Owners of motorhomes and caravans with a liquefied gas tank can now fill it with LPG at public filling stations in Germany. The German Liquefied Gas Association (DVFG) announced the change and set out the rules.
Conditions for filling
- The tank must be installed to the requirements of DVGW worksheet 607: securely fixed with a sealed connection in the cylinder box and removable without tools.
- Filling is allowed only while the tank is fixed in place and only through an external filling connection on the vehicle.
- The filling line must not run through the living area.
- An automatic fill stop and a safety valve are required.
If a motorhome or caravan does not meet these requirements, it must be retrofitted and then checked by an expert before filling at a station, said Markus Lau of the DVFG. Existing systems can also be upgraded later.
The legal basis is the amended Technical Rules for Operational Safety TRBS 3151. The Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs published the change in the Joint Ministerial Gazette (Gemeinsames Ministerialblatt) No. 30–32 of 20 October 2026. The installation requirements have been set out in DVGW worksheet G 607 since June 2026, but there was no clear permission to fill at public stations until now.
A safety coupling is required between the tank and the external filling connection. The automatic fill stop limits filling to 80 per cent of the volume, leaving the rest as a buffer for gas expansion in warm weather. The safety valve releases gas if pressure rises unexpectedly and closes again when pressure falls. There is no grandfathering for tanks installed before June 2026: an installation that does not comply must be adapted and then checked by a qualified expert. Any change to the gas system requires a new gas inspection, and the previous inspection lapses with the conversion.
Simple cylinders with a CE mark still may not be filled at German filling stations. Only permanently installed tanks to standard ECE R 67.01 with an external filling connection are allowed. A 27-litre cylinder holds about 11 kg of gas at the 80 per cent limit. A cylinder with filling connection and installation usually costs between €600 and €1,150. Fitting a gas filter is also recommended: unlike camping gas, LPG from the pump can contain oily residues, known as paraffins, which without a filter can clog the fine nozzles of a heater or fridge.