Check a seller's registration before you go and see the car. The London Ultra Low Emission Zone charges £12.50 a day for any vehicle that misses the emissions standard for its fuel, and the zone covers every London borough. Adverts saying ULEZ free are not checked by anybody, so read it from the vehicle's own record instead.
A car is compliant if it meets the Euro emissions standard for its fuel. Petrol needs Euro 4, which normally means first registered from 2006. Diesel needs Euro 6, which normally means late 2015. Fully electric cars are always compliant. Enter the registration and we read the fuel type, Euro standard, first registration date and CO2 figure held against that vehicle, then show you all four alongside the answer.
| Vehicle | Standard it must meet | Usually means |
|---|---|---|
| Petrol car or van | Euro 4 or newer | First registered from 2006 |
| Diesel car or van | Euro 6 | First registered from late 2015 |
| Petrol motorbike | Euro 3 or newer | First registered from 2007 |
| Electric or hydrogen | Always compliant | No tailpipe emissions |
| Hybrid | Judged on its engine | Normally passes on the petrol side |
| Over 3,500kg | London LEZ instead | A separate, much higher charge |
Mostly diesels registered before September 2015 and petrol cars registered before 2006. That is a large slice of the cheaper end of the used market, which is exactly where the cost catches buyers out. Driven into the zone five days a week, £12.50 a day is over £3,000 a year, which can be more than the car is worth.
No. ULEZ measures emissions and nothing else. A compliant car can still be on outstanding finance, be a recorded insurance write-off, be showing a mileage that has been wound back, or be reported stolen. Those are separate checks, and they are the ones that cost a buyer thousands. Run a ServiceByReg Vehicle Risk Check before you pay a deposit.
Yes, and you should. Enter the seller's registration and you get an answer from the vehicle's own record, so you do not have to take the advert's word for it. Adverts saying ULEZ free are written by the seller and checked by nobody.
Mostly diesels registered before September 2015 and petrol cars registered before 2006. That covers a large slice of the cheaper end of the used market, which is exactly where ULEZ costs catch buyers out.
£12.50 for every day it is driven inside the London zone. Driven to work five days a week that is over £3,000 a year, which can be more than a cheap car is worth.
In and around London, yes. A non-compliant car has a much smaller pool of buyers, so it should be priced lower. If the seller has not accounted for that, it is a fair thing to raise before you agree a price.
No. ULEZ measures emissions and nothing else. A compliant car can still be on outstanding finance, be a recorded insurance write-off, be showing a mileage that has been wound back, or be reported stolen. Those are separate checks, and they are the ones that cost a buyer thousands.
The vehicle's registration record: fuel type, Euro emissions standard, first registration date and CO2 figure. We show you all four alongside the verdict, so you can see what it was based on rather than trusting a badge.
Free, no account needed. Enter the seller's reg to see whether the vehicle meets the London standard.