The Bristol CAZ covers a large area of the city centre, from the Temple Meads railway station on the east, the A4 and Brunel Way to the west.

Bristol airport is not in the Bristol clean air zone. The Bristol clean air zone covers an area in and around the city centre only.

ANPR number plate recognition cameras monitor every vehicle driving into the clean air zone. They automatically check if each vehicle is compliant with the clean air zone regulations. If the charge for a non-compliant vehicle is not paid within the time allowed, a penalty charge notice will be issued to the registered owner of the vehicle.

There are some clean air zone exemptions, such as specialist vehicles and hospital patient and visitor exemptions.

A private petrol or diesel car, taxi or light goods vehicle (under 3.5 tonnes) that does not comply with the Bristol clean air zone emissions standard has to pay £9 per day to drive into the Bristol clean air zone.

Buses, coaches and heavy goods vehicles (HGVs) that do not comply with the Bristol clean air zone emissions standard have to pay £100 per day.

You are not charged if your non-compliant vehicle is parked in the Bristol clean air zone and is not driven on that day.

Charges can be paid up to six days in advance, on the day or up to six days afterwards. Refunds are not given if you pay in advance but then do not drive into the Bristol clean air zone.

The charge is payable for every day of the year and covers the period from midnight to midnight. You can leave and enter the clean air zone as many times as you like on the day that you are paying the charge for. You will be charged for each day that a non-compliant vehicle is driven in the clean air zone.

If you do not pay the daily charge within the time allowed, you will automatically be sent a Penalty Charge Notice asking you to pay a fine of £120 as well as the clean air zone charge, unless the fine is paid within 14 days, in which case it is reduced to £60 (plus the clean air zone charge).

You can pay the Bristol clean air zone charge via the Government website. You will need the registration number of your vehicle. Any queries relating to the payment process are handled by the national Clean Air Zone Support on 0300 029 8888.

It is your responsibility to know if you have driven a non-compliant vehicle in the Bristol clean air zone. Look out for the road signs indicating the approach and start of the Bristol clean air zone.

There are clean air zone exemptions if you or your vehicle meet certain eligibility criteria, such as specialist vehicles and hospital patient and visitor exemptions.

Exemptions from the Bristol clean air zone charge include:

• Electric vehicles
• Disabled passenger tax class vehicles
• Disabled tax class vehicles
• Military vehicles
• Historic vehicles
• Certain types of agricultural vehicles
• Vehicles retrofitted with technology accredited by the Clean Vehicle Retrofit Accreditation Scheme (CRAVS)

Some patients and visitors to hospitals within Bristol’s clean air zone are eligible for an exemption from the daily charge if their vehicle does not comply.

Initially, exemptions were available for Blue Badge holders, but this no longer applies and a daily charge is payable if a vehicle driven by a Blue Badge holder is not compliant with the emissions standard for the Bristol clean air zone.