How do I find out if I need to pay the Clean Air Zone charge?

Having been in the same situation a while back when I drove to Birmingham, I emailed the CAZ team and the reply I got was as follows:

We are unable to access any data to determine whether or not a vehicle has driven into or within the zone.

There is signage prior to entering the zone, upon entering the zone and within the zone.

It is the driver’s responsibility to determine if they have driven into or within the zone and make the self-declared payment where required.

If you are unsure whether you entered the zone, you can use the map of the zone or the postcode checker (if available) on the Local Authority website www.brumbreathes.co.uk. If you travelled to a location within the zone, you can enter the postcode of where you travelled into the postcode checker, and it will tell you whether it is within the zone. If you have travelled through the zone shown on the map, or your destination is within the boundary, you may need to pay a Clean Air Zone charge.

I called the Clean Air Zone Contact Centre on 0300 029 8888 as well but they said the same thing, that they can't confirm anything. I responded to the lady I was speaking to that you could verify whether you're liable for a charge when going through the London Congestion Charging zone but she said the CAZ does not operate the same way and it's been rushed and could be a temporary measure.

My takeaway from this is they don't have enough cameras installed to determine who got in the zone but then again if you're unlucky enough to be caught, you'll end up paying a penalty of between £60-£120.

I did not want to take that risk, so I paid the £8 fee.

It's also worth noting that you can pay this charge 6 days before or after your trip but the payment is valid only for the day specified, so if you paid the fee but you did not really drive through the zone, you essentially lose your money as they don't carry it forward.

The Clean Air Zone currently applies to the following cities:

• Bath, Class C
• Birmingham, Class D
• Bradford, Class C
• Bristol, Class D
• Portsmouth, Class B
• Tyneside (Newcastle and Gateshead), Class C
• Sheffield, Class C
• Greater Manchester (under review)

Cars are liable to the charge only in the Class D zones but not below (A,B,C) and currently only travel to Birmingham and Bristol are affected.

Hope that helps.