The Congestion Charge can be a serious expense for drivers in London. If you live or work in London, you can easily spend thousands of pounds on the Congestion Charge yearly, although residents can apply for a discount.
TfL created the Congestion Charge zone to help reduce traffic in parts of London and make the city less cluttered with vehicles and their emissions.
However, discounts can help you avoid paying the Congestion Charge and let you access the zone for free. Among the many groups currently eligible for a discount are low-emission EV drivers, who can apply for a discount and avoid paying the daily fee or fines.
The Congestion Charge is a flat fee that a driver must pay to access the roads in the Congestion Charge Zone of London. The zone is easily recognisable to drivers as the roads are marked with a red circle which contains a white letter ‘C.’
TfL created the Congestion Charge zone in 2003 to make the city less polluted, filled with traffic, and less gridlocked. Every vehicle which drives in the zone must pay a fee. Automatic number plate recognition cameras enforce the charge.
When first created, the Congestion Charge zone only covered the City of London area inside the London Inner Ring Road; in the following years, the zone slowly expanded to include the West End district.
The Congestion Charge is active from 7 am - 6 pm from Monday to Friday and from midday to 6 pm on weekends and bank holidays. The charge doesn’t apply on Christmas Day but is active on all other days of the year. If you drive in the congestion zone during these hours, you must pay their fee unless you have a discount active.
The Congestion Charge zone is different but similar to the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which is an area of London where you must also pay a fee to drive in.
The ULEZ area was created to help create clean air zones and disincentive driving in the capital. It covers a different area than the Congestion Charge zone, and the two areas operate at different hours.
The ULEZ area covers a large area of London, as far north as Tottenham, east as Greenwich, south as Brixton and west as Ealing. It operates 24/7, with the only day not enforced being Christmas day.
To drive in ULEZ, you must pay a flat rate of £12.50 a day, which amounts to around £3250 a year with 260 working days. Zero-emission EVs can drive in the ULEZ for free once they register.
There are no other low-emissions zones in London. However, there are many similar areas across Europe, such as France’s Crit’Air scheme, which hopes to limit traffic and gridlock and restrict vehicular access to cities like Grenoble, Paris and Strasbourg.
There are other low-emissions zones in the UK which hope to limit traffic in their cities, such as areas within Birmingham, Glasgow and Bristol. The Oxford City Council also operate a Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ.) EVs are exempt from paying to drive in the ZEZ.
To use the London Congestion Charge zone, you must pay £15 daily. £15 daily amounts to £330 monthly if you work 22 days and £3900 annually if you work 260 days.
If you do not pay the Congestion Charge, you will be subject to a fine of between £80 - £240, depending on how long you take to pay the fine. The longer you take to pay the fine, the more expensive the fine will be.
There are exceptions to the Congestion Charge. London residents of the charging zone can apply for a 90% discount; however, that scheme is currently closed to new applicants.
The following are 100% exempt from the Congestion Charge following a £10 annual registration fee:
One of the exemptions to the Congestion Charge is zero-emissions vehicles. All zero-emission EVs can drive in the Congestion Charge zone without paying the £15 fee or a fine. Over time this can save EV drivers thousands of pounds if they use the zone frequently enough. This exemption is made to help promote EVs and limit air pollution in the capital.
However, you can’t just go for a drive in the Congestion Charge zone because you have an EV. To use the zone and not have to pay a fine, you must first register for the Cleaner Vehicle discount, which will exempt you from TfL’s Congestion Charges.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) no longer qualify for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount and must pay the £15 fee to use the London Congestion Zone.
PHEVs used to be able to access the discount, but this was changed in October 2021 when it was decided that hybrids could no longer apply for the discount and instead must pay the regular fee all other vehicles must pay to use the Congestion Charge zone.
Zero emissions vehicles are not automatically exempt from Congestion Charges. Instead, you must register your EV or be subject to fines like all other drivers. If you have an EV and want to access the roads within the Congestion Charge zone for free, you must apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount.
To get the discount, you must register through TfL’s official website (which you can find here) and apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount.
In order to receive the discount, you must supply evidence that your car is electric and provide your vehicle’s V5C, which the DVLA issues. The V5C is your vehicle’s logbook.
Registering your vehicle costs £10. The £10 annual fee will need to be renewed each year that you wish to maintain the Cleaner Vehicle discount. TfL will notify you when your discount is due to expire to enable you to renew it.
The Cleaner Vehicle discount will not last forever, so if you’re interested, now is the perfect time to apply for it and avoid the Congestion Charge.
Unfortunately, for EV drivers, the Cleaner Vehicle discount will not be a thing for too much longer. Subject to changes, TfL currently plans to end the discount on the 25th of December 2025.
All new petrol and diesel cars are due to be banned from sale by 2030, so eventually, EVs will become the majority of cars. TfL plans to introduce the Congestion Charge to EVs to ensure that the capital doesn’t become too busy with vehicles exempt from the Congestion Charge.
If they don’t introduce the charge for EVs, the city will quickly become gridlocked, and the Congestion Charge will not be serving its purpose.
Other discounts will continue past 2025, such as discounts for blue badge holders, resident’s discounts and more, which you can apply for after EVs are no longer exempt from the Congestion Charge.
Whether you live and work in London or want to head to the city to shop, the Cleaner Vehicle discount can help you save substantial money. Over the year, the £15 flat fee can become a serious dent in your bank balance if you use the Congestion Charge zone; this makes the discount a huge benefit for EV owners.
If you own an EV and are planning on heading to London soon, you should apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount. Get it now, as it won’t last forever, and you might regret not saving money while you can.
Remember to register for the discount before driving in the Congestion Charge zone, or else you will be subject to paying the fee or their fines.
If you’re driving in London, you’ll want access to all the best public chargers. If you’re interested in accessing these chargers at a discount, you should download Bonnet. Bonnet is our app which allows EV drivers to connect with thousands of charging points across the UK.
We are partnered with chargers in London of all varieties, from on-street charging and rapid charging. We hope to provide London’s EV drivers with affordable EV charging across all the boroughs. One of the most annoying things about public charging is the need to download an app for each charging network you use; this can clutter your phone and drain your battery. You don’t need loads of apps to find the perfect charger; you just need Bonnet.
We have a great membership option called Bonnet Boosts, which allows drivers to save up to 15% off all their EV charging within our partners’ charging networks. Bonnet Boosts is an ideal option for drivers looking to save money on their charging bills.
If you’re driving your EV in London or elsewhere, you should download Bonnet to ensure you find the right charging station which offers the perfect speeds, location, and price.
No. All zero-emissions vehicles can apply for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount, which allows you to access the London Congestion Zone without paying the £15 fee. They do not have to pay to drive in the London Ultra Low Emissions Zone either.
In December 2025, TfL will stop the Cleaner Vehicle Discount, which allows EVs to be exempt from the Congestion Charge. Unless changes are made before 2025, all EVs will have to pay the Congestion Charge to access the London Congestion Charge zone during their charging hours.
Other discounts can help you avoid paying the congestion charge, such as discounts for Blue Badge holders or NHS staff.
Many groups don’t have to pay the Congestion Charge, such as EV owners, Blue Badge holders, vehicles with nine or more seats, and motorcycles.
The Congestion Charge can be a serious expense for drivers in London. If you live or work in London, you can easily spend thousands of pounds on the Congestion Charge yearly, although residents can apply for a discount.
TfL created the Congestion Charge zone to help reduce traffic in parts of London and make the city less cluttered with vehicles and their emissions.
However, discounts can help you avoid paying the Congestion Charge and let you access the zone for free. Among the many groups currently eligible for a discount are low-emission EV drivers, who can apply for a discount and avoid paying the daily fee or fines.
The Congestion Charge is a flat fee that a driver must pay to access the roads in the Congestion Charge Zone of London. The zone is easily recognisable to drivers as the roads are marked with a red circle which contains a white letter ‘C.’
TfL created the Congestion Charge zone in 2003 to make the city less polluted, filled with traffic, and less gridlocked. Every vehicle which drives in the zone must pay a fee. Automatic number plate recognition cameras enforce the charge.
When first created, the Congestion Charge zone only covered the City of London area inside the London Inner Ring Road; in the following years, the zone slowly expanded to include the West End district.
The Congestion Charge is active from 7 am - 6 pm from Monday to Friday and from midday to 6 pm on weekends and bank holidays. The charge doesn’t apply on Christmas Day but is active on all other days of the year. If you drive in the congestion zone during these hours, you must pay their fee unless you have a discount active.
The Congestion Charge zone is different but similar to the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which is an area of London where you must also pay a fee to drive in.
The ULEZ area was created to help create clean air zones and disincentive driving in the capital. It covers a different area than the Congestion Charge zone, and the two areas operate at different hours.
The ULEZ area covers a large area of London, as far north as Tottenham, east as Greenwich, south as Brixton and west as Ealing. It operates 24/7, with the only day not enforced being Christmas day.
To drive in ULEZ, you must pay a flat rate of £12.50 a day, which amounts to around £3250 a year with 260 working days. Zero-emission EVs can drive in the ULEZ for free once they register.
There are no other low-emissions zones in London. However, there are many similar areas across Europe, such as France’s Crit’Air scheme, which hopes to limit traffic and gridlock and restrict vehicular access to cities like Grenoble, Paris and Strasbourg.
There are other low-emissions zones in the UK which hope to limit traffic in their cities, such as areas within Birmingham, Glasgow and Bristol. The Oxford City Council also operate a Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ.) EVs are exempt from paying to drive in the ZEZ.
To use the London Congestion Charge zone, you must pay £15 daily. £15 daily amounts to £330 monthly if you work 22 days and £3900 annually if you work 260 days.
If you do not pay the Congestion Charge, you will be subject to a fine of between £80 - £240, depending on how long you take to pay the fine. The longer you take to pay the fine, the more expensive the fine will be.
There are exceptions to the Congestion Charge. London residents of the charging zone can apply for a 90% discount; however, that scheme is currently closed to new applicants.
The following are 100% exempt from the Congestion Charge following a £10 annual registration fee:
One of the exemptions to the Congestion Charge is zero-emissions vehicles. All zero-emission EVs can drive in the Congestion Charge zone without paying the £15 fee or a fine. Over time this can save EV drivers thousands of pounds if they use the zone frequently enough. This exemption is made to help promote EVs and limit air pollution in the capital.
However, you can’t just go for a drive in the Congestion Charge zone because you have an EV. To use the zone and not have to pay a fine, you must first register for the Cleaner Vehicle discount, which will exempt you from TfL’s Congestion Charges.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) no longer qualify for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount and must pay the £15 fee to use the London Congestion Zone.
PHEVs used to be able to access the discount, but this was changed in October 2021 when it was decided that hybrids could no longer apply for the discount and instead must pay the regular fee all other vehicles must pay to use the Congestion Charge zone.
Zero emissions vehicles are not automatically exempt from Congestion Charges. Instead, you must register your EV or be subject to fines like all other drivers. If you have an EV and want to access the roads within the Congestion Charge zone for free, you must apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount.
To get the discount, you must register through TfL’s official website (which you can find here) and apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount.
In order to receive the discount, you must supply evidence that your car is electric and provide your vehicle’s V5C, which the DVLA issues. The V5C is your vehicle’s logbook.
Registering your vehicle costs £10. The £10 annual fee will need to be renewed each year that you wish to maintain the Cleaner Vehicle discount. TfL will notify you when your discount is due to expire to enable you to renew it.
The Cleaner Vehicle discount will not last forever, so if you’re interested, now is the perfect time to apply for it and avoid the Congestion Charge.
Unfortunately, for EV drivers, the Cleaner Vehicle discount will not be a thing for too much longer. Subject to changes, TfL currently plans to end the discount on the 25th of December 2025.
All new petrol and diesel cars are due to be banned from sale by 2030, so eventually, EVs will become the majority of cars. TfL plans to introduce the Congestion Charge to EVs to ensure that the capital doesn’t become too busy with vehicles exempt from the Congestion Charge.
If they don’t introduce the charge for EVs, the city will quickly become gridlocked, and the Congestion Charge will not be serving its purpose.
Other discounts will continue past 2025, such as discounts for blue badge holders, resident’s discounts and more, which you can apply for after EVs are no longer exempt from the Congestion Charge.
Whether you live and work in London or want to head to the city to shop, the Cleaner Vehicle discount can help you save substantial money. Over the year, the £15 flat fee can become a serious dent in your bank balance if you use the Congestion Charge zone; this makes the discount a huge benefit for EV owners.
If you own an EV and are planning on heading to London soon, you should apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount. Get it now, as it won’t last forever, and you might regret not saving money while you can.
Remember to register for the discount before driving in the Congestion Charge zone, or else you will be subject to paying the fee or their fines.
If you’re driving in London, you’ll want access to all the best public chargers. If you’re interested in accessing these chargers at a discount, you should download Bonnet. Bonnet is our app which allows EV drivers to connect with thousands of charging points across the UK.
We are partnered with chargers in London of all varieties, from on-street charging and rapid charging. We hope to provide London’s EV drivers with affordable EV charging across all the boroughs. One of the most annoying things about public charging is the need to download an app for each charging network you use; this can clutter your phone and drain your battery. You don’t need loads of apps to find the perfect charger; you just need Bonnet.
We have a great membership option called Bonnet Boosts, which allows drivers to save up to 15% off all their EV charging within our partners’ charging networks. Bonnet Boosts is an ideal option for drivers looking to save money on their charging bills.
If you’re driving your EV in London or elsewhere, you should download Bonnet to ensure you find the right charging station which offers the perfect speeds, location, and price.
The Congestion Charge can be a serious expense for drivers in London. If you live or work in London, you can easily spend thousands of pounds on the Congestion Charge yearly, although residents can apply for a discount.
TfL created the Congestion Charge zone to help reduce traffic in parts of London and make the city less cluttered with vehicles and their emissions.
However, discounts can help you avoid paying the Congestion Charge and let you access the zone for free. Among the many groups currently eligible for a discount are low-emission EV drivers, who can apply for a discount and avoid paying the daily fee or fines.
The Congestion Charge is a flat fee that a driver must pay to access the roads in the Congestion Charge Zone of London. The zone is easily recognisable to drivers as the roads are marked with a red circle which contains a white letter ‘C.’
TfL created the Congestion Charge zone in 2003 to make the city less polluted, filled with traffic, and less gridlocked. Every vehicle which drives in the zone must pay a fee. Automatic number plate recognition cameras enforce the charge.
When first created, the Congestion Charge zone only covered the City of London area inside the London Inner Ring Road; in the following years, the zone slowly expanded to include the West End district.
The Congestion Charge is active from 7 am - 6 pm from Monday to Friday and from midday to 6 pm on weekends and bank holidays. The charge doesn’t apply on Christmas Day but is active on all other days of the year. If you drive in the congestion zone during these hours, you must pay their fee unless you have a discount active.
The Congestion Charge zone is different but similar to the London Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ), which is an area of London where you must also pay a fee to drive in.
The ULEZ area was created to help create clean air zones and disincentive driving in the capital. It covers a different area than the Congestion Charge zone, and the two areas operate at different hours.
The ULEZ area covers a large area of London, as far north as Tottenham, east as Greenwich, south as Brixton and west as Ealing. It operates 24/7, with the only day not enforced being Christmas day.
To drive in ULEZ, you must pay a flat rate of £12.50 a day, which amounts to around £3250 a year with 260 working days. Zero-emission EVs can drive in the ULEZ for free once they register.
There are no other low-emissions zones in London. However, there are many similar areas across Europe, such as France’s Crit’Air scheme, which hopes to limit traffic and gridlock and restrict vehicular access to cities like Grenoble, Paris and Strasbourg.
There are other low-emissions zones in the UK which hope to limit traffic in their cities, such as areas within Birmingham, Glasgow and Bristol. The Oxford City Council also operate a Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ.) EVs are exempt from paying to drive in the ZEZ.
To use the London Congestion Charge zone, you must pay £15 daily. £15 daily amounts to £330 monthly if you work 22 days and £3900 annually if you work 260 days.
If you do not pay the Congestion Charge, you will be subject to a fine of between £80 - £240, depending on how long you take to pay the fine. The longer you take to pay the fine, the more expensive the fine will be.
There are exceptions to the Congestion Charge. London residents of the charging zone can apply for a 90% discount; however, that scheme is currently closed to new applicants.
The following are 100% exempt from the Congestion Charge following a £10 annual registration fee:
One of the exemptions to the Congestion Charge is zero-emissions vehicles. All zero-emission EVs can drive in the Congestion Charge zone without paying the £15 fee or a fine. Over time this can save EV drivers thousands of pounds if they use the zone frequently enough. This exemption is made to help promote EVs and limit air pollution in the capital.
However, you can’t just go for a drive in the Congestion Charge zone because you have an EV. To use the zone and not have to pay a fine, you must first register for the Cleaner Vehicle discount, which will exempt you from TfL’s Congestion Charges.
Plug-in hybrid vehicles (PHEVs) no longer qualify for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount and must pay the £15 fee to use the London Congestion Zone.
PHEVs used to be able to access the discount, but this was changed in October 2021 when it was decided that hybrids could no longer apply for the discount and instead must pay the regular fee all other vehicles must pay to use the Congestion Charge zone.
Zero emissions vehicles are not automatically exempt from Congestion Charges. Instead, you must register your EV or be subject to fines like all other drivers. If you have an EV and want to access the roads within the Congestion Charge zone for free, you must apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount.
To get the discount, you must register through TfL’s official website (which you can find here) and apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount.
In order to receive the discount, you must supply evidence that your car is electric and provide your vehicle’s V5C, which the DVLA issues. The V5C is your vehicle’s logbook.
Registering your vehicle costs £10. The £10 annual fee will need to be renewed each year that you wish to maintain the Cleaner Vehicle discount. TfL will notify you when your discount is due to expire to enable you to renew it.
The Cleaner Vehicle discount will not last forever, so if you’re interested, now is the perfect time to apply for it and avoid the Congestion Charge.
Unfortunately, for EV drivers, the Cleaner Vehicle discount will not be a thing for too much longer. Subject to changes, TfL currently plans to end the discount on the 25th of December 2025.
All new petrol and diesel cars are due to be banned from sale by 2030, so eventually, EVs will become the majority of cars. TfL plans to introduce the Congestion Charge to EVs to ensure that the capital doesn’t become too busy with vehicles exempt from the Congestion Charge.
If they don’t introduce the charge for EVs, the city will quickly become gridlocked, and the Congestion Charge will not be serving its purpose.
Other discounts will continue past 2025, such as discounts for blue badge holders, resident’s discounts and more, which you can apply for after EVs are no longer exempt from the Congestion Charge.
Whether you live and work in London or want to head to the city to shop, the Cleaner Vehicle discount can help you save substantial money. Over the year, the £15 flat fee can become a serious dent in your bank balance if you use the Congestion Charge zone; this makes the discount a huge benefit for EV owners.
If you own an EV and are planning on heading to London soon, you should apply for the Cleaner Vehicle discount. Get it now, as it won’t last forever, and you might regret not saving money while you can.
Remember to register for the discount before driving in the Congestion Charge zone, or else you will be subject to paying the fee or their fines.
If you’re driving in London, you’ll want access to all the best public chargers. If you’re interested in accessing these chargers at a discount, you should download Bonnet. Bonnet is our app which allows EV drivers to connect with thousands of charging points across the UK.
We are partnered with chargers in London of all varieties, from on-street charging and rapid charging. We hope to provide London’s EV drivers with affordable EV charging across all the boroughs. One of the most annoying things about public charging is the need to download an app for each charging network you use; this can clutter your phone and drain your battery. You don’t need loads of apps to find the perfect charger; you just need Bonnet.
We have a great membership option called Bonnet Boosts, which allows drivers to save up to 15% off all their EV charging within our partners’ charging networks. Bonnet Boosts is an ideal option for drivers looking to save money on their charging bills.
If you’re driving your EV in London or elsewhere, you should download Bonnet to ensure you find the right charging station which offers the perfect speeds, location, and price.
No. All zero-emissions vehicles can apply for the Cleaner Vehicle Discount, which allows you to access the London Congestion Zone without paying the £15 fee. They do not have to pay to drive in the London Ultra Low Emissions Zone either.
In December 2025, TfL will stop the Cleaner Vehicle Discount, which allows EVs to be exempt from the Congestion Charge. Unless changes are made before 2025, all EVs will have to pay the Congestion Charge to access the London Congestion Charge zone during their charging hours.
Other discounts can help you avoid paying the congestion charge, such as discounts for Blue Badge holders or NHS staff.
Many groups don’t have to pay the Congestion Charge, such as EV owners, Blue Badge holders, vehicles with nine or more seats, and motorcycles.
