Congestion Charge, ULEZ and tolls on courier deliveries into London: who pays and how much
What the London Congestion Charge, ULEZ and the Dartford and Mersey tolls cost a van in 2026, which postcodes are inside the zone, and how an honest courier should show them on your quote.
Delivering into London costs more than the mileage says, and the difference is where cheap-looking quotes make their money back. These are the charges, what they cost a van in 2026, and how to tell whether your courier has included them.
The London Congestion Charge
£18 a day for any vehicle entering the central zone between 07:00 and 18:00 Monday to Friday, 12:00 to 18:00 at weekends and bank holidays. The zone is roughly everything inside the Inner Ring Road: the City (EC1–EC4), Holborn and Bloomsbury (WC1–WC2), the West End and Mayfair (W1), Westminster, Victoria and Pimlico (SW1) and the South Bank, Waterloo and Borough (SE1). Camden, King's Cross north of Euston Road, Shoreditch, Canary Wharf and everything outer are outside it.
A courier pays it once per day per vehicle, so a driver doing three central London drops on one run pays £18, not £54. We charge it at cost when either address on your job is inside the zone, as its own line on the quote, and pass the full £18 to the driver.
ULEZ
£12.50 a day for vehicles that don't meet the Euro 6 (diesel) or Euro 4 (petrol) standard, across the whole of Greater London, 24 hours a day. In practice almost every van built since 2016 is compliant. Every vehicle on our network has to be, because Birmingham's own Clean Air Zone uses the same standard, so there is never a ULEZ charge on our quotes. If a courier adds one, ask what van they're sending.
Tolls a Midlands-to-London job might hit
| Crossing | Van charge 2026 | When a courier uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Dartford Crossing (M25 east) | £3 each way | Routes from the East Midlands into Kent or Essex; rarely from Birmingham |
| M6 Toll | £9.50–£15 depending on time | Only if you ask for it on a priority job |
| Mersey Gateway / tunnels | £2.60–£3 | Liverpool and Wirral deliveries |
| Severn bridges | Free since 2018 | Cardiff and South Wales |
Parking and loading in the centre
The charge most quotes ignore. Central London loading bays are timed, enforced by camera, and a 20-minute wait for a goods-in desk can mean a £130 PCN. We add £12 'central London access' to zone jobs to cover the driver's time and the occasional ticket, and we tell the driver to call the receiver 15 minutes out so the handover is quick.
What an honest quote looks like
Coventry to King's Cross, SWB van, same-day: call-out £30 + 92 miles × £1.45 + driver's return £46.69 + Congestion Charge £18 + central London access £12 = £240.09, no VAT. Every line visible before you pay; nothing arrives on an invoice later.
Prices quoted are our published rates at the time of writing, with no VAT added. Enter your postcodes for a fixed price today.