All non-compliant vehicles except motorcycles will face penalties to drive within the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone from 1 June 2024. Find out all you need to know here!
What is the Edinburgh LEZ?
To protect public health and improve air quality, City of Edinburgh Council introduced a Low Emission Zone (LEZ) in May 2022 with a two-year grace period. This was to allow residents time to change their vehicle to a compliant if they needed to.
Starting 1 June 2024, all vehicles, except mopeds and motorcycles, entering the zone will need to meet the less-polluting emission standards or will face a penalty charge.
Why does Edinburgh need a Low Emission Zone?
Although Edinburgh has made good progress in reducing levels of air pollution, there are still areas where certain pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide (NO2), are higher than the legal standard.
The upcoming Edinburgh Low Emission Zone will:
If your vehicle meets the following emission standards, you will not incur a penalty charge for driving within the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone (starting 1 June 2024):
What you need to know
Enforcement of the zone will start on 1 June 2024. From this date, all vehicles driving within the zone will either need to comply with emission standards set by the government or will incur a penalty.
Edinburgh Low Emission Zone operating times
The Edinburgh LEZ will operate 24 hours a day, all year round.
How much will the Edinburgh LEZ charge be?
Similar to the other upcoming Scottish Low Emission Zones (Glasgow, Aberdeen, Dundee), any non-compliant vehicles driving into the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone from 1 June 2024 will receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). The charges for the PCN are as follows:
Motorcycles and mopeds will be excluded from this charge.
Edinburgh LEZ exemptions
Some exemptions have been announced for the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone. This means that even if your vehicle is non-compliant, you will not incur a penalty for driving within the zone from 1 June 2024. The exemptions are listed below:
Vehicles for disabled people (blue badge holders need to register via the Transport Scotland website for long-term or short-term exemption if):
The following exemptions are automatic:
Emergency vehicles (the vehicle is being driven by any person who is):
Navy, Military or Air Force Vehicles:
Historic vehicles (vehicle which is considered to be of historical interest to the UK, and which):
Showman's Vehicles (highly specialised vehicles used for the purpose of travelling showmen where):
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What areas will the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone cover?
The LEZ boundary circles the city centre from:
How can Caura help you navigate the Edinburgh LEZ?
New emission zones can be confusing. We are working hard to allow all Edinburgh residents to be able to check if their vehicle meets the emission standards to drive within the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone without incurring a penalty. We will update this page once this feature is available in Caura.
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Questions?
Find answers to common questions here. If you can't find what you're looking for then email us on support@caura.com and we'll get back to you.
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To add a vehicle, simply swipe to the left on your current vehicle or tap the ‘+’ icon on the Home screen. To remove a vehicle, tap and hold on the vehicle image.
All vehicles registered with the DVLA should show on Caura. Please make sure you are entering a valid number plate recognised by the DVLA. If the problem persists please email support@caura.com.
If you have made the update on Caura (e.g. paid for tax on Caura), it should update automatically within a few days. If it doesn't, you can pull down the image of your vehicle from the Home screen, which will refresh the app.
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Go to your AutoPay account in-app (by going to the City Charges screen). From your AutoPay account, tap the current payment method selected. You can then choose to change your payment method tied to your AutoPay, either select an existing payment method or add a new card to Caura.
Clean Air Zones are coming soon to many UK cities, helping our air stay fresh for future generations. All vehicles are allowed in CAZ zones – but if their emissions are above a certain level, they’ll have to pay to pass through.
You can learn more about different Clean Air Zones and the charges in place here.
You can find details of all active and planned Clean Air Zones here.
Currently, you can pay for Birmingham’s Class D Clean Air Zone charge, as well as the London Ultra Low Emission Zone charge and the Oxford Zero Emission Zone charge, in two-taps on Caura.
We’re working hard to bring more Clean Air Zones to Caura very soon. We’ll notify users via email or in-app notification when new zones launch, as well as communicate this on social media. In the meantime, if there is a charge payment you really want to see on Caura, let us know by emailing support@caura.com (it may just be what we focus on next!).
There are four types (class) of Clean Air Zone. The class of Clean Air Zone dictates which vehicles have to pay for entering the zone.
For each of the class types, the following non-compliant vehicle types have to pay:
Please refer to the class type of the Clean Air Zone to understand which vehicle types have to pay.
You will also be able to see exactly what you have to pay for a given Clean Air Zone, based on your vehicle’s type and emissions.
The Clean Air Zones use ANPR cameras to automatically detect your vehicle when you drive into the charging zone. Look out for signs that clearly indicate the boundary of the zone.
If you try to pay for a charge that you're exempt from then Caura will not process the transaction, and you will not be charged.
Currently, you can pay for either today, tomorrow or yesterday in-app on Caura. Make sure you pay for the right date for any trips you make, as we’re unable to offer a refund for any payments made for the wrong day by mistake.
Caura charges no additional fee to pay for any Clean Air Zone, or to make any other transaction via the app. We don’t take any of the money for your payment and once it’s made it goes straight to the end provider.
If you’ve paid for the wrong day, unfortunately we aren’t able to offer a refund. We don’t take any of the money for your payment and once it’s made it goes straight to the end provider. We’re unable to recover funds so we aren’t able to offer a refund. If you paid for a charge unnecessarily then you can request a refund from the zone operator, referencing the transaction ID on your payment receipt in the Caura app.
You can view any payments you’ve made by going to the History tab in Caura. Tap on any payment in the list to view more detail. From there, you can even export a receipt to your email.
From 1 June 2024, all vehicles, except mopeds and motorcycles, entering the zone will need to meet the less-polluting emission standards or will face a penalty charge. Find out more here.
The LEZ boundary circles the city centre from:
You can view an Edinburgh Low Emission Zone map here.
The Edinburgh LEZ will operate 24 hours a day, all year round.
Any non-compliant vehicles driving into the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone from 1 June 2024 will receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). The charges for the PCN are as follows:
Some exemptions have been announced for the Edinburgh Low Emission Zone. This means that even if your vehicle is non-compliant, you will not incur a penalty for driving within the zone from 1 June 2024. The exemptions are listed below:
You can find out more about these exemptions here.