The London Congestion Charge is a daily fee for driving most vehicles inside the central London zone during charging hours. Licensed London taxis are exempt; most private hire vehicles are not. If you drive PHV in London, this is one cost you cannot ignore.
Hours and fee
The charge currently applies Monday to Friday from 7am to 6pm and at weekends and bank holidays from 12pm to 6pm, except certain Christmas dates. Charging hours and the fee are reviewed by TfL — always check the latest figures before driving.
Who is exempt?
- Licensed London hackney carriages (black cabs).
- Vehicles on TfL's specific exemption lists.
- Some accessible PHVs registered with TfL — check eligibility carefully.
Most standard PHV cars must pay daily. Don't assume your operator handles it — confirm in writing.
How to pay
Use TfL's website, the official TfL Pay to Drive in London app, or set up Auto Pay. Auto Pay records every entry and bills monthly, so you never miss a payment if you set it up correctly.
Penalty Charge Notices
Miss a payment and you'll get a Penalty Charge Notice (PCN). Pay within the discount window to halve it. Don't ignore PCNs — they escalate quickly and can affect your TfL licence renewal.
Common mistakes
- Assuming weekend mornings are free — they aren't after 12pm.
- Forgetting bank holidays.
- Driving a partner's car into the zone without paying because you 'usually' use a compliant vehicle.
- Missing a PCN because the V5C address is out of date.
Practise the rules
Take our Congestion Charge practice quiz and combine with ULEZ practice for the full London compliance picture. Related reading: ULEZ for private hire drivers.
Disclaimer: UK Test Hub is independent and not affiliated with TfL. Confirm fees and rules on tfl.gov.uk.
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Start mock test 1Quick study plan
If you only have a fortnight to prepare, split your time into three blocks. Spend the first few days reading any official handbook or syllabus straight through — don't try to memorise yet, the goal is familiarity. Move on to topic-by-topic revision, focusing on the areas you found least intuitive on the first read. In the final week, switch to timed mock tests under exam conditions; mark every paper ruthlessly and read every explanation, including for questions you got right by guessing. Most candidates improve by 8–12 marks between their first and third mock simply by closing knowledge gaps this way.
Common myths to ignore
Three myths trip up more candidates than any single topic. The first is that "if I sit enough mocks, I'll spot the real questions on test day" — modern UK exam banks contain hundreds of items and the question you see on the day will probably be brand new to you. The second is that you can cram the night before; most assessments reward calm focus more than recent recall, and tired candidates make basic mistakes. The third is that the pass mark is the only thing that matters: aiming for a comfortable buffer of 5–10 marks above the threshold is the single best insurance against an unlucky paper.
What to do on test day
Plan to arrive 15–20 minutes early with valid photo ID — usually a UK driving licence or passport — and any booking confirmation you've been emailed. Eat something light beforehand, drink water but not so much that you'll need a comfort break mid-paper, and silence your phone before you walk through the door. Read every question twice, flag anything you're unsure of, and never leave a blank — there's no negative marking on the assessments most readers of this site sit, so a considered guess is always better than no answer at all.
