Birmingham's Clean Air Zone: the current charge
£8 a day. That's the cost of driving into central Birmingham if your car doesn't meet the emissions standard. The figure hasn't moved since the zone launched in 2021.
A handful of newer-looking guides claim a rise to £10 in May 2026. We couldn't confirm that anywhere official.
Birmingham's zone is officially "CAZ D", meaning Class D. Most other English Clean Air Zones charge taxis, vans and HGVs only. Birmingham charges private cars as well. That's the detail people miss, whether they already drive into the city or are about to buy a car that will.
One bit of housekeeping. Birmingham has no congestion charge. ULEZ is specifically London's scheme, run by Transport for London. If you searched "Birmingham congestion charge" or "Birmingham ULEZ checker", this Clean Air Zone is the scheme you actually mean.
Buying matters as much as owning here. A non-compliant car costs you money every time you drive it into the zone. It's better to know that before you agree a price. This guide is part of our wider guide to MOT, road tax and staying legal.
What is Birmingham's Clean Air Zone (CAZ D)?
A Clean Air Zone is an area where vehicles that don't meet the minimum emissions standard pay to drive. English councils run their own zones. Birmingham's is one of seven currently operating, alongside Bath, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead).
Why it's Class D — and why that means cars pay
Each zone gets a class that decides who pays. Classes A to C charge only commercial and larger vehicles: taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and HGVs. Class D adds ordinary private cars and motorcycles on top.
Birmingham and Bristol are currently the only two English Clean Air Zones classed D. They're therefore the only two where a private car can be charged at all. Drive a non-compliant car into Bath, Bradford, Sheffield, Portsmouth or Tyneside and no CAZ charge follows.
Maybe you've come across the exact phrase "CAZ Class D exempt" on a sat-nav, a road sign or a council letter. If you want to know what each part of it actually means, our guide to CAZ Class D exempt: what it means explains the phrase plainly.
Want to see how Birmingham's scheme compares with London's ULEZ, Bristol's own CAZ and Scotland's Low Emission Zones? Our wider guide to ULEZ and Clean Air Zones compares them side by side.
The zone boundary
Birmingham's Clean Air Zone covers everywhere inside the A4540 Middleway ring road. The Middleway itself isn't included. Neither is Birmingham Airport or the NEC, which both sit well outside the boundary.
It operates 24 hours a day, every day of the year. So there's no out-of-hours or weekend exemption to rely on.
How much Birmingham's CAZ costs in 2026
Daily rate for cars, vans and taxis
A word of caution. A handful of guides claim this rose to £10 a day on 11 May 2026. We couldn't confirm that anywhere official. Transport for West Midlands' own page still shows £8 and doesn't mention a rise.
Trade press has reported on Birmingham City Council's own non-compliant fleet racking up Clean Air Zone charges. That reporting quoted an £8 daily rate as recently as late May 2026, weeks after the rise supposedly took effect. Birmingham City Council's own site blocks automated access, so we couldn't check it directly. The weight of evidence still points to £8 being the current rate.
I wouldn't lean on that for a purchase decision. Not without running a live check against the specific registration first, in case the rate has changed since.
This charge sits on top of your road tax, not instead of it. See car tax bands explained for what VED itself costs a used-car buyer.
Rate for HGVs, buses and coaches
Larger vehicles pay more. Buses, coaches and HGVs that don't meet the standard pay £50 a day. That rate hasn't moved alongside the car rate.
How and when to pay
You don't have to pay on the day you travel. You can pay up to 6 days before you plan to drive into the zone. You can also pay on the day itself, or up to 6 days afterwards. That helps if you're not sure in advance whether your route will take you through it.
Which cars are exempt from Birmingham's CAZ D charge
The emissions-standard exemption
Whether you pay comes down to your car's actual emissions standard, not its age or badge:
- Diesel needs to be Euro 6 or newer, which covers most diesels registered from around September 2015.
- Petrol needs to be Euro 4 or newer, which covers most petrol cars registered from around 2006.
- Electric and other zero-emission vehicles are exempt outright.
Other national exemptions
A handful of vehicle types are nationally exempt from every English Clean Air Zone, regardless of emissions standard. That covers ultra-low emission vehicles, vehicles registered in the disabled passenger tax class, military vehicles and historic vehicles. It also covers vehicles retrofitted with technology accredited under the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CVRAS), and certain agricultural vehicles.
Local exemptions and their limits
Birmingham ran a temporary exemption for residents living inside the zone when the scheme launched in June 2021. It ended on 1 June 2023. No resident can rely on it today.
We couldn't confirm against a primary source that any general resident or low-income-worker exemption still runs in 2026. Claims of a revived "hardship exemption" turn up on a few unofficial sites, but nowhere we'd call authoritative. So we aren't saying one exists.
If you live or work in the zone, don't assume you're covered. Check your own circumstances against the council's current exemption categories directly, rather than trusting older articles about the 2021 scheme.
There's also a one-off exemption for people attending appointments at a small number of hospitals and health centres inside the zone. You claim it as a voucher at the appointment rather than applying in advance.
One more claim we couldn't stand behind. It's a reported "grace period" of several months for a compliant car already on order but not yet delivered. It appears on a few unofficial sites and nothing we'd call a primary source, so we've left it out.
How to check if a car you're buying is CAZ D compliant
Check the exact registration before you view the car, not after you've handed over a deposit. Don't wait until the seller is waiting for an answer. That's the wrong end of the process.
Run the reg through our Birmingham Clean Air Zone check. It tells you whether that specific car is liable for the Birmingham charge. You get that with the rest of our free vehicle information. If the car might also go somewhere covered by London's ULEZ, run our ULEZ check alongside it for a wider picture.
An MOT check on the same registration is worth running too. A car that isn't currently taxed or MOT'd is a separate problem from CAZ compliance. The two often turn up together on a neglected car, though.
What happens if you don't pay
Miss the payment window and you'll get a Penalty Charge Notice of £120. That drops to £60 if you pay within 14 days.
Think the PCN was issued wrongly? Perhaps the car was exempt, or the payment never got matched to the plate. You have 28 days to make representations to the council. If the council turns you down, you have a further right of appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
This is general guidance rather than legal advice on your own case. The Tribunal's own site sets out the grounds of appeal and the current process in full.
FAQs
How much does Birmingham's Clean Air Zone cost in 2026?
£8 a day for a non-compliant car, taxi or light van. Buses, coaches and HGVs pay £50 a day. A few guides claim the car rate rose to £10 in May 2026. We couldn't confirm that anywhere official. So check the current rate against your exact registration before you rely on it.
Is my car exempt from Birmingham's CAZ D charge?
It depends on the car's actual emissions standard, not its age. Euro 6 diesel, Euro 4 petrol, or electric and zero-emission vehicles are all exempt. The plate year is only a rough guide to that standard. A handful of vehicle types are nationally exempt regardless of standard. That covers ultra-low emission, disabled passenger tax class, military, historic, CVRAS-retrofitted and some agricultural vehicles.
How do I check if a car I'm about to buy is CAZ D compliant?
Run the registration through our Birmingham Clean Air Zone check before you view the car, not after you've agreed a price. Pair it with an MOT check so you're not caught out by a tax or MOT gap either.
What's the difference between Birmingham's Clean Air Zone and London's ULEZ?
They're separate schemes with separate checkers. Birmingham's CAZ is run by the council and covers the area inside the A4540 Middleway. London's ULEZ is run by Transport for London and covers the whole of Greater London. A car cleared for one isn't automatically cleared for the other.
What happens if I don't pay the Birmingham CAZ charge?
You'll get a Penalty Charge Notice of £120, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. You can make representations to the council within 28 days. If that's rejected, you can appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Do residents of Birmingham's Clean Air Zone still get an exemption?
The original resident exemption ended on 1 June 2023. We found nothing confirming that a general resident exemption still applies in 2026. Don't assume you're covered. Check your specific situation against the council's current exemption categories rather than the original 2021 scheme.