WAV Clean Air Zone Exemptions
Currently, if you own a vehicle and it is disabled passenger tax class and disabled tax class these vehicles are entitled to a national exemption and do not have to pay the charge.
Hire wheelchair vehicles may have to pay the charge, depending on specific clean air zone.
Check your eligibility by clicking here
Are all wheelchair vehicles safe from the emission zones?
There are currently a number of areas in the UK which charge some vehicles to enter or pass through a specified area.
- London – Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ)
- London – Low Emission Zone (LEZ)
- Bath – Class C
- Birmingham – Class D
- Bradford- Class C
- Bristol – Class D
- Portsmouth – Class B
- Sheffield – Class C
- Tyneside – Class C
Please note that while some vehicles may not show an exemption status they may be exempt depending on your status. Please check with the local authority for further guidance.
Exemptions of low emission zones for disability cars
There has been a lot of news regarding the quality of air in our cities over the last year and it’s something you can expect to hear more about over the coming years.
London has had a clean air zone, since the early 2000’s with older vehicles and those with higher emissions paying a charge when driving through the designated area. This year even more types of vehicle will be required to pay the charge with fewer exemptions as it becomes an Ultra Low Emission Zone.
New low emission zones are planned across the country in the following cities: Aberdeen, Cambridge, Cardiff, Derby, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fareham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle, Oxford, Reading, Sheffield, Slough, Warrington and York.
Designed to combat the pollution arising from unnecessary vehicle journeys these charge will apply to drivers driving through the designated areas – hopefully encouraging them to use public transport or cycle instead.
Are wheelchair cars exempt from the low emission zone charges?
Understanding that the users of vehicles adapted for wheelchairs will have very limited options when it comes to alternative travel arrangements there will be a national exemption for wheelchair accessible vehicles if you are entitled to register that vehicle as disabled.
Vehicles which have been registered within the disabled passenger tax class will be exempt from low emission charges.
To register your vehicle as disabled you must qualify for the follwing:
- Disability Living Allowance (DLA)
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Armed Forces Independence Payment (AFIP)
- War Pensioners Mobility Supplement (WPMS)
For more information or the latest eligibility updates please check the latest Goverment information
It is expected that these exemptions for registered disability cars will last until 2025 – a point in the future where we might expect there to be more choice in far lower/zero emission wheelchair vehicles on the market.
Are blue badge holders exempt from the low emission zone charges?
Blue badge holders are treated differently from registered wheelchair vehicles.
In many case a blue badge holder can drive a standard vehicle – those vehicles will have to meet the emission restrictions.
In London, Blue Badge holders will have to pay the ULEZ charge from April 2019 unless the vehicle has a disabled or disabled passenger tax class.
As other cities prepare their low emission zones they may choose to exempt vehicles driven by disabled people (blue badge holders) either for a set period of time or for an introductory period.
Is my WAV exempt from the emission charges?
As long as you are eligible and your WAV (wheelchair accessible vehicle) is registered within the correct tax class you should be exempt. If you are not sure or you need to update your tax class – read here for information on how to update your tax class.
This post is provided as information only, the law can change and you should check your eligibility and local authority information before purchasing a new vehicle. You are responsible for your vehicle and any clean air zone charges relating to it.
