Birmingham CAZ D: Charges, Exemptions & How to Check

Birmingham's Clean Air Zone: the current charge

If your car doesn't meet the emissions standard, driving into central Birmingham costs £8 a day. That figure hasn't moved since the zone launched in 2021 — despite a handful of newer-looking guides claiming a rise to £10 in May 2026, which we couldn't confirm anywhere official (more on that below).

Birmingham's zone is officially "CAZ D" — Class D — and that matters because, unlike most of England's other Clean Air Zones, it charges private cars, not just taxis, vans and HGVs. That's the detail that catches people out, whether you already drive into the city or you're about to buy a car that will.

One bit of housekeeping: Birmingham has no congestion charge, and 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.

This matters just as much when buying as when owning — a non-compliant car costs you money every time you drive it into the zone, worth knowing before you agree a price rather than after. 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 a defined area where vehicles that don't meet a minimum emissions standard are charged for driving through it. 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, so they're 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 you won't pay a CAZ charge there.

For 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 covers all of 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, and neither is Birmingham Airport or the NEC — 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 with no rise noted, and trade press reporting on Birmingham City Council's own (non-compliant) fleet racking up Clean Air Zone charges 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, but the weight of evidence points to £8 still being current. Run a live check against the specific registration before you rely on it for a purchase decision, 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 — buses, coaches and HGVs — pay £50 a day if they don't meet the standard. 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, on the day itself, or up to 6 days afterwards — useful 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: Euro 6 or newer — most diesels registered from around September 2015.
• Petrol: Euro 4 or newer — most petrol cars registered from around 2006.
• Electric and other zero-emission vehicles: exempt outright.

Other national exemptions

A handful of vehicle types are nationally exempt from every English Clean Air Zone regardless of emissions standard: ultra-low emission vehicles, vehicles registered in the disabled passenger tax class, military vehicles, historic vehicles, 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, but that exemption ended on 1 June 2023. It isn't something a resident can rely on 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 not anywhere we'd call authoritative, so we're not stating one exists. If you live or work in the zone, don't assume you're covered; check your specific circumstances against the council's current exemption categories directly, rather than relying on older articles describing 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, claimed as a voucher at the appointment rather than applied for in advance.

One claim we couldn't stand behind: a reported "grace period" of several months for a compliant car already on order but not yet delivered. It turns up on a few unofficial sites but not on anything we'd call a primary source, so we're leaving it out.

How to check if a car you're buying is CAZ D compliant

The mistake buyers make is checking this after they've already agreed to buy, when a seller is waiting on an answer. Check the exact registration before you view the car, not after you've handed over a deposit.

Run the reg through our Birmingham Clean Air Zone check — it tells you whether that specific car is liable for the Birmingham charge, alongside the rest of our free vehicle information. If you might also drive the car somewhere covered by London's ULEZ, run our ULEZ check alongside it for a wider picture.

It's also worth running an MOT check on the same registration — a car that isn't currently taxed or MOT'd is a separate problem from CAZ compliance, but the two often turn up together on a neglected car.

What happens if you don't pay

Miss the payment window and you'll get a Penalty Charge Notice of £120, reduced to £60 if you pay within 14 days.

If you think the PCN was issued wrongly — the car was exempt, or you did pay but it wasn't recorded — you can make representations to the council within 28 days of the notice. If that's rejected, you have a further right of appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal. This is general guidance, not legal advice for your specific case; the Tribunal's own site sets out the grounds of appeal and the current process in full.

FAQs