If you’re moving to, from, or within Birmingham city centre, you need to know about the Clean Air Zone (CAZ). This guide explains how the zone works, whether removal vans are affected, and what you need to do to avoid penalties.
What Is Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone?
Birmingham’s Clean Air Zone launched on 1 June 2021 to reduce nitrogen dioxide pollution in the city centre. It covers all roads within the A4540 Middleway ring road, though the Middleway itself is not included. This means the zone encompasses the entire city centre, including Digbeth, the Jewellery Quarter, the Chinese Quarter, areas around New Street Station, and parts of Bordesley and Newtown.
The zone operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, all year round. There are no exemptions for weekends, bank holidays, or any other time. If you drive a non-compliant vehicle into the zone at any point, you’ll be charged.
Birmingham operates a Class D zone—the strictest category—which applies to all vehicle types including cars, taxis, vans, minibuses, buses, coaches, and heavy goods vehicles. Motorcycles and mopeds are exempt.
CAZ Charges
The daily charge depends on your vehicle type. Cars, taxis, and vans pay £8 per day. Buses, coaches, and HGVs (vehicles over 3.5 tonnes) pay £50 per day.
A day runs from midnight to midnight. One payment covers unlimited entries and exits within that 24-hour period, so you won’t be charged twice for multiple trips on the same day. However, if your journey spans midnight—arriving at 11pm and leaving at 1am, for example—you’d need to pay for two days.
Which Vans Are Exempt?
Whether a van needs to pay depends on its emissions standard, not its size. Vehicles that meet the required emissions criteria drive through for free. The standards are Euro 4 for petrol vehicles and Euro 6 for diesel vehicles.
In practical terms, this means petrol vans registered from around 2006 onwards are typically compliant, while diesel vans generally need to be registered from September 2015 or later. This includes the Ford Transit, Mercedes Sprinter, and other common removal vehicles—most versions manufactured in the last decade meet Euro 6 standards.
Electric vans and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles are automatically exempt regardless of when they were manufactured.
Checking If a Van Is Compliant
You can check any vehicle using the government’s online vehicle checker at gov.uk/check-clean-air-zone-charge. Enter the registration number and it will confirm whether charges apply for Birmingham’s CAZ.
If you’re booking a removal service, it’s worth asking whether their vehicles are CAZ-compliant. Most professional man and van operators and removal companies have updated their fleets to meet emissions standards, but smaller independent operators or older vehicles may still be non-compliant.
How to Pay
Payment is made online at gov.uk/clean-air-zones or by phone on 0300 029 8888 (Monday to Friday 8am–7pm, Saturday 8am–2pm). You can pay up to six days before your journey, on the day itself, or within six days afterwards.
There’s no toll booth or automatic billing—the system relies on ANPR cameras that record vehicle registrations entering the zone. You need to remember to pay; there’s no automatic reminder or invoice sent.
For businesses making regular trips into Birmingham, the government portal allows you to set up an account and check multiple vehicles at once.
Penalties for Non-Payment
If you don’t pay within the allowed timeframe, you’ll receive a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN) of £120. This reduces to £60 if paid within 14 days. The original £8 or £50 charge is still owed on top of the penalty.
The penalty applies per day missed, so forgetting to pay for a two-day job could result in fines of £240 plus the original charges.
What This Means for Your Move
If you’re moving to or from an address within the CAZ, any removal vehicle entering the zone will be affected unless it meets emissions standards. When booking your move, check with the company whether their vehicles are compliant. Reputable operators will know their fleet’s status and can confirm this quickly.
For moves involving compliant vehicles, there’s nothing extra to pay—you simply drive in and out as normal. For non-compliant vehicles, the £8 charge should be factored into the overall cost. Some operators may pass this on as an additional fee, while others include it in their quote.
If you’re driving a hired van yourself, check its compliance before setting off. Most modern hire vehicles from national rental companies meet Euro 6 standards, but it’s worth confirming. You’ll be responsible for any CAZ charges when using a hire vehicle.
Routes Avoiding the CAZ
If your pickup and delivery addresses are both outside the zone, you may be able to avoid the CAZ entirely by choosing routes that stay on the Middleway ring road or beyond. The A4540 itself is not part of the zone, so using this as a bypass rather than cutting through the city centre keeps you outside the charging area.
That said, for many Birmingham moves, passing through the centre is the most practical route. The £8 charge for a van is relatively modest compared to overall moving costs, and attempting to avoid it by taking a significantly longer route may not be worth the extra time and fuel.
Planning Your Move
When getting quotes for a Birmingham move, mention if your address is within or near the city centre. A driver familiar with the area will know the CAZ boundaries and can advise on whether charges apply. Professional removal services operating in Birmingham will have this factored into their pricing.
For moves originating or ending in the city centre, budget for the potential £8 daily charge if you’re unsure of the vehicle’s compliance status. It’s a small cost relative to the overall move, but worth knowing about in advance.
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