Clean Air Zone Charges for Fleet Operators: What Your Vans, Taxis and Hire Cars Pay Outside London
Sheriff Subair
A Euro 5 diesel van pays nothing in Portsmouth, £8 in Birmingham and £12.50 in Tyneside. A four-seat Euro 6 diesel private hire car that is not wheelchair accessible meets the national standard but not Bradford’s own. If you run vans, taxis or hire cars outside London, you are not learning one Clean Air Zone. You are learning seven, each with its own rates and sometimes its own taxi rules.
Which UK cities charge for clean air zones now?
On 3 November 2026, seven English cities charge: Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead). GOV.UK puts them in three classes: Portsmouth is B; Bath, Bradford, Sheffield and Tyneside are C; Birmingham and Bristol are D. Greater Manchester does not charge. Scotland’s low emission zones have different rules. Check GOV.UK on the day you drive.
Each council sets its own rates and some set their own taxi and private hire standard, so one vehicle can pass in one city and fail in the next.
Class B, C or D: which of your vehicles each zone charges, and the Euro standard that avoids it
Class B charges taxis, private hire vehicles, buses, coaches and lorries. Class C adds vans and minibuses. Class D adds cars, so private cars pay only in Birmingham and Bristol. GOV.UK sets the national standard at Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol, but says local authorities may set a different standard for taxis and private hire vehicles.
A Euro 5 diesel van misses the Euro 6 diesel standard, so it pays in every zone that charges vans, which is all but Portsmouth.
Do not go by age. Tyneside’s guide says “in general” diesel taxis registered after September 2015 meet the standard, but the Euro standard decides. Check the plate.
What each zone charges per day
A vehicle that fails the standard pays this per day. The same Euro 5 diesel van costs between nothing and £12.50.
| Zone and class | Taxi or PHV | Van | Car | Heavy vehicles |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Portsmouth B | £10 | Not charged | Not charged | £50 |
| Bradford C | £7 | £9 | Not charged | £50 |
| Birmingham D | £8 (cars, taxis and vans) | £8 | £8 | £50 |
| Bath C | £9 | £9 | Not charged | £100 |
| Bristol D | Taxis £9 | £9 | £9 | £100 |
| Sheffield C | £10 | £10 | Not charged | £50 |
| Tyneside C | £12.50 | £12.50 | Not charged | £50 |
Figures checked on 3 November 2026.
A shift that crosses midnight is two charging days in Birmingham and Tyneside.
Taxi and private hire rules: where a council sets its own standard
Bradford sets its own private hire standard. A four-seat private hire car that is not wheelchair accessible fails it on Euro 6 diesel and on Euro 4 petrol, and passes on Euro 5 petrol or LPG or a Euro 5 or 6 petrol hybrid. Five to eight seat private hire vehicles, wheelchair accessible ones and hackney carriages pass on Euro 6 diesel. Anything that fails pays £7 a day.
Tyneside sells taxis and private hire vehicles licensed by Newcastle, Gateshead or North Tyneside a seven-day licence for £50 instead of £12.50 a day. Others pay the daily rate.
Birmingham lists £8 for cars, taxis and vans, and Bristol lists taxis at £9 with no private hire row, so check private hire plates on GOV.UK.
Exemptions, discounts and grace periods that still apply
National exemptions apply automatically in every zone, for ultra low emission, disabled tax class, military and historic vehicles (GOV.UK). Local exemptions apply to one zone and go through the council, not GOV.UK. Bath says approval can take up to 14 days, and Tyneside says to keep paying until it comes through.
Several reliefs have ended: Bath’s exemption for wheelchair accessible taxis and private hire vehicles (14 March 2023), and temporary exemptions for some vans and hackney carriages in Sheffield and for vans in Tyneside (both 2023). Bradford’s exemption scheme covers only vehicles owned before 26 September 2022 and does not move to a replacement.
How to check and pay for several vehicles at once
Businesses with two or more UK registered vehicles can open one GOV.UK business account. Upload plates from a CSV, add up to 10 team members and set up a bank agreement to pay. You can pay up to six days before you travel or by 11:59pm on the sixth day after. The largest single payment is £5,000.
Miss that window and the council sends a penalty notice of £120, or £60 if paid within 14 days, on top of the unpaid charge. That holds at Bath, Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Portsmouth and Tyneside. Portsmouth calls it a late fee. Sheffield’s charges page gives no penalty figure.
Rental cars and dealer vehicles: who pays when a customer drives
The registered keeper is responsible for the charge being paid, whoever was driving (Traffic Penalty Tribunal), and for a rental firm or dealer that is usually you. The tribunal’s Bristol grounds of appeal let a hire firm pass a penalty to a hirer only under a qualifying formal agreement where the hirer signed to accept liability for penalties during the hire. That is Bristol’s wording, not a national rule.
GOV.UK guidance says nothing about hire, courtesy or demonstrator vehicles, so ask each council. This is not legal advice.
How this differs from London’s ULEZ
ULEZ is a flat £12.50 a day, while taxis and private hire vehicles outside London pay from £7 in Bradford to £12.50 in Tyneside. ULEZ payment closes at midnight on the third day after the journey, against 11:59pm on the sixth day in the English zones. A ULEZ penalty is £180, or £90 within 14 days, against £120 and £60 at six English councils. For the cost formula, the register, the replace order and what Euro 4 and Euro 6 mean, read our ULEZ fleet guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do cars pay in a Clean Air Zone?
Only in the two class D zones: Birmingham at £8 and Bristol at £9. In the other five, private cars go free.
Do taxis and private hire vehicles pay in every zone?
GOV.UK includes them in every class, so all seven are set up to charge them, from £7 in Bradford to £12.50 in Tyneside where councils list a rate.
How do I pay for several vehicles?
Open a GOV.UK business account if you run two or more UK registered vehicles, upload plates by CSV and pay up to six days ahead or by 11:59pm on the sixth day after.
Who pays when a customer drives a hire car into a zone?
The registered keeper is responsible, whoever drove. Bristol’s tribunal wording lets a hire firm pass a penalty on only under a formal agreement the hirer signed. Ask each council.
Is Greater Manchester a Clean Air Zone?
No. Its Clean Air Plan site says there are no clean air charges anywhere in Greater Manchester.
Check each plate on the GOV.UK Clean Air Zone vehicle checker, one registration at a time, then set up the GOV.UK business account if you pay for two or more vehicles. The class decides who pays, so check each vehicle against each zone it enters.