Cities with Clean Air Zones:
- Bath has a Class C Clean Air Zone.
- Birmingham has a Class D Clean Air Zone.
- Portsmouth has a Class B Clean Air Zone.
Future Clean Air Zones
- Bradford will start charging in 2022.
- Greater Manchester will start charging on 30 May 2022.
- More cities will implement Clean Air Zones in 2022.
Types of Clean Air Zones
There are 4 types of Clean Air Zones, Class A to D.
Class Vehicle type
A Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles
B Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, heavy goods vehicles
C Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, vans, minibuses
D Buses, coaches, taxis, private hire vehicles, heavy goods vehicles, vans, minibuses, cars, the local authority has the option to include motorcycles
Minimum emission standards
Each vehicle type has a minimum emission standard. You can find your vehicle’s emission standard in your vehicle logbook or from your vehicle manufacturer. To avoid being charged in a Clean Air Zone, your vehicle must meet the following minimum standard:
Vehicle type – Clean Air Zone minimum standard
Buses, coaches, heavy goods vehicles – Euro VI
Vans, minibuses, taxis, private hire vehicles, cars – Euro 6 (diesel) and Euro 4 (petrol)
Motorcycles – Euro 3
Local authorities may set a different standard for taxis and private hire vehicles. You should always check if you will need to pay a charge or contact the local authority for more information.
Check and pay a charge
You can check if you’ll need to pay a charge for a vehicle before you drive in a Clean Air Zone. If you’re a business, you can check and pay for multiple vehicles. Use the online service to check or pay a charge in a Clean Air Zone. The maximum payment that can be made in a single transaction is £5,000. Payments that exceed this limit will need to be split into separate transactions. You must pay the charge by 11:59pm on the sixth day after driving into the zone. You can pay up to 6 days before you travel. If you do not pay the charge in this time, you may get a penalty charge notice (PCN).
If you’re a business with multiple vehicles
Businesses that own or manage 2 or more UK registered vehicles can set up an account to check and pay charges for multiple vehicles. You can create an account when you check or pay online. To create an account you’ll need your company name and an email address, once your account is set up, you can:
- upload multiple number plates from a spreadsheet (CSV) or add them one by one
- view what each vehicle will be charged in each clean air zone
- manage your vehicles – add and remove them
- add up to 10 team members to help manage the account
- set up an agreement to pay by bank account, ready for when charging starts
- view maps of the clean air zones, see when they are live and find out about exemptions
Exemptions
There are some national and local exemptions from the charge. You’re automatically entitled to a national exemption, and do not have to pay a charge, if you have:
- a vehicle that’s ultra low emission
- a disabled passenger tax class vehicle
- a disabled tax class vehicle
- a military vehicle
- a historic vehicle
- a vehicle retrofitted with technology accredited by the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS)
- certain types of agricultural vehicles
You can find out more about local exemptions for driving in Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Greater Manchester, Portsmouth, and there is a temporary exemption in Greater Manchester for light goods vehicles until 31 May 2023.
Get support to reduce your emissions
You can get support to reduce your emissions and stop paying Clean Air Zone charges:
- The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles offers a range of grants to help you choose cleaner vehicles.
- The Go Ultra Low Campaign has information about electric vehicles, including grants you can apply for.
- The Clean Air Fund provides support to individuals and businesses, for example local travel discounts, cycling to work schemes or vehicle upgrades – you can access it through your local authority.
Your local authority may provide support to help you upgrade or replace your vehicle.
