Improving air quality and Londoners' health, tackling climate change and reducing congestion

See if your vehicle is affected by our proposals 

Update 28 July 2023

Following the judgement by Mr Justice Swift at the High Court on Friday 28 July, the Mayor has issued the following press release confirming his plans to proceed with the ULEZ expansion on 29 August 2023 as planned:

https://www.london.gov.uk/landmark-high-court-win-mayor-means-ulez-expansion-will-go-ahead

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Consultation update 25 November 2022

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Update 4 August 2022 

Our consultation on proposals to extend the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) has now closed. Thank you to everyone who responded. We are now considering the feedback we received and aim to publish our consultation report and next steps later in the year.

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Overview

We are consulting on proposals to expand the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) London-wide on 29 August 2023. We want to hear your views on our proposals. These proposals are part of the commitment by the Mayor of London and TfL to help improve air quality and public health, tackle the climate emergency and reduce traffic congestion across Greater London.

Please read about our proposals in the consultation brochure:

Click the image to view the Consultation brochure

Or you can watch this video summarising our proposals:

The ULEZ currently covers the area inside the North and South Circular roads. It sets minimum ULEZ emissions standards for “light” vehicles, such as cars, motorcycles and vans; drivers of vehicles that don’t meet them must pay a daily charge to drive within the Zone unless an exemption or discount applies. "Heavy" vehicles, such as buses, coaches and lorries, are already subject to these standards London-wide.

Most drivers in Greater London already have compliant vehicles, with more than four in five vehicles in outer London already meeting ULEZ standards. To see if your vehicle is affected by our proposals, use our vehicle checker. Drivers of non-compliant vehicles would have to pay £12.50 each day if they drive within the zone.

We are also proposing to change the penalty charge level for non-payment of the daily ULEZ and Congestion Charge from £160 to £180, remove the £10 per vehicle annual Auto Pay registration fee for the Congestion Charge, ULEZ and Low Emission Zone, and make changes to the Mayor’s Transport Strategy.

See our consultation brochure for more details. We also have an easy-read version of the proposals and survey available.

Our proposals

These are our proposals for the London-wide expansion of the ULEZ from 29 August 2023. The new boundary would cover almost all (96 per cent) of Greater London, up to the existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ) boundary. You can view our overview map or view an interactive map of the proposed new boundary. 

The boundary of the expanded Zone is designed to make sure there are opportunities for vehicles to turn around should they not wish to enter the Zone.

We are also seeking views on how we shape the future of road user charging.

You can read a summary of our proposals in our consultation brochure and in more detail in Our proposals to help improve air quality, tackle the climate emergency, and reduce congestion by expanding the ULEZ London-wide and other measures consultation document.

Proposals: Part 1 - Expanding the Ultra Low Emission Zone London-wide from 29 August 2023 and making changes to Auto Pay and Penalty Charge Notice levels

Map of the proposed ULEZ expansion area

Details of the proposals:

• It would cost £12.50 per day to drive anywhere within the London-wide ULEZ area for drivers of non-compliant vehicles. Check whether your vehicle is already ULEZ standards compliant using the ULEZ vehicle checker
• It would operate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 364 days a year, excluding Christmas Day
• We would remove the £10 annual per vehicle registration fee for Auto Pay for the ULEZ, LEZ and Congestion Charge from 30 January 2023. It would then be free to register for Auto Pay. You would still have to pay the ULEZ charge if your vehicle is not compliant. (Auto Pay is a mechanism for automatic payment of the ULEZ, LEZ or Congestion Charge that ensures that drivers will not receive a Penalty Charge Notice) 
• The penalty for non-payment for ULEZ and Congestion Charge would increase from £160 to £180 from 30 January 2023. If paid within 14 days, the amount would reduce by half

Proposals: Part 2 - Changes to the Mayor's Transport Strategy (MTS)

The Mayor is also proposing to revise his Transport Strategy (MTS) to set out the triple challenges of toxic air pollution, the climate emergency and congestion that London is facing, notwithstanding achievements in delivering existing MTS policies and proposals. The new proposal would reinforce the importance of seeking to address these challenges and the role of road user charging including a London-wide ULEZ in doing so.

Help shape the future of road user charging

We want to hear your views on how we can shape the future of road user charging as part of the commitment by the Mayor of London and TfL to improve air quality, tackle the climate emergency and reduce congestion across Greater London.  

To have your say on our proposals, you can take part in our consultation survey. Details on other ways you can submit your views are provided below. 

Background

We are proposing to expand the ULEZ London-wide from 29 August in 2023. The ULEZ would be expanded to outer London to cover the same area as the existing Low Emission Zone (LEZ). We have summarised our proposals in our consultation brochure.   

Since its implementation in 2019 and the subsequent expansion to inner London (up to the North and South circular roads) in October 2021, the ULEZ has already helped to improve air quality in central and inner London. Most vehicles in the existing zone (92 per cent) are already ULEZ compliant. However, we need to do much more to protect the health and wellbeing of Londoners, especially those in outer London boroughs, where poor air quality is attributable to a greater number of deaths than in inner London (albeit levels of air pollution are lower in outer London). 

We are proposing to expand the ULEZ London-wide from August 2023 as part of our plans to tackle toxic air pollution, as well as helping to address the climate emergency and traffic congestion.