Portsmouth's Clean Air Zone, in plain English.
Class B zone. Private cars and vans are not charged. The fee applies only to older taxis, HGVs, buses and coaches.
Portsmouth's Clean Air Zone covers Portsea Island, 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Private cars, vans, motorbikes and LGVs are not charged regardless of emissions. Non-compliant taxis and private hire vehicles pay £10 a day; HGVs, buses and coaches pay £50. Most modern taxis and HGVs meet the standard and pay nothing. Portsmouth is the most permissive UK clean air zone for private drivers.
Check my postcodePortsmouth City Council · gov.uk · JAQU
Is your postcode inside the Portsmouth Clean Air Zone?
Postcode-level check, scoped to Portsmouth. The zone boundary may run through your street, so for the exact answer use the official Portsmouth City Council checker linked below.
Four facts to know first
Southern Portsmouth between the harbour and Langstone Harbour.
Every day of the year, midnight to midnight.
Private cars, vans, motorbikes and LGVs always exempt.
£10 a day for non-compliant taxis and PHVs. £50 for HGVs, buses, coaches.
Where exactly is the zone?
The CAZ covers Portsea Island, the southern part of the city of Portsmouth bounded by Portsbridge Creek to the north, Langstone Harbour to the east and Portsmouth Harbour to the west. The M275 motorway and the A2030 / A27 routes outside the island are not part of the zone, so cross-city traffic on those routes is unaffected.
For the exact street-level boundary, use the Portsmouth City Council CAZ map ↗.
Does my vehicle have to pay?
Private cars, vans, motorbikes and LGVs never pay. The charge applies only to non-compliant taxis and private hire vehicles (£10 a day), and HGVs, buses and coaches (£50 a day). Compliant vehicles of any class pay nothing.
- Private cars / vans / LGVs / motorbikes: Always exempt, regardless of age or emissions.
- Petrol taxis / PHVs: Euro 4, generally registered after 1 January 2006.
- Diesel taxis / PHVs: Euro 6, generally registered after 1 September 2015.
- HGVs / buses / coaches: Euro VI engines (most registered after 2014).
Type your registration into the official Portsmouth CAZ vehicle checker.
We don't run the check ourselves. Portsmouth City Council does. Type your reg directly on theirs.
What happens if a non-compliant taxi or HGV doesn't pay?
You have until midnight on the sixth day after travel to pay the daily charge. Miss that and a Penalty Charge Notice is issued.
- Reduced rate£60Pay within 14 days
- Full PCN£120Full PCN
Why does Portsmouth have a Clean Air Zone?
Portsmouth's CAZ launched on 29 November 2021. Roadside NO₂ monitoring on Portsea Island had been recording levels above legal limits for several years; central government directed Portsmouth to introduce a charging Clean Air Zone.
Portsmouth chose a Class B zone, the most permissive of the English options. Class B exempts private cars, vans, motorbikes and LGVs from the charge, targeting only the highest-emitting commercial vehicles. The reasoning was that Portsea Island's pollution profile was driven primarily by older HGVs and taxis on a small number of corridors, and a wider charge would not deliver proportionate benefit.
Air-quality monitoring inside the zone has shown reductions in roadside NO₂ since launch. Portsmouth City Council publishes annual air-quality reports on the council website.
Portsmouth CAZ questions
Sister guides: Sheffield CAZ, Bath CAZ, London ULEZ.
Sheffield and Bath also exempt private cars but charge vans. Portsmouth exempts both.
Verified May 2026 against:
- Portsmouth City Council — Clean Air Zone· primary
- gov.uk — Clean Air Zones· regulator
- Joint Air Quality Unit (JAQU) — vehicle checker· regulator
Next review: August 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email gary@revn.co.uk.