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Newcastle Clean Air Zone (CAZ) Check

NEWCASTLE CLEAN AIR ZONE (CAZ) CHECK

How does Carwow’s Newcastle CAZ check work?

Carwow’s free Newcastle clean air zone check uses your vehicle’s registration to tell you if your vehicle is compliant and whether you’ll need to pay the daily charge to drive into the CAZ.

Our tool also shows you the boundary of Newcatsle’s clean air zone. You can enter an address or postcode to see if it lies within the zone.

What is the Newcastle clean air zone?

Newcastle has a clean air zone to improve the air quality by penalising drivers of older, more polluting vehicles who enter certain areas of the city centre. It is also a way to help to reduce congestion and encourage people to use public transport, if possible.

Unlike the Ultra Low Emission Zone in London, Newcastle’s clean air zone does not affect private cars and motorcycles.

Instead, the Newcastle CAZ targets taxis, vans, lorries and buses that don’t meet certain emissions standards.

Is my vehicle compliant with the Newcastle clean air zone?

If your vehicle is a taxi, van, bus, coach or heavy goods vehicle (HGV) and it does not meet national clean air zone emissions standards, a daily charge (from midnight to midnight) has to be paid.

The minimum emissions standard for taxis, vans and light goods vehicles (LGVs) is Euro 6 for diesel engines and Euro 4 for petrol engines.

The emissions standard for larger vehicles - HGVs, buses, and coaches - are more stringent. These vehicles must have a Euro 6 diesel or petrol engine to avoid paying the daily charge.

Newcastle clean air zone FAQs

The Newcastle and Gateshead clean air zone includes most of Newcastle City Centre plus routes over the Tyne, Swing, High Level and Redheugh bridges. The university and Newcastle Central Railway station are within the clean air zone.

Signs indicating the boundaries of the zone are white, with black text and a green cloud icon.

Newcastle’s CAZ is enforced with ANPR number plate recognition cameras. These check whether any vehicle entering the clean air zone is compliant with its regulations. It does not make you aware that you have entered the zone or remind you to pay any charges.

For any non-compliant vehicles that do not pay the relevant charge within the time allowed, a penalty charge notice will automatically be issued to the registered keeper of the vehicle.

Taxis, minibuses and vans that don’t meet Newcastle’s CAZ requirements have to pay £12.50 a day to enter the zone.

Non-compliant lorries and buses attract a £50 charge to enter the zone, which operates 365 days a year, 24 hours a day; the charging period begins at midnight, so if you enter the zone at 23:30 and leave at 00:05 you will have to pay two charges.

If you need to pay Newcastle’s CAZ you should head to the Government website and follow the instructions. You can also call 0300 029 8888, with lines open 8am-7pm weekdays and 8a,-2pm on weekends.

Some vehicles which do not meet the CAZ emissions requirements may be exempt from paying the charge.

There are two types of exemption: national exemptions, which are agreed by the Government and apply to all clean air zones, and local exemptions, which are agreed by councils for the clean air zone in their area.

Vehicles eligible for national exemption from charges to drive in any clean air zone include:

  • Ultra low emissions vehicles
  • Disabled passenger tax class vehicles
  • Disabled tax class vehicles
  • Military vehicles
  • Historic vehicles
  • Certain agricultural vehicles
  • Vehicles retrofitted with technology accredited by the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Service (CVRAS) from the Energy Saving Trust.

The local exemption list for the Newcastle and Gateshead clean air zone includes emergency service vehicles, vehicles registered to businesses located within the CAZ, and community transport vehicles.