Oxfordshire County Council is the petroleum enforcing authority (PEA) and is responsible for ensuring that those who keep and dispense petrol do not cause risk to the public or the environment.

Certificates are issued for the premises where the petrol is both stored and dispensed, with no reference to person or company (previously known as licensees).

Dispensing is defined as the manual or electrical pumping of petrol from a storage tank into the fuel tank for an internal combustion engine or any container, including a demountable fuel tank.

Certificates do not have an expiry date and remain in force until either major changes take place or the site ceases to operate for more than 12 months.

Annual fee

The keeper of the fuel must pay an annual fee which is calculated according to the maximum literage of petrol stored at the site. The keeper can choose to pay for up to ten years in advance.

Fees are set by the Health and Safety Fees Regulations and are subject to review.

If you are a business that regularly fills containers of petroleum from petrol stations and have your permitted limits questioned, we can provide advice and authorisation letters to present to fuel stations to allow you to fill containers without future issues.

Please contact us.

Domestic and non-workplace storage

Petrol is highly flammable, explosive and toxic and there are laws that you need to follow if you are storing it.

Apart from what is in your vehicle fuel tank, you can only transport petrol in securely closed containers designed for the purpose and marked 'Petroleum' and 'Highly Flammable'. Make sure they are secured in the back of your vehicle when being transported.

Filling your tank from a container should only be carried out in the open air.

Store any containers in a garage or shed away from any other buildings. Do not keep it in the house. Make sure the area is well ventilated and away from naked flames or live electrical equipment.

Check containers regularly for leaks. If you smell petrol fumes, ventilate the area and make sure nobody smokes or turns electrical switches on or off. The slightest spark could cause an explosion.

The regulations have provision for licensing domestic and non-workplace petrol storage where it is kept for private use only.

A person may keep up to 30 litres of petrol in suitable portable containers or in a single demountable fuel tank in a suitable storage place.

A person keeping over 30 litres and less than 275 litres must notify the authority in writing with the name of the occupier, address of the premises and confirmation that the petrol is stored within suitable containers, a demountable fuel tank or both of these types of container, within accordance to regulations. No manually or electrically pumped dispensing of petroleum from these storage containers should take place for domestic and non-workplace storage.

A person keeping in excess of 275 litres will require a Petroleum Storage Licence(PSL). PSL’s are granted for a maximum of three years and will include conditions about the storage arrangements. PSL’s are issued to a person and are non-transferrable. Annual fees are applicable.

Please refer to the Health and Safety Fees Regulations, follow the link above for more information.

If you have any queries about the storage of petrol please contact us.