Ten zones now operate across England and Scotland, and no two charge the same way. A van that drives free through Portsmouth pays £12.50 a day in Newcastle. This is the whole picture on one page.
Charges verified against each council's own published rates. Last checked 12 August 2026.
| Zone | Class | Cars | Vans | Taxis & PHVs | Pay |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bath | C | Not charged | £9/day | £9/day | GOV.UK |
| Birmingham | D | £8/day | £8/day | £8/day | GOV.UK |
| Bradford | C | Not charged | £9/day | £7/day | GOV.UK |
| Bristol | D | £9/day | £9/day | £9/day | GOV.UK |
| Newcastle & Gateshead | C | Not charged | £12.50/day | £12.50/day | GOV.UK |
| Portsmouth | B | Not charged | Not charged | £10/day | GOV.UK |
| Sheffield | C | Not charged | £10/day | £10/day | GOV.UK |
| London ULEZ | D | £12.50/day | £12.50/day | £12.50/day | TfL |
| Glasgow LEZ | LEZ | Banned | Banned | Banned | Cannot pay |
| Edinburgh LEZ | LEZ | Banned | Banned | Banned | Cannot pay |
Every charge above applies only to vehicles that do not meet the emissions standard — broadly Euro 6 for diesel and Euro 4 for petrol. A compliant vehicle drives through any of these zones free. Electric and hydrogen vehicles are never charged.
We never take your payment. CAZ Tracker reminds you and sends you to the official page above — the charge is paid to the council or TfL, at the standard price, with nothing added by us.
Heavy vehicles — HGVs, buses and coaches — are charged in every English zone above, at a substantially higher daily rate than vans. Rates vary by zone; check the GOV.UK Clean Air Zone service for the figure that applies to yours.
England's Clean Air Zones come in four classes. The class decides which types of vehicle are charged at all — which is why a private car pays nothing in Bath but £9 a day in Bristol, twelve miles down the road.
| Class | Vehicles charged | Zones |
|---|---|---|
| A | Buses, coaches, taxis and private hire vehicles | None currently active |
| B | Class A, plus heavy goods vehicles | Portsmouth |
| C | Class B, plus vans and minibuses | Bath, Bradford, Newcastle & Gateshead, Sheffield |
| D | Class C, plus private cars | Birmingham, Bristol |
A council may also charge fewer vehicle types than its class allows, so the class is a ceiling rather than a promise. Portsmouth is Class B but in practice charges only taxis and private hire vehicles, letting even non-compliant vans through free. London's ULEZ is a separate scheme with its own rules rather than a Class D Clean Air Zone, though it charges much the same range of vehicles.
Glasgow and Edinburgh operate Low Emission Zones, not charging zones. There is no daily charge to pay, because a non-compliant vehicle is simply not allowed in. Drive in anyway and you receive a penalty that doubles with each repeat offence. There is nothing to pay in advance and nothing to forget — but also no way to buy your way in.
In the English zones you normally have until midnight six days after the day you drove to pay, and you can pay up to six days in advance. Miss that window and the charge becomes a £120 Penalty Charge Notice, usually halved to £60 if you settle within 14 days — and you still owe the original daily charge on top.
The charge is once per day, per zone. Unlimited entries and exits from the same zone on the same day cost no more than a single trip in. Two different zones in one day, though, are two separate charges.
The catch is that nobody sends you a bill. Cameras read your plate and the clock starts, silently. The most common way to collect a £120 penalty is not refusing to pay — it is not realising there was anything to pay.
Missed one? What happens if you forgot to pay a Clean Air Zone charge — the deadlines, the reduced rates, and how to challenge.
Enter your registration on the official GOV.UK checker to see, free, whether you would be charged in any given zone. It is worth doing once for every vehicle you drive — the answer is often a pleasant surprise, and it is the same answer the cameras will reach.
Pay a charge through the same GOV.UK service for the English zones, or through Transport for London for the ULEZ.
Eight English cities charge: Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Newcastle and Gateshead, Portsmouth, Sheffield and London. Glasgow and Edinburgh operate Low Emission Zones in Scotland, which ban non-compliant vehicles rather than charging them.
Only in a Class D zone — Birmingham, Bristol and the London ULEZ — and only if the car does not meet the emissions standard. In Bath, Bradford, Newcastle and Gateshead, Portsmouth and Sheffield, private cars are not charged at all.
£8/day in Birmingham; £9/day in Bath, Bradford and Bristol; £10/day in Sheffield; £12.50/day in Newcastle and Gateshead and in the London ULEZ. Portsmouth does not charge vans.
A £120 Penalty Charge Notice, usually reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days — plus the daily charge you still owe. You normally have until midnight six days after the day you drove.
If it meets the emissions standard for the zone — broadly Euro 6 diesel, Euro 4 petrol — it is not charged. Electric and hydrogen vehicles are never charged. Check any registration free on the GOV.UK checker.
Once per day, per zone. A single daily charge covers unlimited entries and exits from that zone during the charging day.
CAZ Tracker watches for the zone boundary so you don't have to. Cross into a chargeable zone and it logs the crossing and reminds you to pay before the deadline, with a direct link to the official payment page. Your location is processed on your phone and never leaves it.