Where to actually pay
There are two official payment services, not one. For London's ULEZ, you pay at tfl.gov.uk. For any of the seven English Clean Air Zones outside London, you pay through gov.uk. Its national Clean Air Zone service covers all seven.
This article covers payment and appeals for both. For what the schemes actually are, what they cost, and which cities run one, see our full guide to ULEZ and Clean Air Zones.
Check if you actually owe a charge first
Check whether you owe anything before you pay. Our own ULEZ check tells you whether your vehicle is ULEZ-compliant using just the registration number. So you know whether a charge applies at all before you drive into the zone.
The seven English Clean Air Zones outside London have their own tool, gov.uk's "Drive in a clean air zone" compliance checker. No single UK-wide tool covers both because different authorities run them.
How to pay the London ULEZ charge
Pay directly at tfl.gov.uk. You don't need an account for a one-off payment.
Drive into the zone regularly? TfL's Auto Pay service bills your card automatically for the charging days you use. It's free to set up and maintain, since TfL removed the previous £10 admin fee some years ago.
The deadline: pay up to 90 days before you travel, or by midnight on the third day after your journey. Miss that window and the trip is treated as unpaid.
The cost is £12.50 a day for non-compliant cars, vans and motorcycles up to 3.5 tonnes. Our guide to ULEZ and Clean Air Zones breaks the charge down by vehicle type.
How to pay a Clean Air Zone charge outside London
Pay via gov.uk's national "Check a vehicle and pay" service. That single service covers all seven English Clean Air Zones: Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield, and Tyneside, which covers Newcastle and Gateshead. You don't have to find each council's own payment page separately.
The deadline: pay up to 6 days before you travel, or by 11:59pm on the sixth day after driving into the zone. That's different from ULEZ's 3-day window, and it's easy to get wrong if you assume the two schemes work the same way.
Costs vary by city and vehicle class. See ULEZ and Clean Air Zones for the seven-zone overview, or Birmingham's Clean Air Zone for one city's figures in depth.
Careful where you pay — official sites only
Both tfl.gov.uk and gov.uk's Clean Air Zone service are free to use directly. Other websites also rank well for searches like "pay ulez". Some present themselves as a way to pay rather than as purely informational sites.
We're not accusing any site of wrongdoing. But they aren't TfL or gov.uk.
Paying via the official service directly is the only way to be certain there's no extra service fee. It's also the only way to be certain your payment reaches the right place. So check that the address bar reads tfl.gov.uk or gov.uk before you enter any payment details.
What happens if you don't pay in time
In London, missing the payment window means TfL issues a Penalty Charge Notice of £180, reduced to £90 if you pay within 14 days. Leave it unresolved after 28 days and TfL issues a Charge Certificate, which adds 50% to the amount owed, so £180 becomes £270.
Beyond that, TfL can register the debt at the county court. Ultimately it can pass the debt to certificated bailiffs, who recover it plus their own charges.
Outside London, non-payment also brings a PCN. The national gov.uk guidance deliberately doesn't state a single UK-wide amount, because each issuing council sets its own figure. Birmingham's, for example, is £120, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. See our Birmingham Clean Air Zone guide for that city's figures, but don't assume every city charges the same.
A ULEZ or Clean Air Zone charge is separate from your car's road tax (VED). One pays for driving into a zone today; the other keeps the car on the road at all. Being up to date on one doesn't excuse the other.
How to appeal or dispute a charge
These are two separate systems, so don't send an appeal to the wrong one.
Say it's a ULEZ or Congestion Charge penalty in London. Write to TfL with formal representations within 28 days of the PCN. If TfL rejects them, you'll get a Notice of Rejection.
Then you can appeal to the independent Road User Charging Adjudicators at London Tribunals, within another 28 days. The appeal itself is free, and the adjudicator's decision is binding on TfL.
For an English Clean Air Zone, write to the issuing council with formal representations within 28 days of the PCN. Use the grounds of appeal printed on the notice itself. If the council rejects them, you can appeal to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Some grounds are common and genuine on either route. They include a vehicle that was actually compliant or exempt, a charge that had already been paid, or a notice sent to the wrong keeper.
This is a general explanation. Read the specific grounds on your own notice, and get proper advice for anything unusual.
FAQs
How do I pay a ULEZ charge?
Pay directly at tfl.gov.uk. You don't need an account for a one-off payment. You can pay up to 90 days ahead. Or by midnight on the third day after you travel.
How do I pay a Clean Air Zone charge outside London?
Use gov.uk's national "Check a vehicle and pay" service. It covers all seven English Clean Air Zones. You can pay up to 6 days ahead. Or by 11:59pm on the sixth day after you travel.
How do I check if I owe a ULEZ or Clean Air Zone charge?
Use our ULEZ check for London ULEZ compliance. For the seven English zones, use gov.uk's own Clean Air Zone checker. No single tool covers both.
What happens if I don't pay a ULEZ or Clean Air Zone charge in time?
For ULEZ, the PCN is £180. That's £90 if you pay within 14 days. Leave it unresolved after 28 days and a Charge Certificate adds 50%. Beyond that lie county court and bailiff enforcement. For a Clean Air Zone, you get a PCN at an amount set by the individual council. Check the specific city's guide rather than assuming a figure.
Can I appeal a ULEZ or Clean Air Zone penalty charge notice?
Yes, both are appealable. For ULEZ, representations go to TfL. If they're rejected, a further appeal goes to the independent adjudicator at London Tribunals. For a Clean Air Zone, representations go to the issuing council. If they're rejected, a further appeal goes to the independent Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Is it safe to pay ULEZ through a website other than tfl.gov.uk?
Only tfl.gov.uk and gov.uk are the official payment services. Other sites ranking for "pay ulez" aren't necessarily fraudulent. But paying anywhere else risks an extra service fee. And it risks uncertainty about whether your payment actually reaches TfL. Check the address bar before entering any payment details.