How to appeal a Clean Air Zone PCN
Updated 20 September 2026 · By the AppealGo team
Short answer
A Clean Air Zone PCN is £120, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days, on top of the daily charge you should have paid. Challenge it with the council that issued it within 28 days, then appeal free to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal within 28 days of a rejection. The daily charge can be paid up to six days after the journey, and only Birmingham and Bristol charge private cars; Bath, Bradford, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside charge vans, lorries, taxis, buses and coaches only.
| Penalty | £120, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days, plus the unpaid daily charge |
|---|---|
| Payment window | From six days before the journey until six days after it |
| Zones that charge private cars | Birmingham and Bristol |
| Zones that do not charge private cars | Bath, Bradford, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside |
| Representations | To the issuing council within 28 days |
| Appeal | Traffic Penalty Tribunal, within 28 days of a rejection; free |
Clean Air Zones outside London work like ULEZ but are run by individual councils under a national framework. Birmingham and Bristol charge private cars; Bath, Bradford, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside only charge vans, lorries, taxis, buses and coaches. In every case the enforcement is by camera and the penalty is the same: £120, reduced to £60 if paid within 14 days, on top of the daily charge you should have paid.
Got one of these? Check it for free.
Snap a photo of the notice. We read it, tell you the grounds we found, and only charge £6.99 if you ask us to file the appeal.
Check my noticeThe payment window most people miss
You can pay the daily charge from six days before your journey up to six days after it, through the government's Drive in a Clean Air Zone service. Most PCNs are issued to drivers who did not know they had passed through a zone, or who intended to pay and missed the window. If you paid within the window and still received a PCN, your payment receipt is a complete answer.
Grounds councils accept
- You paid for the day in question.
- Your vehicle meets the emissions standard (Euro 4 petrol or Euro 6 diesel for cars) and the vehicle checker's data is wrong. A Certificate of Conformity or dealer confirmation of the Euro standard is the evidence to send.
- Your vehicle is exempt. National exemptions include vehicles in the disabled tax class, historic vehicles, military vehicles and certain agricultural vehicles. Each zone also has local exemptions, for example for residents, hospital patients and community transport, which usually need to be registered in advance.
- The vehicle in the image is not yours (misread or cloned plate), or you were not the keeper on that date.
- The PCN was served late or the notice is defective.
How to appeal
Make representations to the council that issued the PCN within 28 days, through its online portal or in writing, attaching your evidence. If the council rejects them, you have 28 days to appeal to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal, which is free and independent. AppealGo can read the PCN and file the representations for you.
Common questions
Which Clean Air Zones charge private cars?
Birmingham and Bristol charge non-compliant private cars. Bath, Bradford, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Tyneside do not charge private cars, only commercial and public-transport vehicles. Greater Manchester's zone was never switched on.
I drove through a Clean Air Zone several days in a row. Will I get a PCN for each day?
Yes, each day is a separate charge and a separate PCN. Appeal them together on the same ground if you were unaware of the zone, and check whether the council will let you pay the missed daily charges instead, as some do for first-time cases.
Is a Clean Air Zone PCN the same as a ULEZ PCN?
The principle is the same but the amounts and the issuer differ. ULEZ is London-only, issued by TfL at £180 and appealed to London Tribunals. Clean Air Zone PCNs are issued by the local council at £120 and appealed to the Traffic Penalty Tribunal.
Sources
Got one of these? Check it for free.
Snap a photo of the notice. We read it, tell you the grounds we found, and only charge £6.99 if you ask us to file the appeal.
Check my noticeRelated guides
This guide is general information about UK motoring penalties, not legal advice. Deadlines, amounts and procedures are set by the issuer and the regulations in force, and the notice you were sent is always the authoritative source for your own dates. See our disclaimer.
