Do I actually need to pay the ULEZ?
Many drivers worry about a ULEZ charge they don’t owe. If your car is petrol and Euro 4 or newer, diesel and Euro 6 or newer, or fully electric, there’s nothing to pay. Run your registration through the ULEZ checker.
How long do I have to pay the ULEZ?
The deadline is midnight on the third day after the day you drove in. For example, if you drove in on a Monday, you have until midnight on Thursday.
| You drove in on… | Pay by midnight on… |
|---|---|
| Monday | Thursday |
| Tuesday | Friday |
| Wednesday | Saturday |
| Thursday | Sunday |
| Friday | Monday |
| Saturday | Tuesday |
| Sunday | Wednesday |
Pay on TfL’s official site or in the TfL Pay to Drive in London app. There’s no extra fee for paying late within the window.
Use only the official TfL site or app. Search results sometimes show third-party sites that add a service fee for the same payment.
Missed the deadline? What a ULEZ PCN costs
Once the window closes you can’t pay the daily charge any more — TfL will send a penalty charge notice (PCN) to the registered keeper, usually by post within a few weeks. The ULEZ penalty is £180, halved to £90 if you pay within 14 days.
Can I challenge a ULEZ penalty?
Yes, if you have grounds — for example the vehicle wasn’t yours at the time, it was stolen or cloned, you had already paid, or the vehicle is actually compliant. Forgetting to pay is not in itself a legal ground, though it doesn’t hurt to explain in a first challenge.
- Pay or challenge within 28 days. Paying within 14 days halves the penalty.
- Make a formal challenge (representation) to TfL within 28 days of the PCN date, online or by post, with any evidence.
- If TfL rejects it, you’ll get a Notice of Rejection. You then have 28 days to appeal to the independent adjudicators at London Tribunals.
- If you ignore the PCN, a charge certificate increases it to £270, and the debt can be registered with the court and passed to enforcement agents.
Our appeals guide goes through each ground in detail.
How do I make sure it doesn’t happen again?
- TfL Auto Pay charges you automatically each month for days your vehicle is detected. Useful if you drive in London regularly.
- EveryDrive detects when you enter the ULEZ from your phone’s location, alerts you straight away and reminds you before the deadline — useful for occasional trips, borrowed cars or a car that isn’t registered for Auto Pay.