This article examines the problems involved in refueling vehicles with compressed hydrogen at a pressure of up to 87.5 MPa. A procedure for filling fuel tanks adopted by nine automobile manufacturers is presented and its function demonstrated on the basis of a series of application-specific simulation calculations. The filling procedure takes into account tank systems of different storage volumes from 2 kg to 10 kg hydrogen, as are to be expected in future passenger cars. The effect of ambient conditions and varying initial thermal states of the vehicle are also considered. A specification-appropriate refueling of different tank systems at a refueling time of not more than 3 min is thus ensured. (C) 2008 International Association for Hydrogen Energy. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.