Oxford ZEZ Map 2026: £0 to £10 a Day, Charged 7am to 7pm
Zero Emission Zone · United Kingdom · Active since 2022
Source: official source · Verified: 2026-09-19
Oxford's ZEZ pilot charges by emissions band from 7am to 7pm daily: £0 zero-emission, £2 ultra-low, £4 low emission, £10 for everything else. The penalty for not paying is £60, or £30 in 14 days.
Locally the zone is called Zero Emission Zone Oxford (United Kingdom) — that is the wording on the boundary signs, on the official portal and on any penalty notice, so it is the phrase to search for once you are there.
Next
- Check your own car against Oxford — enter your fuel and Euro class, get a yes or no in one step.
- Portsmouth has a zone too — the nearest one to Oxford, and the rules are not identical.
- If a fine arrives after you get home — who pays on a hire car, and what is actually enforceable across borders.
Practical answers for Oxford
- When is the Oxford zone active?
- 7am-7pm, seven days a week, all year
- How much does it cost to drive into Oxford?
- GBP 0 zero-emission / GBP 2 ULEV under 75 g/km / GBP 4 Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel / GBP 10 all others · None — a charge, not a ban; band set by emissions Get it wrong and the penalty is GBP 60 (GBP 30 if paid within 14 days); 28 days from service to pay or challenge.
- Do I need to register or buy anything first?
- None — a charge, not a ban; band set by emissions
- Who is exempt in Oxford?
- Electric vehicles, Disabled tax class vehicles, Military vehicles and Historic vehicles (1977 or older). Exemptions are usually not automatic — most require registering your number plate in advance.
Oxford Zero Emission Zone Map
The shaded area is the zone boundary as mapped in OpenStreetMap — zoom in to see which streets fall inside, and confirm the signs at the edge on arrival.
Requirements
Who pays in a hire car, whether insurance covers it, and how to appeal.
Can My Vehicle Enter Oxford?
Select your fuel type and Euro emission class to check instantly.
Exemptions
Driving Guide: United Kingdom
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Oxford’s zone has an absolute-sounding name and a sliding scale behind it. Nothing is banned — the pilot streets simply price each vehicle by its emissions between 7am and 7pm, seven days a week: £0 for a zero-emission vehicle, £2 for an ultra-low emission vehicle below 75 g/km CO2, £4 for a low emission vehicle at Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel, and £10 for anything else. One payment covers the whole day however many times you drive in, and a parked car that never moves owes nothing. Skip the charge and the penalty is £60, or £30 if paid within 14 days.
| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Zone type | Zero Emission Zone pilot — a charge, not a ban |
| Zero-emission vehicle | GBP 0 |
| Ultra-low emission, under 75 g/km CO2 | GBP 2 a day |
| Low emission, Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel | GBP 4 a day |
| All other vehicles | GBP 10 a day |
| Charging hours | 7am to 7pm, seven days a week, all year |
| Parked and not moved | No charge |
| Payment window | Six days before to six days after travel |
| Penalty | GBP 60, GBP 30 within 14 days, 28 days to pay or challenge |
| Pilot launched | 28 February 2022 |
Can your car enter Oxford zez?
Enter your vehicle's fuel + Euro class → instant verdict for Oxford zez (ZEZ). Fine if wrong: GBP 60 (GBP 30 if paid within 14 days); 28 days from service to pay or challenge.
Oxford Emission Zone
The pilot covers a small group of central streets rather than the whole city centre, and it has run since 28 February 2022. The council’s map shows the pilot boundary alongside the larger zone that has been proposed but not adopted.
🛞 Check your car: Emission Zone Checker — instant verdict for 596 European emission zones, free.
The four bands
- £0 — zero tailpipe emissions
- £2 — ultra-low emission, under 75 g/km CO2
- £4 — low emission: Euro 4 or IV petrol, Euro 6 or VI diesel
- £10 — everything below that line
A typical 2012 diesel hatchback pays £10; a 2018 diesel or a 2010 petrol pays £4; a plug-in hybrid usually pays £2. The charge covers a calendar day, so repeated entries cost no more than one.
Hours matter here
Unlike the 24-hour clean air zones elsewhere in England, Oxford charges only 7am to 7pm. An evening arrival after seven, or a departure before seven in the morning, falls outside the charging period altogether — one of the few genuinely useful pieces of timing in any UK zone.
Discounts
Blue Badge holders and residents and businesses within the zone can apply for a discount, which has to be in place before the journey rather than claimed afterwards.
If a notice arrives
The penalty is £60 with 28 days from the date of service to pay or challenge it. Paying within 14 days brings it down to £30.
Driving in Oxford — Quick Reference
Finding parking in Oxford requires planning, especially during peak tourist season. Arriving by road, the park-and-ride sites and day trips into the Cotswolds are set out in the Oxford city driving guide.
| City centre | GBP 3-5/hour |
| Park & Ride | GBP 2-3/day at 5 P+R sites |
Tip: City centre extremely limited; P+R at Thornhill, Redbridge, or Peartree recommended
| Service | Number |
|---|---|
| General emergency | 112 |
| Police | 999 |
| Ambulance | 999 |
| Fire | 999 |
Recent changes to this page
- Page title now leads with the zone map shown on this page; the rules, hours and figures below are unchanged.
- Checked against Oxfordshire County Council. Two figures were wrong and one band was missing: the penalty is £60, halved to £30 within 14 days, not £120; and there is a £4 band for low emission vehicles (Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel) between the £2 and £10 rates. Removed the sticker questions and the Euro 6 minimum, which described a ban the zone does not impose — nothing is prohibited here, it is priced. Pilot start confirmed as 28 February 2022.
- Title, description and introduction rewritten from this page's own data (no shared template wording).
- Re-verified ZEZ pilot charges: GBP 10/day for non-zero-emission cars in the central streets, operating 7am-7pm, 7 days a week.
- Confirmed Oxford City Council plans for expanded ZEZ still under consultation — pilot area unchanged for 2026.
- Added reduced GBP 2/day charge band for ultra-low-emission vehicles; pure EVs continue to pay zero.
Part of the TyreMap Emission-Zone Dataset — 596 verified European emission zones, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.
Frequently Asked Questions
Four bands: nothing for a zero-emission vehicle, £2 for an ultra-low emission vehicle under 75 g/km CO2, £4 for a low emission vehicle meeting Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel, and £10 for everything else.
No. Despite the name, the pilot does not prohibit anything — it prices entry. The council states that charges apply to vehicles driven in the zone between 7am and 7pm unless they are zero-emission or hold a discount.
Between 7am and 7pm, seven days a week, all year round. A single daily charge covers the whole day, so a vehicle can enter and move around the zone repeatedly without paying twice.
£60. The council allows "28 days from the date of service to pay the fine (£60) or make a formal challenge", and accepts £30 — half the penalty — if it is paid within 14 days of service.
No. Charges "don't apply to vehicles that are parked within the zone and do not move". The charge is triggered by driving, not by occupying a space.
Blue Badge holders, and residents and businesses inside the zone, can apply for a discount through the county council. Applications are made in advance rather than argued after a charge appears.