Due to coronavirus, the Mayor of London has temporarily expanded NHS staff and patient eligibility for Congestion Charge reimbursements. The Mayor of London has also created new Congestion Charge reimbursement schemes for local authorities, charities and care homes.

You may be eligible for a Congestion Charge reimbursement if you are: 

  • An NHS patient 
  • NHS staff 
  • A local authority employee 
  • A charity employee or volunteer
  • Working at a care home within the Congestion Charge zone

For NHS patients only, you may also be able to claim a reimbursement for the Ultra Low Emission Zone (ULEZ) charge. 

You cannot apply directly to us for a reimbursement. How to make a claim depends on the organisation you work for or the hospital that treated you. 

You cannot claim for:

  • charges you paid after the day of travel 
  • Penalty Charge Notices 

NHS staff

This includes locum and agency staff. 

To be eligible you must:

1. Be using your vehicle to carry:

  • Bulky, heavy or fragile equipment/supplies
  • Patients' notes or other confidential material
  • Controlled drugs
  • Clinical waste, contaminated sharps, radioactive materials or non-medicinal poisons
  • Prescription-only medicines or waste medicinal products
  • Clinical specimens, body fluids, tissues or organs

or

2. Be responding to an emergency when on call. 

You may be temporarily eligible for the reimbursement scheme if you work for an NHS trust and you are travelling to provide services in response to coronavirus. Journeys to and from work, as well as for work, are included. 

NHS patients

As an NHS patient, you may be able to claim a reimbursement of the Congestion Charge or the ULEZ daily charge for journeys to and from the hospital. 

NHS patients who are clinically assessed as being at moderate or high risk of coronavirus are now eligible for a temporary time period. You may also be able to claim reimbursements for travel to and from coronavirus vaccination centres and hospitals.

You may also be eligible to claim if you are clinically assessed as too ill, weak or disabled to travel to an appointment on public transport and:

  • Have a compromised immune system
  • Require regular therapy or assessments
  • Need regular surgical intervention

How to claim as an NHS employee or patient

You'll need to pay the daily Congestion Charge for your journey before you can make a claim. For NHS patients travelling in a vehicle that doesn't meet the ULEZ emissions standards, you'll need to pay the daily ULEZ charge before you can make a claim. 

To find out if you are eligible and make a reimbursement claim, contact: 

  • the NHS trust that employs you, if you are NHS staff
  • the hospital or coronavirus vaccination centre that treated you directly, if you are an NHS patient

The NHS trust needs to be registered for the reimbursement scheme. The NHS trust or hospital will manage the claim and reimburse you. If you paid your charge using Auto Pay, we will reimburse the charge into your Auto Pay account.

If someone else paid the Congestion Charge or ULEZ charge for the journey you made, you can make a claim on their behalf. 

Local authorities, charities and domiciliary care workers

Local authorities, charities and voluntary organisations that provide services in response to the coronavirus within the Congestion Charge zone, may now be able to claim Congestion Charge reimbursements for a temporary time period. 

For example, you may be eligible to claim if you:

  • Make deliveries to directly support the coronavirus response within the Congestion Charge zone
  • Provide nursing or care services for people who are vulnerable or at risk of the coronavirus

If you are a domiciliary care worker, to make a claim you must either: 

  • Work for a company that is contracted by a local authority within the Congestion Charge zone to care for residents
  • Care for someone that receives whole or partial funding from a local authority in the Congestion Charge zone

Care home workers

If you work in a Care Quality Commission registered care home that is within the Congestion Charge zone, you may be able to get a Congestion Charge reimbursement for journeys to and from work, as well as journeys for work. 

How to claim as a local authority, charity, domiciliary care or care home worker

You'll need to pay the daily Congestion Charge for your journey, before you can make a claim. 

Check with your local authority, charity or care home if they are registered to the reimbursement scheme and make a claim to them. Your organisation or care home will manage the claim and reimburse you. If you paid your charge using Auto Pay, we will reimburse the charge into your Auto Pay account.

If someone else paid the Congestion Charge for the journey you made, you can make a claim on their behalf. 

Find out if your: