report adds the manufacturer's specification, the recorded road tax cost, finance, write-off and stolen checks for the same car.

Our result is an estimate from the record. For the final answer on a specific vehicle, Transport for London's vehicle checker is the official word, because TfL holds the Euro standard for each vehicle and applies it. Use our check to see where a car stands before you buy it, and TfL's to be certain before you drive.

ULEZ standards: what a car needs

The dates are a guide, not a rule: the Euro standard of the individual vehicle is what counts. Some petrol cars from 2001 to 2005 meet Euro 4, and some diesels registered in 2015 or 2016 don't meet Euro 6, because a manufacturer could go on registering the older standard for a while after the new one came in.

How our ULEZ check works

We don't guess from the age alone. The check combines three things from the DVLA record:

• Fuel type, which decides whether the Euro 4 or the Euro 6 rule applies. Check it matches the car; the fuel type check explains what to do if it doesn't.
• Date of first registration, which tells us which Euro standard was in force when the car was new. See the first registration date check.
• Euro status, where the DVLA holds it. Many cars registered from around 2011 have it on record; older cars often don't.

When the record carries the Euro status, the answer is clear. When it doesn't, we show the likely status from the fuel and the registration date and say so. The cars where the estimate is least certain are diesels first registered between 2014 and 2016 and petrol cars from 2001 to 2005: for those, confirm with TfL or the V5C before you rely on it.

Euro 6 checker: is my car Euro 6?

Euro 6 is the standard every diesel needs for ULEZ, so "is my car Euro 6?" is usually the real question. Ways to find out:

• Run the free check above. Where the DVLA has recorded the Euro status, it is shown with the fuel type and registration date.
• The V5C log book: newer log books show the Euro status in section D.2. Older ones often leave it blank; the V5C log book check explains the sections.
• The registration date: Euro 6 became compulsory for all new cars registered from September 2015, and for most new vans from September 2016. A diesel registered after those dates is Euro 6; one registered before may or may not be.
• The manufacturer or a dealer can confirm the standard from the VIN, and most makes publish lists of Euro 6 models and dates.
• The certificate of conformity issued when the car was new states the emissions standard.

For petrol cars the same logic applies to Euro 4, compulsory for new cars from January 2006. A petrol car's CO2 figure, which you can also see in the free check, is a different thing: the CO2 emissions check is about tax, not ULEZ.

Is my van ULEZ compliant? Vans, motorbikes and minibuses

• Vans and pickups up to 3.5 tonnes follow the car rules: Euro 4 petrol, Euro 6 diesel. Diesel vans reached Euro 6 later than cars, so a diesel van first registered before September 2016 needs checking carefully. The type approval category on the record (N1 for a van, M1 for a car) is shown in the free check; see the vehicle type approval check.
• Motorbikes, mopeds and scooters need Euro 3, which most meet if first registered from July 2007. The motorbike history check shows the registration date and MOT history.
• Minibuses up to 5 tonnes follow the car and van rules.
• Vans, minibuses, lorries, buses and coaches over 3.5 tonnes are covered by the Low Emission Zone, which needs Euro VI and charges far more per day than the ULEZ.

ULEZ exempt cars, exemptions and discounts

A compliant car is not "exempt": it simply doesn't pay, and there is nothing to register. The true exemptions and grace periods are narrow:

• Historic vehicles: cars built more than 40 years ago and registered in the historic tax class are exempt. The cut-off rolls forward each year, so a car becomes eligible once it reaches 40.
• Disabled and disabled passenger vehicle tax classes: vehicles in these DVLA tax classes have a grace period until 24 October 2027.
• Wheelchair-accessible vehicles that have been adapted for a wheelchair user can get a grace period on the same timetable, once registered with TfL.
• London-licensed taxis (black cabs) are exempt, as are showman's vehicles, agricultural and military vehicles and other non-road-going vehicles.
• There is no residents' discount and no discount for low mileage: the charge is per day the car is driven in the zone.

TfL keeps the current list of exemptions and discounts, and some need an application before the first journey.

The daily charge, how to pay and the penalty

• £12.50 a day for a non-compliant car, van, motorbike or minibus, for each day (midnight to midnight) it is driven inside the zone. A car parked in the zone and not driven doesn't pay.
• The zone runs 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day.
• Pay on TfL's site or app, or set up Auto Pay so the charge is taken automatically. You must pay by midnight on the third day after the day you drove in the zone.
• Miss it and a penalty charge notice of £180 is issued, reduced to £90 if you pay within 14 days.
• The ULEZ is separate from the Congestion Charge in central London: a non-compliant car driven there on a weekday can owe both.
• TfL's scrappage scheme, which paid towards replacing a non-compliant vehicle, has closed to new applications.

Where the ULEZ runs

Since 29 August 2023 the zone covers every London borough, out to (but mostly not including) the M25. Cameras read number plates at the boundary and inside the zone, and the charge applies to any non-compliant vehicle on a public road, including visitors passing through. Drivers coming into London from outside should check their vehicle before the first trip: there is no warning letter for the first day, only the charge.

Clean air zones outside London

Birmingham and Bristol charge non-compliant private cars; Bath, Bradford, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside charge taxis, vans or lorries but not private cars; Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee ban non-compliant vehicles with penalties rather than a daily fee. The Euro standards are the same as London's, so a car that meets ULEZ normally meets them all. Our clean air zone check lists every live zone, its class and whether cars are charged, and links to GOV.UK's official checker.

Buying a used car with ULEZ in mind

A non-compliant car driven in the zone every day costs over £4,500 a year in daily charges, which is why ULEZ status moves used car prices, especially for diesels from 2013 to 2016. Before you buy:

• Run the free check on the registration, then confirm the Euro status with TfL's checker or the V5C.
• Don't rely on the year alone, especially for diesels from 2014 to 2016 and diesel vans up to 2016.
• Check the MOT history for emissions failures and advisories on the exhaust or diesel particulate filter.
• Run a full car history check for finance, write-offs and stolen markers before you pay; the sample report shows what it covers.

ULEZ check FAQs