Method
Aggregate, not mirror
official source per row
Coverage
5 of 5
jurisdictions profiled
Rule change
7 Jun 2026
NZ blue warrants retired
Checked
Jul 2026
confirm before travel
Self-containment and sanitation rules, worldwide
Only one of these markets has a legally mandated self-containment certification: New Zealand's green warrant, which replaced the blue-warrant system on 7 June 2026. Everywhere else — the US, Canada, Australia and the 10 European markets this Beacon tracks — self-containment is either a voluntary club scheme or simply a practical condition of dispersed camping, not a certificate a ranger or council officer checks against a national register.
How this is compiled
Aggregate, never mirror, and no counterfeit precision: where no legal scheme exists, the row says so rather than inventing a capacity rule or a certifying body.
Official source per row'Not established' stated explicitly, never guessedChecked Jul 2026NZ 2026 rule change verified against the regulator
Explore Europe by country
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.
Lax / no LEZ Sticker · Euro 4–5 Strict · Euro 6
Certification requiredFixed toiletVoluntary only
| Country | Scheme | Toilet requirement | Capacity rule | Enforcement | Official source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NZ New Zealand | Mandatory green warrant under the Self-contained Motor Vehicles Legislation Act 2023. Blue warrants ceased to be valid on 7 June 2026 | Toilet permanently fixed to and usable within the vehicle. Portable toilets no longer qualify | Performance-based, not prescriptive — the system must serve the certified number of occupants for at least 3 days. The regulator does NOT set tank sizes; the widely quoted 12 L per person is guidance, not law | PGDB national SCV register, checked on the spot. Certification valid up to 4 years; $120 incl. GST levy plus inspection fee; revocable | pgdb.co.nz ↗ |
| AU Australia | No national standard. The CMCA 'Leave No Trace' scheme is voluntary and self-nominated | No legal requirement nationally; individual council sites may require an onboard toilet | No legal capacity rule. The operating principle is retain all waste onboard and leave no trace | Council-level, site by site. A CMCA sticker has no legal force comparable to a NZ green warrant | cmca.net.au ↗ |
| US United States | None. No federal or state self-containment certification, sticker or register exists | No certification requirement. Federal dispersed-camping guidance requires you to be self-contained in practice — no water, toilets or bins are provided | None. Waste is managed through a dense commercial and public dump-station network | Land-manager conditions of use and pack-it-out rules, not certification. Grey/black water discharge is governed by state and local health codes — verify per state | fs.usda.gov ↗ |
| CA Canada | None found — no federal or provincial self-containment certification scheme | No certification requirement | None. Dump-station based, as in the US | Provincial land-use policy conditions and municipal bylaws. Discharge rules are provincial — verify per province | gov.bc.ca ↗ |
| European Union (10 markets tracked — no legal scheme found) | No EU-wide or per-country mandatory self-containment certification was found across the 10 European markets this Beacon tracks — there is no European counterpart to New Zealand's green warrant | Not legally mandated in the markets checked. Cassette toilets (Thetford, Dometic) are the de facto standard — an estimated 95% of EU motorhomes — per manufacturer reference, not a certification requirement | Not established — check official source | No certification register found; individual aire/campsite/Stellplatz operators may set their own house rules | thetford.eu ↗ |
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Sources
What this page is based on — every source is verified and links out so you can check it yourself.
- Verified / official
- Provisional
- Out of date