The short answer
Most petrol cars first registered from 2006 and most diesel cars first registered from September 2015 meet the standards for both Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone and London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), so you can drive in them without paying a daily charge. Those dates are rules of thumb, not guarantees, so always check the exact car by its registration before you buy.
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone has been in place since June 2021. It covers all the roads inside the A4540 Middleway ring road, but not the Middleway itself. It operates every day, all day.
It’s a “Class D” zone, which means it applies to private cars as well as vans, buses and lorries. A car that doesn’t meet the emissions standards is charged £8 for each day it’s driven in the zone. Cars that do meet the standards don’t pay anything.
Rules and exemptions can change. For the latest, use the official Brum Breathes website from Birmingham City Council.
London’s ULEZ
London’s Ultra Low Emission Zone uses the same emissions standards for cars as Birmingham, so a car that’s fine for one is normally fine for the other. The ULEZ now covers all London boroughs, and the daily charge for a non-compliant car is higher than Birmingham’s. If you drive into London, it’s worth buying a compliant car from the start.
Petrol and diesel rules of thumb
| Fuel | Standard needed | Usually met by cars first registered |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol | Euro 4 | From 2006 (some earlier cars too) |
| Diesel | Euro 6 | From September 2015 (some earlier cars too) |
| Fully electric | None | Always compliant |
The dates are when the standards became compulsory for new cars. Some manufacturers met them earlier, which is why a car from just before the date can still be compliant, and why the only reliable answer comes from checking the registration.
How to check a specific car
- Find the car’s registration (on the advert or the number plate).
- Enter it in the government’s clean air zone vehicle checker on GOV.UK, which tells you whether the car would be charged in each zone in England.
- If you’re heading into London, check it on Transport for London’s ULEZ checker as well.
The V5C logbook may also show the car’s Euro status, though not every logbook does.
Buying a compliant car from us
We specialise in small, cheap-to-run cars, mostly petrol, and we show on every car in our showroom whether it’s ULEZ compliant. If you’ll be driving in Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone or London, tell us and we’ll check the exact car for you before you commit. If we haven’t got the right car in, we can find one for you.
Browse used Ford Fiestas, Fiat 500s, Peugeot 208s and more in our showroom.