Does a propane company need written policies and procedures?
There is no single federal section that says every propane dealer must keep a policies and procedures manual. Say that out loud. The DOT security-plan rule is a different book, with its own trigger. The policies manual is the written program for how this company actually runs.
Three people still ask for it: the insurer’s loss-control person, the AHJ who says “show me your written program,” and a plaintiff’s attorney after an incident. That is why operators keep one.
Ask for the intake form — one form, about an hour Or call 610-228-0887 and ask for Bill.
What are the three realities if there is no single CFR hook?
Your insurer. Loss-control wants to see that you wrote down how you fill, how you train, and who owns safety. They are not writing the book for you. They are asking whether it exists and whether it matches the yard.
Your AHJ. Propane licensing is a state job. Texas, Pennsylvania, Louisiana, and the rest do not run the same desk. On your site, the local Authority Having Jurisdiction has the last word. “Show me your written program” is a normal ask. A generic binder copied from somewhere else usually fails that conversation.
A plaintiff’s attorney. After an incident, the question is simple: what did you write, and did you follow it? If the book and the yard do not match, that gap is the whole talk. Write the book for that day, not for a quiet Tuesday.
What is in the manual, in plain words?
The live Policies & Procedures page is the source for what we put in the book. That page does not publish a 69-line table of contents. It names these parts. We will not invent sections the money page does not list:
- Company safety policy and who owns it, by name and title
- Delivery procedures — the bobtail pre-trip, placarding, fill procedures, what a driver does when something is wrong
- Plant and bulk storage procedures
- Service and installation procedures
- Employee training requirements and how you document them
- Emergency procedures, leak response, and the call list
- Recordkeeping — what you keep, where it lives, how long you hold it
You can hire the manual alone, or with the DOT Hazmat Security Plan and the SDS / HazCom binder. Most operators start with whichever one is on fire.
Recommended by
Michael Terry, Linscot Enterprises. Michael Terry of Linscot Enterprises — the Texas and Oklahoma propane safety expert operators know from Railroad Commission-sanctioned training. He put his name on this product because it does what safety people have wanted for years.
Mike DiGiorgio, Silverback Consulting Group LLC / Propane University. Independent — no fee or referral arrangement with us.
Brian Freeth, 1075 Consulting — All Aspects Propane Advisors. Independent — no fee or referral arrangement with us.
How do you get one written?
One intake form about your plant, trucks, fill procedures, and who does what. We write from a fixed template to that operation. Built within a week of your completed form. Print-ready books. We do not train, audit, or inspect.
If you already have a binder, send it. Sometimes two sections need a rewrite, not a new book. See what an auditor asks for and ask for redacted sample pages.
Ask for the intake form — one form, about an hour
Or call 610-228-0887 and ask for Bill.
Last reviewed: September 11, 2026. Author: The Propane Safety Pro team. General information for propane dealers, not legal advice.