VanLife Beacon — aggregates each jurisdiction's rule and links straight to the official source — we explain, we don't replace.

✓ Sourced & fact-checked

Where you can legally sleep in a vehicle, worldwide

There is no such thing as a single national wild-camping rule in most of these markets — the land manager, province, state, canton or council decides, not the country. This table aggregates the federal/national default and names who overrides it, with the official source for every row. For the 10 original European markets this Beacon tracks, only the accepted overnight option (aires, Stellplätze, camperplaatsen…) is currently sourced — the wild-camping/stay-limit/permit columns are marked as not established rather than guessed, pending country-specific research. The five Nordic and central/southern European markets added since then (Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Czechia, Greece) show how differently 'no wild camping' can be enforced: Sweden and Norway have a strong general right to roam that explicitly excludes motor vehicles, Denmark has no such right at all, Czechia bans it outright with no fixed stay-limit or permit regime found, and Greece went the other direction in 2025 — a new national law that restricts overnight motorhome stays even where parking itself is legal.

How this is compiled

Aggregate, never mirror. Each row links straight to the government or land-management source that governs it. Where a column isn't backed by a primary source yet, the cell says so explicitly instead of being filled in.

Official source per rowNo national rule stated where none existsChecked Jul 2026Not established ≠ guessed

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Tap a country for its van rules at a glance — then drill into the full guide. Coloured by how restrictive its low-emission zones are for a diesel van.

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Country	Public / dispersed land	Stay limit	Permit / fee	Accepted overnight option	Official source
US United States	BLM + National Forest — dispersed camping allowed unless posted closed	BLM: 14 days per 28; move 25–30 miles. USFS: no national limit — 14/30, 14/60 and 16/30 all in force on different forests	None for dispersed camping; Recreation.gov for developed sites; LTVA permits in the Southwest	City ordinance governs. Since Grants Pass v. Johnson (2024) cities may enforce public-camping bans freely. Walmart is per-store manager discretion, never a right	blm.gov ↗
CA Canada	Crown land — rules set province by province, not nationally	BC: 14 consecutive days (resets after 72 hrs absent). Ontario: 21 days per site per calendar year, then move 100 m. Alberta: pass-gated	Alberta: Public Lands Camping Pass mandatory (18+) on the Eastern Slopes. Ontario: non-residents need a permit north of the French/Mattawa rivers, $9.35/person/day + HST	Municipal bylaws govern. Walmart Canada operates on store-manager discretion as in the US	ontario.ca ↗
AU Australia	State forests and parks — governed by state/territory agencies and councils	Victoria state forests: camp anywhere, 28 consecutive nights max, 20 m from waterways. Queensland: permit-only, no informal camping	Queensland: camping permit must be booked and paid BEFORE arrival; tag displayed. Victoria state forests: none	Council by-laws govern; many coastal councils restrict overnight stays to self-contained vehicles or ban them outright	vic.gov.au ↗
NZ New Zealand	Freedom Camping Act 2011 — camping on public land within 200 m of a road, vehicle-accessible area, tide line or Great Walks track	Set by council bylaw or DOC notice — commonly 1–2 nights; DOC restricted areas may cap nights or spaces	No permit, but a green self-containment warrant is required wherever a site is marked self-contained only. Fines from $200 to $800; statutory max $1,000	Council bylaws are the binding layer — e.g. no camping within 1 km of a town centre, self-contained vehicles only, one night per car park	govt.nz ↗
FR France	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Aires — Camping-Car Park network (400+ sites)	campingcarpark.com ↗
UK United Kingdom	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Campsites; wild-camping tolerance varies by nation (England/Scotland/Wales/NI)	Source not established — check the national authority
DE Germany	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Stellplätze — organised motorhome pitches (~5,000 nationwide)	Source not established — check the national authority
BE Belgium	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Few dedicated aires; mostly campsites	Source not established — check the national authority
ES Spain	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Pernocta (sleeping in the vehicle) generally tolerated; acampada (chairs, awnings, camping set-up) is not — enforced on the coast	dgt.es ↗
NL Netherlands	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Camperplaatsen (designated motorhome pitches); strict enforcement in cities	Source not established — check the national authority
IT Italy	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Aree di sosta (motorhome stopovers) + agriturismo (farm stays)	Source not established — check the national authority
PT Portugal	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Overnight parking restricted since 2021 in sensitive coastal areas; campsites and aires elsewhere	Source not established — check the national authority
CH Switzerland	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Campsites; overnight-parking rules vary by canton	Source not established — check the national authority
AT Austria	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Stellplätze; free-standing (outside a Stellplatz) is restricted	Source not established — check the national authority
DK Denmark	No 'everyman's right' for vehicles: a motorhome may rest in a legal parking spot, but setting up tables, benches, awnings, grills or roof tents for an overnight stay is not allowed without signage or landowner/road-authority permission	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Public rest areas (rastepladser) and ordinary car parks — resting/sleeping inside the vehicle is tolerated unless locally signed otherwise; some coastal/urban parking areas charge a fee for overnight motorhome parking	plst.dk (Plan- og Landdistriktsstyrelsen) ↗
SE Sweden	Allemansrätten (the right of public access) does not cover motor vehicles: driving or parking off-road is banned under the Off-Road Driving Act (terrängkörningslagen), even for the landowner. A vehicle may be set up next to a road only if it does not damage the ground, does not hinder the landowner's activities, and does not block or endanger traffic	At a rest stop (rastplats), normally no more than 24 hours; may extend until the next business day over a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday, unless a supplementary notice under the parking sign states otherwise	No general permit for a rest-stop stay; municipal traffic/police regulations (lokala ordningsföreskrifter) may add local bans or permit requirements — check with the municipality	'Ställplats' network (dedicated motorhome pitches, often paid) plus ordinary car parks where a motorhome fits within a marked space and no sign bans overnight stays	naturvardsverket.se (Swedish EPA) ↗
NO Norway	Allemannsretten (Friluftsloven, the Outdoor Recreation Act) grants a right to be present on 'utmark' (uncultivated land), but the right applies to people, not vehicles — a motorhome or caravan may only be driven or parked where ordinary motor-vehicle rules allow, never off-road	Friluftsloven §9 sets a 2-night limit (longer in remote mountain areas) for pitching a TENT on uncultivated land without the landowner's permission; the Act sets no equivalent night-count specifically for a motorhome, which in any case may only be left in a legal parking spot, not on open land	No national permit system for parking or overnight vehicle stays; local traffic regulations and site signage govern car parks and lay-bys	Legal parking areas, lay-bys and dedicated motorhome/camper pitches — sleeping inside the vehicle is tolerated where the parking itself is legal and unsigned; common practical guidance is to keep at least 150 m from the nearest house or cabin	lovdata.no (Friluftsloven) ↗
CZ Czechia	No right to free-stand or wild camp: overnighting outside a designated campsite, motorhome zone or permitted private land is not allowed, most strictly enforced inside national parks and protected landscape areas under nature-protection law	Not established — check official source	Not established — check official source	Motorhome zones ('místa pro karavany'), campsites, and private/commercial car parks with the owner's permission; some municipal car parks tolerate an overnight stay absent a prohibition sign	mzp.gov.cz (Ministerstvo životního prostředí) ↗
GR Greece	Camping — sleeping, cooking or setting up camping equipment — outside a licensed campsite is prohibited nationwide under Law 5170/2025, art. 27 (in force since 20 January 2025, clarified by the Ministry of Tourism in June 2025), even where the vehicle itself is legally parked	In residential/built-up areas, free stationary parking of a motorhome, caravan or trailer is capped at 24 consecutive hours per the Ministry of Tourism's clarification; a single vehicle may be hosted for free on private land without a specific duration cap under the same clarification — hosting more than one vehicle requires the land to be a licensed campsite	No general national permit for ordinary parking; municipal parking rules apply as for any vehicle. Camping activity itself is only lawful at a licensed campsite	Motorhomes/caravans up to 7.5 m may park like an ordinary car in public spaces per the Highway Code, but sleeping, cooking or camping-equipment set-up is reserved for licensed campsites and any officially designated 'camper stops'	e-nomothesia.gr (Νόμος 5170/2025, ΦΕΚ Α΄6/2025) ↗

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Sources