Is a 2010 diesel car too old for London?

For ULEZ, yes in almost every case: the diesel floor is Euro 6, which in practice means cars first registered from around September 2015. A handful of 2010 diesels were certified early to Euro 6, so the Euro class on your Certificate of Conformity decides it rather than the model year. TfL's vehicle checker gives the definitive answer for your plate.

What happens if I don't pay the £12.50 ULEZ charge?

TfL issues a penalty charge notice of £180, reduced to £90 if you pay within 14 days. The £12.50 charge itself can be paid up to midnight on the third day after you drove in the zone, so a forgotten trip is still fixable for a couple of days.

Is there a day pass or permit for a non-compliant car in London?

No. ULEZ has no sticker, no permit and no day pass — you either meet the Euro standard, hold one of the listed exemptions, or pay £12.50 for each day you drive inside the boundary. The scrappage scheme that helped Londoners replace non-compliant cars closed in 2024.

Does the charge apply per entry or per day?

Per day. One £12.50 payment covers that day no matter how many times you cross the boundary, and the zone runs 24 hours a day, every day except Christmas Day.

Are electric or hybrid cars exempt?

Battery-electric cars produce no tailpipe emissions and meet the standard, so nothing is payable. Plug-in and full hybrids are judged on their Euro class like any other car: a petrol hybrid needs Euro 4, a diesel hybrid Euro 6.

Is a Euro 5 Diesel ULEZ Compliant? No, £12.50 a Day 2026

Checked against official sources 19 Sep 2026 · Next review 2026-12-18

A Euro 5 diesel is not ULEZ compliant: London sets its diesel floor at Euro 6, one class above this 2010 car. Every day you drive it inside the zone costs £12.50, and a charge left unpaid turns into a £180 penalty — £90 if you settle it within 14 days.

Your case: Euro class is fixed by the Certificate of Conformity, not by the year on the V5C, and a late-2010 diesel occasionally certifies a class above what its registration date suggests — run the car’s details through the emission zone checker before you start paying £12.50 a day you may not owe.

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Can a diesel Euro 5 car enter London?

Yes, it can enter — it just isn’t free. ULEZ is a charging zone, not a ban: a Euro 5 diesel is legally allowed inside the boundary, but because it sits below the Euro 6 diesel standard Transport for London sets, you owe £12.50 for each day you drive it there.

Two details decide what this actually costs you. First, the charge is per day, not per entry — one payment covers unlimited crossings of the boundary that day, and TfL lets you pay up to midnight on the third day afterwards. Second, the zone has covered all 32 boroughs plus the City of London since the 29 August 2023 expansion and runs 24 hours a day, so there is no quiet hour and no through-route that avoids it.

Miss the payment and it becomes a £180 penalty charge notice, halved to £90 if you pay within 14 days. What does not exist is automatic EU enforcement — Directive 2015/413 covers only eight road-safety offences, and emission-zone charges are not among them. That is not the same as the debt evaporating: TfL uses commercial tracing agents who follow overseas keepers.

One thing this page is often asked that belongs elsewhere: the £100-a-day figure you may have seen is the separate Low Emission Zone for heavy diesels. ULEZ applies to cars, motorcycles, vans up to 3.5 tonnes and minibuses up to 5 tonnes; heavier vehicles are the LEZ’s business.

Could your car still qualify? Check the exemptions

A few vehicles pay nothing even without meeting the Euro standard. TfL’s discounts and exemptions list is short and specific:

Historic vehicles — anything built before 1 January 1973, plus vehicles over 40 years old registered with the DVLA in the historic vehicle tax class. A 2010 diesel is decades away from either.
Disabled and disabled-passenger tax class vehicles — a grace period running to 24 October 2027, provided the tax class does not change.
London-licensed taxis — fully exempt.
Not-for-profit community minibuses and wheelchair-accessible private hire vehicles — registered discounts, also to October 2027.
Agricultural and military vehicles, mobile cranes, non-road vehicles and showman’s vehicles.

Note what is not on that list: there is no tourist exemption, no short-visit exemption and no transit exemption. If the wheels are inside the boundary, the day is chargeable.

If you’d rather not pay: what to do instead

Park outside and take the Tube or rail. The ULEZ boundary now follows the London boroughs, so the practical move is to stop at a station outside the M25 or on an outer line and travel in. A day travelcard costs less than repeated £12.50 days.
Hire a compliant car. Any Euro 6 diesel or Euro 4 petrol removes the charge entirely, and mainstream hire fleets are well inside those standards.
Set an auto-pay account. If you will be in and out of London repeatedly, TfL’s Auto Pay bills the £12.50 automatically and removes the risk of the £180 penalty — it does not reduce the charge, it just stops you forgetting it.

How London’s ULEZ is enforced

The zone has been running since 2019 and is policed entirely by ANPR cameras, 24/7. Cameras read the plate and check it against the DVLA record, so there is no sticker to display and no practical way to slip through unnoticed. The charge is raised once per chargeable day; a penalty is issued once per unpaid day, not once per camera.

Quick compliance checklist for London

✅ Confirm your Euro class on the Certificate of Conformity, not the model year
✅ Run the plate through TfL’s vehicle checker before you travel
✅ Budget £12.50 per day inside the zone — per day, whatever the number of trips
✅ Pay by midnight on the third day after driving, or the bill becomes £180 (£90 within 14 days)
✅ Keep proof of any exemption in the vehicle
✅ Remember the zone is 24/7 and covers all 32 boroughs plus the City