Which oils are not covered by the Oil Storage Regulations?

In Northern Ireland and Wales the Oil Storage Regulations do not apply.

Check which oils are exempt in England

In England the regulations do not apply to oil you store:

in any container with a storage capacity of 200 litres or less
in a container situated inside a building
in a container wholly underground
on premises used to refine oil
on a farm, where the oil is used to produce heat or power for agriculture
on premises used wholly for distributing oil on to other places.

In England if you store any kind of mineral-based waste oil it is also exempt from the Oil Storage Regulations but you will have to comply with the Environmental Permitting Regulations.

Environmental permits

If you store other waste oils in England, for example waste vegetable and cooking oils or waste synthetic oils, you must comply with the Oil Storage Regulations.

Check which oils are exempt in Scotland

In Scotland the regulations do not apply to oil you store:

in a container wholly underground, unless the container is in an underground part of a building, eg in a basement
in accordance with a pollution prevention and control (PPC) Part A permit
on premises used wholly for distributing oil on to other places.

Good practice

Store oil safely

Even if the Oil Storage Regulations do not apply to you, you should still store your oil responsibly.

Pollution prevention guideline (PPG) 2: Above ground oil storage provides good practice guidance to help you store your oil to minimise the risk of pollution.

NEW PPG 2 Above ground oil storage tanks (Adobe PDF - 505KB)

In this guideline:

Do the Oil Storage Regulations apply to you?
Which oils are not covered by the Oil Storage Regulations?
General requirements of the Oil Storage Regulations
Storing agricultural fuel oil
Storing oil in fixed tanks
Storing oil in mobile bowsers
Storing oil above ground - good practice guidance
Storing oil below ground - good practice guidance
Dealing with oil spills
Oil storage further information
Oil storage legislation