Driving non-GB registered car inside Low Emission Zone

Question

Almost all of greater London area is Low Emission Zone, which means that older diesel cars are not allowed into the zone, or must face high fees (up to 200£ per day).

The LEZ does not apply to cars or motorcycles.
(source)

However,

Non-GB registered vehicles(...) You will need to register your vehicle with us if:

• Your vehicle meets LEZ emissions standards
  (source)

I could not find any clear information. if I want to drive a car (which should be fine, if it was GB-registered) that is registered in another country, do I still have to register with Transport for London? And if I don't, what are the penalties?

Answer 1

I have received a definitive answer from TfL after asking the question twice (first they just quoted me the same ambiguous rules I was asking about).

The answer is:

All operators of non-GB registered vehicles (i.e. vehicles that aren't registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency in Great Britain) will need to register with us if the vehicle is to be used within the Zone as we do not have a link to the foreign database to retrieve the vehicle's information. Therefore you will need to register with us as you have stated your vehicle is not UK registered.

So they say you MUST register. Though even if you don't, they probably could not fine you. I hear there are collection agencies, for example in Poland, that specialize at collecting fines incurred in Western Europe. So the safe choice is to register.

I have completed the registration process, it is relatively painless (though you have to fill out and scan a form, so 19th century...) and fast (they only took 5 days instead of 10). The annoying part is that the form doesn't have an option for passenger cars (only buses, trucks, etc.) but I just wrote it in and they were fine with it.

Answer 2

I think you misunderstood the LEZ, or maybe I did?

Quote: "The Low Emission Zone (LEZ) operates to encourage the most polluting heavy diesel vehicles driving in London to become cleaner, or avoid the city. The LEZ covers most of Greater London and is in operation 24 hours a day, 365 days of the year."

The key phrase is, "heavy diesel vehicles", which means 'goods vehicles' or 'commercial vehicles", or in plain English, Trucks/Lorries/Waggons/Buses etc. It does not mean ALL Diesel vehicles.

Source: https://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/low-emission-zone

Cars are NOT affected, here is the list of the types that are: https://www.tfl.gov.uk/modes/driving/low-emission-zone/check-if-your-vehicle-is-affected?intcmp=2266

Unless your 'car' is a 4*4 or Pickup built before 1st Jan, 2002 ?

ALL foreign [ie. non British] vehicles of those types must register in advance.