Oxford Zero Emission Zone

Will your car be charged in Oxford's Zero Emission Zone?

Oxford runs a pilot Zero Emission Zone with four charge bands, not a single fee — and, unlike London's ULEZ or England's Clean Air Zones, it can charge motorcycles too. Enter the reg and the free check reads the vehicle's emissions status for the zone.

Free · no sign-up · uses DVLA and emissions data

Oxford Zero Emission Zone — the facts

Scheme type: Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) — four charge bands, not a single yes/no charge
Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV): No charge
Ultra Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV): £2 / day
Low Emission Vehicle (LEV): £4 / day
All other vehicles: £10 / day
Band definitions: ZEV: fully electric or hydrogen. ULEV: emits less than 75 g/km CO2. LEV: four or more wheels meeting Euro 4/IV petrol or Euro 6/VI diesel.
Motorcycles: Charged the full £10 / day unless zero- or ultra-low emission — Oxford's LEV band requires four or more wheels, so a motorcycle cannot qualify for it. This is the opposite of London's ULEZ and England's Clean Air Zones, which all exempt motorcycles.
Operating hours: 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, all year round
Area: Nine pilot streets in the city centre: New Road (between Bonn Square and its junction with Castle Street), Bonn Square, Queen Street, Cornmarket Street, New Inn Hall Street, Shoe Lane, Market Street (40 metres east of the Cornmarket junction), Ship Street and St Michael's Street.
Launched: 28 February 2022 — Britain's first Zero Emission Zone. It remains a pilot; a wider city-centre zone has been consulted on but is not in force.
Penalty (PCN): £60, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days
Exempt: Hackney carriages licensed by Oxford City Council, registered local buses, emergency service and military vehicles, historic vehicles, agricultural and special vehicles (mobile cranes, digging machines, road rollers, works trucks), hearses and certain recovery vehicles
Discounted — must apply in advance: Blue Badge holders, disabled tax-class vehicles, selected low-emission hybrid private-hire/hackney vehicles, zone residents, health and care workers, community transport, zone businesses and students in financial hardship. None of these are automatically exempt.
Official authority: oxfordshire.gov.uk

* This data is almost always correct but we cannot guarantee that it is. Please check with the relevant local authority before basing a purchasing decision on it.

What the check tells you

Run the reg and the free report shows this vehicle's status for the zone:

No chargeZero Emission Vehicle — fully electric or hydrogen
£2 / dayUltra Low Emission Vehicle — under 75 g/km CO2
£4 / dayLow Emission Vehicle — four or more wheels, Euro 4 petrol / Euro 6 diesel
£10 / dayevery other vehicle, including a non-compliant motorcycle

How the Oxford Zero Emission Zone works

Oxford's Zero Emission Zone covers nine pilot streets in the city centre — not the whole city — and works differently from every Clean Air Zone in England. Instead of a single charge, it has four bands: Zero Emission Vehicles pay nothing, Ultra Low Emission Vehicles pay £2 a day, Low Emission Vehicles pay £4 a day, and every other vehicle pays £10 a day.

A vehicle is a Zero Emission Vehicle if it's fully electric or hydrogen, and an Ultra Low Emission Vehicle if it emits less than 75 g/km of CO2. The Low Emission Vehicle band is reserved for vehicles with four or more wheels that meet Euro 4 (petrol) or Euro 6 (diesel) — which means motorcycles and mopeds can never qualify for it, unlike London's ULEZ or England's Clean Air Zones, which all exempt two-wheelers outright. A non-compliant motorcycle pays the full £10 a day.

The charge applies from 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, all year round — narrower hours than every other zone on this site, which run 24/7. Some vehicles are exempt outright, including local buses, licensed hackney carriages and historic vehicles; others, including Blue Badge holders, only get a discount and have to apply for it in advance rather than being automatically exempt. A missed charge becomes a £60 penalty, reduced to £30 if paid within 14 days. Running the registration on a free check reads the vehicle's emissions status so you can see which band it falls into before you buy.

The official source is Oxfordshire County Council. We're the check-your-specific-car-in-seconds convenience, not the authority — always confirm charges there before you decide.

Checking other zones?

Common questions

How much does the Oxford Zero Emission Zone cost?

It depends on the vehicle's band: Zero Emission Vehicles pay nothing, Ultra Low Emission Vehicles pay £2 a day, Low Emission Vehicles pay £4 a day, and every other vehicle pays £10 a day.

Are motorcycles charged in the Oxford Zero Emission Zone?

Yes, unless they're zero- or ultra-low emission. Oxford's Low Emission Vehicle band is defined as four or more wheels, so a motorcycle can't qualify for it — it pays the full £10 a day unless it's electric, hydrogen, or emits less than 75 g/km of CO2. This is the opposite of London's ULEZ and England's Clean Air Zones, which all exempt motorcycles outright.

Are Blue Badge holders exempt?

No, not automatically. Blue Badge holders get a discount, but they have to apply for it in advance. Unlike Scotland's Low Emission Zones, holding a Blue Badge does not by itself exempt a vehicle here.

When does the charge apply?

From 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, all year round. That's narrower than every other zone on this site, which charge or ban vehicles around the clock.

Where exactly is the zone?

Nine pilot streets in the city centre: New Road (between Bonn Square and its junction with Castle Street), Bonn Square, Queen Street, Cornmarket Street, New Inn Hall Street, Shoe Lane, part of Market Street, Ship Street and St Michael's Street. A wider city-centre zone has been consulted on but is not in force.