Petrol filling stations storage certificate

Before a storage certificate can be granted for a new petrol station you must satisfy the petroleum enforcement authority (PEA), that the design and construction of the containment system for storage, leak detection, spillage control and other health and safety in relation to the dispensing of petrol, will not create an unacceptable risk. We are the PEA in County Durham.

Approval for the petrol station

You should contact us at an early stage of design, and we will examine your plans to ensure that they meet current guidance and codes of practice. Once approval has been given and the construction has started, you should then apply for a certificate to store and sell petroleum. We may wish to visit the site at key stages of development.

Once the certificate is issued you must comply with the regulations and all current codes of practice, as failure to do so may result in enforcement action being taken. 

Fees

The fee for a petroleum storage certificate follows the guidelines in the petroleum consolidation regulations 2014 and is set by the health and safety executive. 

The annual certificate may be applied for up to 10 years at a time.

Apply for a certificate

To apply for a petroleum storage certificate online, please visit the following:

• apply for a petroleum storage certificate

Granting of a certificate 

A minimum of 28 days notice is required, and you will be subject to a final inspection before the certificate will be issued. The certificate is granted for the petrol storage site and not to the operator. This certificate will remain valid until:

• petroleum has not been stored on the site for a period exceeding 12 months.
• one or more of the petrol storage tanks is no longer in use or has been removed/permanently decommissioned.
• new tank(s), pipework or vapour pipework associated with the storage and dispensing of petrol are installed.
• new petrol pump(s), any other automotive pump, or dispenser are installed.

If this happens you must contact us, and we will issue a new certificate which reflects the significant material change to the site. A minimum of 28 days is required for us to update a certificate.

Implied granting of licence ('tacit consent')

It is in the public interest that we process your application before it can be granted. This means that you do not have the right (known as 'tacit consent') to assume your licence is granted just because you have not heard from us.

We aim to contact you within two working days of receiving your application. If you have not heard anything from us after seven working days, please contact us.