After the ULEZ expansion in 2021, thousands of drivers have faced Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) of up to £160 for missed payments of the ULEZ charge. Find out what it means for your car to be ULEZ compliant, how to check if you’re exempt from the charge, or how to pay it quickly using Caura.

What is the London ULEZ

The London ULEZ came into force in 2019, charging all non-compliant vehicles a daily fee to driver into the zone. In order to reduce air pollution levels even further, a ULEZ expansion took place in 2021, covering a much larger area within the bounds of the North (A406) and South (A205) circular roads.

With fines for non-payment now a reality for non-compliant drivers, make sure you don’t get caught out.

What is ULEZ compliant?

For your vehicle to be considered as ULEZ compliant, it must meet the following emission standards:

• ULEZ compliant petrol cars: Must meet Euro 4, Euro 5 or Euro 6 emissions standards. These vehicles are generally registered after January 2006.
• ULEZ compliant diesel cars: Must be Euro 6 compliant. These vehicles were generally registered after September 2015.
• ULEZ compliant hybrid & electric cars: Must meet Euro 6 standards with diesel engines, or Euro 4 standards with petrol engines
• ULEZ compliant vans & motorbikes: Diesel vans must be Euro 6 compliant, Petrol vans must be Euro 4 compliant and motorbikes must be Euro 3 compliant.

ULEZ compliant cars, motorbikes or vans can drive into the zone without having to pay the daily fee.

There are some further exemptions in place for a few other vehicle types. These include vehicles like:

• London-licensed taxis
• Vehicles in the historic vehicle tax class
• Military vehicles
• All wheelchair-accessible vehicles who offer private hire booking

You can find the full list of ULEZ exemptions here.

How can I check if my vehicle is exempt?

Even if you think your vehicle meets the emission standards, it’s always safer to check to be sure. The fastest way to check if your vehicle is exempt from the charge is by using the Caura app.

Once you’ve downloaded the app (available on the App Store and Google Play Store), simply enter your vehicle registration number, and tap ‘City Charges’.

If your vehicle is exempt, Caura will automatically notify you and make the charge unclickable.

If your vehicle is not exempt, you can simply select the charge and pay using your preferred payment method. Once you’ve paid, the money will get sent to our service provider (TfL) straight away.

You will also be able to view the receipt of the payment in the ‘History’ tab in-app. If you need to pay for both the Congestion & ULEZ charges, you can select both charges and pay for them in the same, single transaction.

If your car is not ULEZ compliant, Caura is the quickest way to get AutoPay setup for all London City Charges. This means that anytime you drive within the Congestion, ULEZ or LEZ, TfL will automatically charge your preferred card, and Caura will notify you of each journey in-app.

Find out more about the London ULEZ here.

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