Your vehicle's Euro emission standard is one of the most practically useful pieces of information attached to your registration number. It determines whether you can drive in London's Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) without paying the £12.50 daily charge, whether you are liable for fees in Clean Air Zones operating in Birmingham, Bristol, Bath and other UK cities, and — for diesel company cars — whether a Benefit in Kind tax supplement applies to your vehicle. All of this is confirmed by a single free reg check.
Euro emission standards have been introduced in stages since 1992, with each new standard setting tighter limits on the pollutants — primarily nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter — that vehicles are permitted to emit. Euro 6, introduced in September 2015, is the current standard for new petrol and diesel cars. For diesel vehicles in particular, Euro 6 dramatically reduced the permitted NOx limit: from 0.18g/km under the previous Euro 5 standard down to 0.08g/km, a reduction of more than 55%.
Here is what the free report shows for your vehicle:
Enter the registration above. The Euro standard and the full free report appear in seconds.
The free report draws on DVLA data to return your vehicle's exact Euro emission standard. You do not need to consult your V5C logbook, contact the manufacturer or try to interpret a type approval code. Enter the reg and the result is displayed immediately alongside your ULEZ and Clean Air Zone compliance status.
The free report shows whether your vehicle is ULEZ compliant alongside the Euro standard result, so you can confirm eligibility for London driving and for Clean Air Zones in cities including Birmingham, Bristol and Bath without running separate checks on multiple tools.
Euro standard is not always clear from a used car advert, and sellers do not always know the correct answer. Running a check before you view or buy means you know exactly whether the vehicle will be subject to daily charges in any zone you drive through — avoiding a costly surprise after purchase.
Euro standard, MOT history, tax status, DVLA registration details, CO2 figures and more are all included in the free report. No account is needed and results appear in seconds. Upgrade on the results page to reveal outstanding finance, write-off category, stolen status, mileage history and full keeper details.
The Euro emission standards are a set of European regulations that set the maximum permitted levels of exhaust pollutants for new road vehicles. They were first introduced in 1992 and have been tightened progressively ever since, with each new standard requiring manufacturers to reduce the volume of harmful gases their engines produce. The table below shows the key dates for each standard and the general vehicle age it applies to.
Research by the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders has found that it would take 50 modern new cars to produce the same volume of pollutants as a single vehicle built in 1970 — a figure that illustrates how significantly the Euro standards have changed what is emitted from vehicle exhausts over the past three decades.
Looking ahead, Euro 7 is due to apply to newly type-approved cars from November 2026. For the first time, it will also regulate non-exhaust emissions, including particulate matter from brake pads and tyres. Euro 7 does not affect the ULEZ or CAZ status of vehicles already on the road.
For most drivers, the Euro emission standard attached to their vehicle is something they rarely think about — until they receive a penalty charge notice or discover that a car they have just bought will cost them £12.50 every day they drive into a major city. Understanding your Euro standard in advance is straightforward and free; the consequences of not knowing can be significant.
London ULEZ — diesel cars must be Euro 6. London's Ultra Low Emission Zone, which has operated city-wide since August 2023, charges any diesel car that does not meet Euro 6 £12.50 per day to enter any London borough. For a driver making five journeys into London per week, that amounts to over £3,000 per year in charges. Petrol cars must meet the lower Euro 4 standard — generally any petrol car registered from January 2006 onwards — to avoid the charge. Electric vehicles are exempt.
Clean Air Zones in other UK cities. London is not the only city with emission-based charging. Birmingham, Bristol and Bath all operate Class D Clean Air Zones that charge non-compliant private cars daily. Manchester, Portsmouth and other UK cities have introduced or are developing similar schemes. The compliance rules in most CAZs mirror the ULEZ requirements: Euro 6 for diesel, Euro 4 for petrol.
Company car tax — the RDE2 supplement. Diesel company cars that do not meet the Real Driving Emissions 2 (RDE2) test — which corresponds to full Euro 6d compliance — attract a 4% Benefit in Kind tax supplement on top of the standard BIK rate. For a higher-rate taxpayer, this can add several hundred pounds per year to the tax cost of running a diesel company car. Euro 6d-compliant diesels registered from April 2018 onwards generally satisfy RDE2, but the only reliable way to confirm this is to check the vehicle's exact Euro sub-version.
Resale value and depreciation. As Clean Air Zones expand and low-emission requirements tighten, non-Euro 6 diesel cars are facing accelerating depreciation. Demand for sub-Euro 6 diesel has weakened in urban areas as buyers increasingly factor in ongoing zone charges when assessing a car's running costs. Knowing the Euro standard of a vehicle you are considering buying is therefore relevant to its long-term value as well as its immediate running costs.
Driving in European cities. Many European cities — including Paris, Brussels and Madrid — operate low-emission zones with their own compliance criteria based on the Euro standard. While specific rules vary by city, Euro 6 compliance generally provides the best protection against charges when driving in European urban areas.
Entering your registration number above is the quickest and most reliable method, but there are other ways to check your vehicle's Euro standard if you need to verify the result or cannot access the tool.
For most drivers, entering the registration above gives the fastest answer. The free report returns the Euro standard alongside MOT history, tax status, ULEZ compliance and more — all in a single check.
Enter any valid UK registration number above to run the free vehicle report. Your vehicle's Euro emission standard is displayed immediately alongside ULEZ compliance status, MOT history, road tax status, DVLA registration details and more. No sign-up is required and results appear in seconds.
Yes. Checking your car's Euro emission standard is included in the free report at no charge. Enter your registration and your Euro status — along with MOT history, tax status, ULEZ compliance, CO2 emissions, safety recall alerts, keeper count and more — is displayed instantly. No account or payment is needed for the free report.
Euro 6 is the sixth and current generation of European exhaust emission standards, introduced in September 2015. It sets the maximum permitted levels of nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and particulate matter that new vehicles can emit. For diesel cars, Euro 6 reduced the permitted NOx limit from 0.18g/km under Euro 5 to 0.08g/km — a reduction of more than 55%. In practical terms, Euro 6 compliance determines whether you are exempt from daily charges in London's ULEZ and in Clean Air Zones across Birmingham, Bristol, Bath and other UK cities.
It depends on your fuel type. Diesel cars must meet Euro 6 to drive in London's ULEZ without paying the £12.50 daily charge. Petrol cars only need to meet the lower Euro 4 standard, which generally covers any petrol car registered from January 2006 onwards. Electric vehicles are fully exempt from ULEZ charges. If you are not sure which standard your car meets, entering your registration above will confirm both the Euro standard and your ULEZ compliance status instantly.
Euro 6 has four sub-versions: 6b, 6c, 6d-temp and 6d. Euro 6d-temp introduced real-world driving emissions testing from September 2019, and Euro 6d became mandatory for all new type approvals from January 2021. For ULEZ and Clean Air Zone purposes, all four sub-versions are treated equally — any Euro 6 car is compliant. The most significant practical difference is for diesel company cars: only those meeting the RDE2 real-driving test, which corresponds to full Euro 6d compliance, are exempt from the 4% Benefit in Kind tax supplement.
Most new cars registered after 1 September 2015 meet Euro 6 standards, as that is the date from which the standard applied to the majority of new registrations in the UK. Cars sold between September 2014 and August 2015 may also be Euro 6 if they received early type approval. Cars sold before September 2015 are typically Euro 5 or older. Note that registration date alone is not always conclusive — some cars sold in late 2015 still carried Euro 5 engines. The free check by registration number returns the definitive result for your specific vehicle.
Clean Air Zones are designated areas where vehicles must meet minimum emission standards or pay a daily charge. London's ULEZ is the most well-known, but Birmingham, Bristol and Bath also operate Class D CAZs that charge non-compliant private cars. Manchester and Portsmouth have either launched or are planning similar schemes, and further cities across the UK are expected to introduce zones as part of the government's air quality commitments. In most UK CAZs, diesel cars must be Euro 6 and petrol cars Euro 4 to drive without a daily charge.
The V5C does not list your Euro standard by name. Section D.2 contains a Type Approval Number that can be used to infer the standard, but interpreting this code is not straightforward for most drivers. Entering your registration number into the free check above is faster and gives a direct, readable result without needing to decode your logbook or contact the manufacturer.
Euro 7 is the next generation of vehicle emissions standards, due to apply to newly type-approved cars from November 2026, with all new cars on sale required to comply by the end of November 2027. As well as tightening exhaust emission limits, Euro 7 will for the first time also regulate non-exhaust emissions — including particulates from brake pads, discs and tyres. Euro 7 does not affect the ULEZ or Clean Air Zone status of existing Euro 6 vehicles already on the road.