Self-contained Motor Vehicles

About SCV Regulations in New Zealand

New Zealand has a nationally regulated system for certifying and recording self‑contained vehicles used for freedom camping.

The system was established in 2023 through changes to the Freedom Camping Act 2011 and the Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Act 2006. Together, these changes created a single national framework for self‑contained vehicle certification and recording and strengthened the wider freedom camping regulatory and enforcement settings, to:

• keep our natural environment clean and safe;
• reduce pressure on local facilities and communities; and
• make freedom camping fairer and more enjoyable for everyone.

Under the system, to be certified as self-contained, vehicles must have a toilet that is permanently fixed to and usable within the vehicle and meet other requirements in relation to the vehicle's water supply system, wastewater system, ventilation system, sink, and rubbish storage.

The legislation also introduced a default position that vehicle‑based freedom camping on public land is restricted to certified self‑contained vehicles, unless local rules allow otherwise.

The Plumbers, Gasfitters and Drainlayers Board is the regulator of the self‑contained vehicle (SCV) system and is responsible for appointing certification authorities (the individuals or organisations offering self-containment inspection and certification services), providing guidance and investigating complaints and compliance issues in relation to certification authorities, and maintaining a national register of self-contained vehicles.

Councils, the Department of Conservation, and Land Information New Zealand are responsible for determining where freedom camping is restricted or prohibited on the land they manage, and for enforcing compliance under the Freedom Camping Act 2011.