GUIDE · FOR UK INSTALLERS · 17 MIN READ

Workplace Charging Scheme for Installers: OZEV Approval and Claims

Grant cap per socket, installs completed from 1 April 2026

£500

Grant cap per socket, installs completed from 1 April 2026

Of purchase and installation cost, including VAT

75%

Of purchase and installation cost, including VAT

Sockets per applicant, across all its sites

40

Sockets per applicant, across all its sites

Closing date: OZEV calls this the final year

31 Mar 2027

Closing date: OZEV calls this the final year

Business owner? Read the business owner's guide to the Workplace Charging Scheme.

For a solar installer, the grant matters for a second reason. It gives a business a dated reason to let you on site now, and the survey the grant asks for puts you in front of a roof and a car park. This guide covers the authorisation, the claim, the technical rules and the other schemes, then how to use the chargepoint visit to open the solar conversation.

General information from OZEV, the DVLA, HMRC, legislation.gov.uk and Find a Grant, checked 13 November 2026. It isn't legal or tax advice. Check the current guidance before you quote.

What the grant pays and who can apply

The Workplace Charging Scheme covers up to 75% of the total cost of buying and installing EV chargepoints, including VAT, capped at £500 per socket and 40 sockets across all of an applicant's sites. The rate went up on 1 April 2026 and it follows the date the installation was completed: a job finished on or after 1 April 2026 is worth up to £500 per socket, whenever the customer applied. A customer can take further vouchers while their running total stays within 40 sockets, so one that claimed 10 sockets can still claim 30 more.

It is open to businesses, charities, public sector organisations and small accommodation businesses in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. It isn't available in the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man. A business proves it is one with its Companies House number, a VAT number or a business rates bill. Applicants can receive up to £315,000 in minimal financial assistance over 3 financial years, and they must be trading.

Site rules that decide whether a job qualifies

• The site needs dedicated off-road parking clearly associated with the premises. The chargepoint bays must be designated to the applicant, although the rest of the car park can be shared.
• The customer must own the property or have the landlord's consent, and the landowner's permission if they don't own the parking.
• For a business, the parking must be for staff or fleet, not customer use. Local residents can use it outside office hours. Public authorities, charities and small accommodation businesses have no restriction on who parks there.
• Chargepoints that were a planning condition or a building regulations requirement, such as Part S in England on or after 15 June 2022, aren't eligible. Nor is an address that has claimed before under the WCS, EVHS or DRS, or parking that hasn't been built yet.
• The chargepoints must stay in place for 3 years. If one is removed in that time the customer must tell the DVLA, and the grant may be reclaimed.

Home-based businesses and employees' homes

A business run from home can claim if the home is listed as its place of business with Companies House or on its business rates bill, has off-road parking, and gets a chargepoint that is on the list for both residential and commercial use. Fit a residential-only model and the claim is declined. An employer can also fit a chargepoint at an employee's home for company vehicles, where the employee can't charge at work, with an evidence letter. A small business run from home is claimed on the emailed claim form, not the portal (see below).

One trap: the GOV.UK start page for the chargepoint grant still says £350 per socket. The current Find a Grant page, the installer guidance and the 1 April 2026 change notice all say £500, so quote £500 and don't send customers to the old page for the figure.

How to become OZEV authorised

"You must be an OZEV-authorised installer to claim this grant." You apply through OZEV's online authorisation form, giving your company name, UK head office location, bank details, contact details, the information for the authorised installer list, and your Competent Person Scheme name and number or your Electrical Contractors' Association membership number.

For commercial chargepoints, the authorised installer guidance accepts these memberships:

If your PV work is already covered by a scheme, our guide to competent person schemes for solar installers explains how the schemes divide up the work. OZEV doesn't name a specific training course: the test is the scheme or ECA membership.

• Only installations after the date you were authorised are eligible.
• Installer representatives, who subcontract the work, can apply too. They need £2 million of public liability insurance and subcontractors who are already OZEV approved.
• To keep the status you must have submitted a claim within the past 2 years and stay in a Competent Person Scheme. A firm that gets authorised and then never claims loses it.
• You can't use the OZEV logo, but you can say you are OZEV approved for home / workplace grant schemes.
• You, and any business you or your directors have an interest in, must not apply for OZEV home and workplace grants yourselves.

How a claim works

1. 1

   You survey the site

   Find a Grant tells applicants to have the site surveyed by an installer before they apply. The survey counts as an eligible cost when it leads to a completed installation.

2. 2

   The customer applies, not you

   The business applies online (or on the downloadable Word form if it can't use the portal). OZEV's terms say installers must not fill in the form on the customer's behalf.

3. 3

   The voucher arrives within 5 working days

   If the application succeeds, the customer is emailed a voucher code within 5 working days and passes it to you. Nothing should be fitted before then: installing first invalidates any later grant offer.

4. 4

   You invoice with the grant deducted

   You take the grant off the customer's invoice. You must not charge them the grant amount in advance, inflate costs or cross-subsidise.

5. 5

   Install and claim within 180 days

   The voucher is valid for 180 days. You complete the work and submit the claim inside that window. Miss a claim or resubmission deadline and the grant is not paid.

Customers apply on the Workplace Charging Scheme application service, or on the downloadable application form. You claim on the OZEV installer claim portal with the voucher code, the installation details and photos showing the chargepoint model and serial number and the off-road space it serves. For a small business run from home, use the emailed Workplace Charging Scheme installer claim form instead.

OZEV says first payments may take up to 3 months. After that, claims are processed fortnightly after a 7-day confirmation period, aiming to pay within 30 working days. OZEV can audit before or after payment, including site visits. If a job can't be finished inside 180 days, the customer withdraws and reapplies, and anything done before the new voucher is issued isn't eligible. Vouchers are tied to the sites on them and can't be transferred.

A planning point for the end of the scheme: the voucher lasts 180 days and the scheme closes on 31 March 2027, but the guidance doesn't say what happens to a voucher that runs past the closing date. Don't promise a customer that one will.

The scheme's helpline for applicants is WorkplaceChargingScheme@dvla.gov.uk or 0300 123 1343, Monday to Friday, 9am to midday.

Technical spec and the Smart Charge Points Regulations

Every unit must be on the approved commercial chargepoint model list at the time of installation, and the model name on your claim must match the list exactly. Units must be new. You can fit a unit the customer supplies, but the unit itself isn't grant-funded. The installer guidance asks for work to BS EN 61851, BS 7671, the IET Code of Practice for EV Charging Equipment Installation and the Electricity Safety, Quality and Continuity Regulations 2002, with BS 8300 considered. Equipment needs an on-site 3-year warranty on parts and installation, and the job needs a BS 7671 Electrical Installation Certificate.

The commercial chargepoint minimum technical specification says the chargepoint must comply with the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021. They have been in force since 30 June 2022 and cover workplace chargepoints: one intended for people at their place of employment, visitors included. They don't cover public chargepoints, rapid chargepoints of 50 kilowatts or more, or Northern Ireland.

A covered chargepoint must come with pre-set default charging hours outside peak hours, which the regulations set as 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays. The owner can accept, remove or change the defaults, and for a workplace chargepoint the owner is whoever makes it available for use at work. OPSS guidance says smart functionality lets charging happen when there is less demand on the grid, or when more renewable electricity is available.

The technical specification also says chargers with embedded generation capability (V2X) must meet ENA G98 up to 16A per phase, or G99 above it. That is about vehicle-to-grid chargers, not solar. For the solar side of the same site, see G98 and the G99 application.

One change customers may ask about: from 1 November 2026, HMRC treats electricity supplied through chargepoints that employees and contractors use at their workplace as standard rated for VAT, unless supplied to a charity for non-business use (Revenue and Customs Brief 13 (2026)). That is the electricity, not the installation.

DNO notification for every install

OZEV requires authorised installers to notify the local distribution network operator of all installations, in writing, in a form that meets that DNO's own requirements. If you don't notify the DNO and keep evidence that you did, your authorisation may be revoked, and failing to inform the DNO is one of the reasons OZEV gives for revoking authorisation and telling your Competent Person Scheme operator.

Keep the notification with the job file alongside the claim photos. If you are also quoting solar on the site, the DNO side of that is its own process: our DNO application guide covers which route a PV system takes. None of the sources we read set out combined rules for a site with both, so treat them as two submissions unless the DNO tells you otherwise.

The education version: £2,000 per socket

State-funded schools and other state-funded education institutions have their own version of the scheme, also extended for a final year to 31 March 2027. It pays 75% off the cost to buy and install chargepoints, up to £2,000 per socket and 40 sockets across all sites, including any earlier WCS applications. Institutions that applied before 1 April 2026 keep vouchers worth up to £2,500 per socket. Academy trusts can apply for up to 40 sockets for each institution in the trust, and the parking can be used by anyone: staff, visitors, customers or others. Independent schools apply through the main scheme instead.

The application asks for the institution or SEED reference number, staff and pupil numbers, your OZEV name and number, and two contacts on the institution's email domain. The voucher comes within 5 working days and is valid for 180 days. You claim by email with two forms (the installer claim form and the grant claim form), the invoice with the grant deducted, a site plan showing the supply point, cable routes and distribution boards, and photos including a wide view and the building in relation to the car park.

The Depot Charging Scheme

For fleet operators with vans, HGVs or coaches, the Depot Charging Scheme is the bigger grant. Its current application window runs from 11 November 2026 to 26 February 2027 (midday), with a £38m budget. It funds 60% of chargepoint and civil costs, up to £1 million across all sites, and is open to public and private fleets, local authorities and non-profits across the UK. One application per organisation per window.

Applicants need a fleet with at least one battery electric van, HGV or coach (now or planned), at least a year of operating in the UK, a UK depot they own or lease, and enough grid capacity on site or plans to upgrade. Projects must complete by 31 March 2028, and award decisions are aimed for 28 May 2027. The technical partner is WSP (dcs@wsp.com). A depot customer with a large roof is worth a solar conversation too, for the same reasons as below.

What closed on 31 March 2026

Three schemes closed to customer applications on 31 March 2026: the staff and fleets grant (the older SME infrastructure grant), the commercial landlord chargepoint grant and the residential landlord infrastructure grant. If a customer mentions one of them, it has gone.

What is still open for business chargepoints is the main Workplace Charging Scheme, the education version and the Depot Charging Scheme. In Northern Ireland the Department for Infrastructure lists the same OZEV schemes. In Scotland, Transport Scotland's 2026-27 package of incentive schemes, delivered by Energy Saving Trust alongside the UK schemes, includes Rural and Island Workplace Charging for microbusinesses and third sector organisations in rural and island communities. Check Energy Saving Trust's own terms before you quote it.

The capital allowance to mention to customers

Charging equipment has its own 100% first-year allowance under section 45EA of the Capital Allowances Act 2001, extended by the Finance Act 2026 to expenditure incurred by 31 March 2027 for Corporation Tax and 5 April 2027 for Income Tax. It covers plant or machinery installed solely for charging electric vehicles, and it must be unused and not second-hand. HMRC's guidance says it can be claimed alongside another first-year allowance or the Annual Investment Allowance, as long as the same cost isn't claimed twice.

Two cautions. The sources don't say how the grant interacts with the allowance, so leave that to the customer's accountant. And the allowance is for charging equipment only: the solar has its own capital allowance treatment, covered in our solar panels and capital allowances guide. Both the grant and this allowance end around the same time in spring 2027, which is part of the case for doing the work now.

Using the grant as a foot in the door for solar

A business owner who isn't ready to talk about solar may still take a visit about a grant with a closing date. The Workplace Charging Scheme gives them a reason to say yes now: up to £500 a socket, and OZEV says this is its final year, ending 31 March 2027. The scheme itself tells them to have the site surveyed by an installer before they apply, so the visit is the natural first step.

Once you are on site for the chargepoints, survey the roof and the car park for solar as well. Staff and fleet cars sit in the car park through the working day, so charging them from the site's own panels is the natural follow-on. A car park that takes chargepoints can also be a candidate for a canopy, covered in our solar carports guide. Smart chargers come set to charge outside the weekday peaks, and the owner can change those hours to suit the site.

What to cover on the chargepoint visit

• Confirm the parking is dedicated off-road parking clearly associated with the premises, and who owns it. A leased site needs landlord consent.
• Confirm who will use the chargepoints. For a business it must be staff or fleet, not customer-only parking.
• Check whether chargepoints were a planning condition or required under Part S (England, on or after 15 June 2022). If so, they aren't grant-funded.
• Check the address hasn't claimed before under the WCS, EVHS or DRS.
• Note the supply, the distribution boards and the cable routes for the chargepoint quote and the DNO notification.
• While you are there, look at the roof: orientation, condition, shading, access and what's on it.
• Look at the car park as a second roof: whether it could take a solar canopy, and the buried services under it.
• Ask about daytime electricity use, the bill and who signs off capital spend, so the solar conversation has something to stand on.

Our commercial solar survey checklist covers what to confirm on the roof, and how to sell commercial solar takes it from that visit to a signed contract. The payback calculator gives you a first figure to leave with them.

If you would rather start with the solar survey already booked, Solar Surveys UK books commercial solar survey appointments with business owners for UK installers. You only pay for appointments that are actually attended, and any that aren't viable we replace.

Workplace Charging Scheme for installers: FAQ