Where exactly is the Birmingham Clean Air Zone?

The zone covers the area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road in central Birmingham. The A4540 itself is not part of the zone, so you can drive around the city centre on the ring road without entering. Major streets inside include New Street, Broad Street, Bristol Road and Digbeth.

Does it cost £8 every time I enter the zone?

No. The £8 daily charge covers any number of entries in a single calendar day. Drive in three times in one day and you still pay £8 once. The clock runs midnight to midnight.

Petrol cars that meet Euro 4 (broadly registered after 1 January 2006) and diesel cars that meet Euro 6 (broadly registered after 1 September 2015) are exempt. Type your registration into the official checker on brumbreathes.co.uk to confirm.

Birmingham · Clean Air Zone

Birmingham's Clean Air Zone, in plain English.

Class D zone. £8 a day for non-compliant cars inside the ring road. Most modern cars don't pay.

Birmingham's Clean Air Zone covers the area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road in central Birmingham, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Non-compliant cars and vans pay £8 a day; HGVs, buses and coaches pay £50. Most petrol cars from 2006 and diesels from 2015 meet the standard and pay nothing. The vehicle upgrade funding scheme closed to new applications on 30 January 2026.

Check my postcode

Birmingham City Council · gov.uk · JAQU

BIRMINGHAM CAZ

Postcode lookup

Is your postcode inside the Birmingham Clean Air Zone?

Postcode-level check, scoped to Birmingham. The zone boundary may run through your street, so for the exact answer use the official Birmingham City Council checker linked below.

The basics

Four facts to know first

Where

Inside A4540

The Middleway ring road encloses the zone. Ring road itself excluded.

When

24 / 7

Every day of the year, midnight to midnight.

What happens

£8 / day

Non-compliant cars and vans. £50 for HGVs, buses and coaches.

Penalty

£120 / £60

Reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days.

Boundary

Where exactly is the zone?

The CAZ covers the area inside the A4540 Middleway ring road. The ring road itself is not part of the zone, so traffic can route around the city centre on the A4540 without paying. Major streets inside the zone include New Street, Broad Street, Digbeth, Bristol Road (north of the ring road) and Bull Ring / St Martin's Queensway.

Stylised · Inside the A4540 · Ring road itself excluded

For the exact street-level boundary, use the Birmingham City Council CAZ map ↗.

Compliance

Does my car have to pay £8?

Petrol cars that meet Euro 4 and diesel cars that meet Euro 6 are exempt. Older vehicles pay £8 a day for cars and vans, £50 a day for HGVs, buses and coaches. Fully electric vehicles never pay. Hybrids must meet the same Euro standards as any other car of the same fuel type.

Standards summary

Petrol cars / vans: Euro 4, generally registered after 1 January 2006.
Diesel cars / vans: Euro 6, generally registered after 1 September 2015.
HGVs / buses / coaches: Euro VI engines (most registered after 2014).
Electric / hydrogen: Always exempt.

Official check

Type your registration into the official Birmingham CAZ vehicle checker.

Check on brumbreathes.co.uk ↗

We don't run the check ourselves. Birmingham City Council does. Type your reg directly on theirs.

Penalties

What happens if you don't pay?

Cameras read every plate inside the zone. You have until midnight on the sixth day after travel to pay the £8. Miss that and a Penalty Charge Notice is issued.

Reduced rate
£60
Pay within 14 days
Full PCN
£120
Full PCN

Plus the original daily charge for the day of travel.

Context

Why does Birmingham have a Clean Air Zone?

Birmingham's CAZ launched on 1 June 2021. The city centre had been recording roadside nitrogen dioxide levels above legal limits for years; central government directed Birmingham to introduce a charging Clean Air Zone as the most effective intervention.

Birmingham operates the most comprehensive of the English CAZs: a Class D zone, which charges all non-compliant vehicle types including private cars. Most other English CAZs are Class C or B, which exempt private cars and target commercial vehicles only.

Air-quality monitoring inside the zone has shown sustained reductions in roadside NO₂. The vehicle upgrade funding scheme for residents and businesses closed to new applications on 30 January 2026; existing approvals are being honoured to their stated deadlines.

FAQ