Where exactly is the Bristol Clean Air Zone?

The zone covers the city centre and harbourside, including parts of Hotwells, Spike Island, Redcliffe, Old City and Cabot Circus. Major roads outside the zone include the M32 motorway and the A370 west of the harbour.

Why does the PCN cost more than other zones' do?

Bristol's PCN works the same way as other CAZs: £120 reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. The difference is that Bristol adds the outstanding daily charge on top of the PCN. So a non-compliant car ignored gets a £120 PCN plus the £9 missed charge.

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. Bristol uses the national CAZ vehicle checker.

I live inside the zone. Do I get a discount?

Bristol has previously operated targeted exemptions for residents on lower incomes and for blue light services. Most resident exemptions have wound down. Check the council website for the current list of exemptions and grants.

Does Bristol CAZ run on weekends and bank holidays?

Yes. The zone operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, every day of the year, including Christmas Day. There is no day-of-week or hour-of-day exemption.

Bristol · Clean Air Zone

Bristol's Clean Air Zone, in plain English.

Class D zone. £9 a day for non-compliant cars in the city centre. Most modern cars don't pay.

Bristol's Clean Air Zone covers the city centre and harbourside, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Non-compliant cars, vans, taxis and LGVs pay £9 a day; HGVs and coaches pay £100. Most petrol cars from 2006 and diesels from 2015 meet the standard and pay nothing. If a Penalty Charge Notice is issued, the missed daily charge is added to it.

Check my postcode

Bristol City Council · gov.uk · JAQU

BRISTOL CAZ

Postcode lookup

Is your postcode inside the Bristol Clean Air Zone?

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

The basics

Four facts to know first

Where

City centre + harbour

Old City, Redcliffe, Spike Island, Hotwells, Cabot Circus.

When

24 / 7

Every day of the year, including bank holidays.

What happens

£9 / day

Non-compliant cars, vans, taxis, LGVs. £100 for HGVs and coaches.

Penalty

£120 / £60

Reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days. Plus the missed daily charge.

Boundary

Where exactly is the zone?

The CAZ covers the city centre and harbourside, including parts of Hotwells, Spike Island, Redcliffe, the Old City and Cabot Circus. The M32 and A370 west of the harbour are outside the zone, so cross-city traffic can often route around it.

Stylised · City centre + harbourside · M32 and A370 outside the zone

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

Compliance

Does my car have to pay £9?

Petrol cars that meet Euro 4 and diesel cars that meet Euro 6 are exempt. Older vehicles pay £9 a day for cars, vans, taxis and LGVs, and £100 a day for HGVs and coaches. Fully electric vehicles never pay.

Standards summary

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

Official check

Type your registration into the official Bristol CAZ vehicle checker.

Check on bristol.gov.uk ↗

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

Penalties

What happens if you don't pay?

You have until midnight on the sixth day after travel to pay the £9. Miss that and a Penalty Charge Notice is issued. Bristol adds the outstanding daily charge on top of the PCN.

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 Bristol have a Clean Air Zone?

Bristol's CAZ launched on 28 November 2022, the second Class D zone in England after Birmingham. The city centre had been recording roadside NO₂ above legal limits for several years; central government directed Bristol to introduce a charging Clean Air Zone.

Bristol's zone is geographically smaller than Birmingham's but charges the same £9 a day for cars and £100 a day for HGVs. The boundary follows ward edges and major roads rather than a single ring road, which makes the postcode-level boundary more granular than Birmingham's A4540 line.

Air-quality data published by Bristol City Council shows sustained reductions in roadside pollution inside the zone since launch. Resident exemption schemes have wound down; the council website lists the current set of grants and exemptions.

FAQ