Countries · Britain and Ireland · Road charges

How to Pay Road Charges in the UK and Ireland in a Foreign Car

Checked 5 October 2026 on GOV.UK, Transport for London's and the operators' own sites · skynomad

The Dartford Crossing east of London costs a car £3.50. There is no booth to stop at: the camera reads your plate, and you pay online by midnight the next day.

That pattern repeats across Britain and on Dublin's M50. Miss the deadline and the bill becomes a penalty.

So note the crossings on your route before you set off, and pay each one the same evening.

Pay the Crossings Online by the Next Day

Mersey Gateway's penalty is £50, cut to £25 if paid within 14 days.

The M6 Toll, around Birmingham, still has booths. From 7 July 2026 a car pays £6.90, £9.50 or £12.00 for one, two or three zones.

Check Your Car Before You Drive Into London

London has two charges, and they add up.

The Ultra Low Emission Zone covers every London borough, 24 hours a day, every day but Christmas Day. A petrol car must meet Euro 4 and a diesel Euro 6; otherwise you pay £12.50 a day.

Transport for London does not hold the details of most cars registered outside the UK. If yours meets the standard, register it with them. Approval can take up to 10 working days, and until then you must pay the daily charge or risk a penalty.

The Congestion Charge applies in central London from 7am to 6pm on weekdays and from noon to 6pm at weekends. It costs £18 paid in advance or on the day, or £21 by midnight on the third day after.

Know Which Other Cities Charge Cars

Outside London, Birmingham (£8 a day) and Bristol (£9 a day) are England's clean air zones that charge private cars missing the standard: Euro 4 petrol, Euro 6 diesel. Oxford's Zero Emission Zone also charges petrol and diesel cars. You can pay from six days before to six days after.

Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow run low-emission zones that ban non-compliant cars outright, 24 hours a day. The penalty starts at £60, halved if paid within 14 days, and doubles for each repeat within 90 days, up to £480.

Pay Dublin's M50 by 8pm the Next Day

The M50 toll, between junctions 6 and 7, has no barrier. A car with no account pays €3.80 from 1 January 2026, online by 8pm the following day. A car registered outside Ireland picks its vehicle class by hand when paying.

Ireland's other motorway tolls have barriers. The M4 from Kilcock to Kinnegad costs a car €3.60, and the M7/M8 at Portlaoise €2.30; both take Visa Debit and Mastercard in every lane but Express.

The Dublin Port Tunnel costs €14 southbound from 6 to 10am on weekdays, €12 northbound from 4 to 7pm on weekdays, and €3.50 at other times.

Pay each crossing the day you drive it, and register an EU car with Transport for London before you go. Every price on this page was read on GOV.UK, Transport for London's, the Mayor of London's and the operators' own sites on 5 October 2026.

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