Workplace Charging Scheme

The site

You must own the property or have consent from the landlord for chargepoints to be installed at the site(s) listed in the application.

Your site will need to have dedicated off-road parking that is clearly associated with the premises. If you do not own it, you will need permission from the landowner. 

You should have your site surveyed by an installer before you apply for the grant. 

You must be able to provide evidence that the parking is for your staff or fleet, not for customer use. It must be either on-site or a reasonable distance from the place of work.

You must have parking spaces that are suitable for chargepoint installations. All chargepoint parking must be designated to you, although the rest of the car park may be shared with other organisations.

If you're a business, your chargepoints can only be used by your staff/fleets but you can allow local residents to use outside of office hours when they will not typically be used by your staff or fleet vehicles.

If you're a public authority, charity or small accommodation business, there is no restriction on who may use the parking - customers, guests, visitors, staff or others.

You may make the chargepoints available for use by the public. If you do so, you must comply with the Public Chargepoint Regulations 2023 and associated guidance.

Working from home

If your primary place of work is also a residential property (your home), you can apply for the grant under this scheme as long as your address is either:

• listed as your place of business with Companies House

• recorded on your business (non-domestic) rate bill issued to you by your local council or Land and Property Services (LPS)

You must have off-road parking.

If you are installing a chargepoint at your home, you must use:

• an authorised installer 

•  a chargepoint that is eligible for both residential and commercial use

If you choose a residential only chargepoint from the list your claim will be declined.

Employers can also install chargepoints at employee’s homes for company vehicles where the employee cannot charge their vehicle at work.

You will need to provide DVLA with an evidence letter that confirms that the employee works for you and that you have permission to install chargepoints.  

You should use

• an authorised installer 

•  a chargepoint that is eligible for both residential and commercial use

Complete your application via the online WCS portal as normal. 

Your installer

You should choose an authorised installer. You will not be able to claim the grant if you do not use an authorised installer for the work.

Financial assistance

You are allowed to receive up to £315,000 in minimal financial assistance (MFA) over 3 financial years. This includes: 

• state grants

• subsidies

• any other government funded financial incentives  

Any paperwork you receive for such payments will state clearly that it is minimal financial assistance (previously de minimis or small amounts of financial assistance) state aid. 

See Subsidy Control rules: quick guide to key requirements for public authorities for details.

In claiming this grant, you must not exceed £315,000 in minimal financial assistance over the last 3 financial years. Three financial years means the previous 2 financial years and the current one.

If you are a public authority you are not required to make a de minimis or MFA declaration during the application process.

Evidence required

You need to provide one of these:

• your Companies House reference number

• a VAT registration number

• a business rate (non-domestic) bill issued to you by your local council or by the Land and Property Services (LPS)

Charities, NHS surgeries and schools and colleges may not have any of this documentation. In this case, they can upload alternative documentation, using the upload field for the business rate (non-domestic rate) bill.

Charities can upload a copy of their registration to the Charity Commission or a letter from a principal regulator. 

NHS surgeries registered at the NHS Digital ODS Portal (England and Wales), NHS inform (Scotland) or Find a GP practice (Northern Ireland) can upload a pdf document showing the name and address of the surgery.

The person applying for the grant must apply for the grant using the NHS email domain (such as @nhs.net, @nhs.scot or @hscni.net) and the address of the installation site must be the same as the address registered with the NHS.

The following information is for education institutions that are not state-funded. See separate guidance for WCS for state-funded education institutions.

Schools and colleges in England and Wales registered at Get Information about Schools can upload a pdf document of ‘establishment details’ showing the establishment’s ID number.

Schools in Northern Ireland registered at Department of Education Institution Search can upload a pdf document of ‘institution details’ showing the institution’s reference number.

Schools in Scotland listed at Parent Zone can upload a pdf document of ‘school details’ showing the school’s SEED number. 

The person applying for the grant on behalf of a school or college needs to make sure their email address domain matches the email domain of the school or college concerned.

If you cannot provide any of these documents, we will not issue you with a voucher.

If you are unsure about the eligibility of your organisation, contact the DVLA at workplacechargingscheme@dvla.gov.uk.

EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets for small to medium sized enterprises

This grant can be used with the EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets, which helps fund both the installation of chargepoints and the cost of chargepoint infrastructure. 

Both grants may be used for the same site, but not the same chargepoints. 

If you are using both grants, you must:

• first claim for at least one chargepoint under the EV infrastructure grant for staff and fleets 

• only use the Workplace Charging Scheme for the chargepoints added later

Any attempt to claim the same chargepoint twice by submitting a WCS and EV grant application for the same chargepoint will be viewed as fraud. This will result in action being taken against you.

Sites that are not eligible for this scheme

These sites are not eligible for the scheme:

• locations outside England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland - the Channel Islands and Isle of Man are not eligible

• parking facilities not designated to you

• parking facilities that are solely for customer use

• parking facilities that have not yet been built 

• parking facilities that are part of a domestic property (and it is not your primary place of work - you may be able to apply to the EV chargepoint grant instead if you want to install an EV chargepoint in a residential dwelling)

• where the site of installation is an address that has claimed previously under the scheme – or its predecessor, the Electric Vehicles Homecharge Scheme (EVHS) – or Domestic Recharging Scheme (DRS)

The aim of the scheme is to help the transition to electric vehicles through accelerating the provision of chargepoints in workplaces.

Funding is confirmed until 31 March 2025.   The grant is open. The government reserves the right to end or change this grant scheme.   If the grant ends or the grant amount changes, the government will:  

• aim to provide 4 weeks’ notice  

• honour claims made before any public announcement, subject to the grant criteria

To apply

Use the Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) application form to apply for the grant.

If your application is successful

If your application is successful, you will be emailed a voucher code within 5 working days. You can give this to any authorised commercial chargepoint installer.

The email will also give:

• your contact details 

• the installation site(s) 

• the expiry date 

• the number of sockets and sites for which the voucher is valid 

The voucher will be valid for 180 days. 

Once the chargepoints have been installed, the installer will claim the grant. The chargepoints must be installed and the grant claimed within 180 days of the voucher’s issue date.

Your installer must not charge you before they have received the payment. It will be deducted from your final invoice.

If your application is unsuccessful

If your application is unsuccessful, you may appeal by emailing the DVLA at workplacechargingscheme@dvla.gov.uk. Your case will be reviewed by a manager. The outcome of this appeal is final.

If you have any questions about your application you can:

• speak to your installer

• email WorkplaceChargingScheme@dvla.gov.uk

• phone 0300 123 1343 - Monday to Friday, 9am to midday (excluding bank holidays)

British Sign Language (BSL) support

You can get support using the British Sign Language (BSL) video relay service if you’re on a computer - watch a video about how to use the service on a mobile or tablet.

If your circumstances have changed

If your circumstances have changed since you originally applied to the WCS, you must contact your authorised installer to tell what has changed. They will be able to tell you whether you are still eligible to have a chargepoint installed. You may have to reapply for a voucher with your amended details.

If you proceed with your installation following a change in your circumstances that has invalidated your application, OZEV reserves the right to take any action it deems appropriate to reclaim the grant.

We will not grant exceptions for locations that do not meet our eligibility criteria .

If the installation cannot be completed within the 180 days

If the installation (or part of it) cannot be completed by your voucher’s expiry date, email workplacechargingscheme@dvla.gov.uk to withdraw your application and reapply for a new voucher. Vouchers are non-transferable.  

If some chargepoints on your voucher have been completed by the expiry date but others have not, your installer will need to claim the installations completed and you will need to reapply for a new voucher for the remaining installations. In these circumstances, installations completed before the new voucher has been issued will not be eligible. 

Installation of subsequent chargepoints 

You may apply for subsequent vouchers for additional chargepoints and sites – provided your cumulative total does not exceed 40 sockets. 

For instance, if 10 chargepoint sockets were initially claimed, you will be eligible for 30 further sockets.  

Moving an existing chargepoint

The chargepoint may be moved, but OZEV will not contribute to the cost of doing this.

Decommissioning of chargepoints

If the chargepoint needs to be removed or taken out of commission within this 3-year period, you must tell the DVLA and give a brief explanation.

Email workplacechargingscheme@dvla.gov.uk. 

This may result in the grant being reclaimed. 

How to change the site(s) of your intended installation

It is not possible to change the site where you wish to install the chargepoints. Vouchers are non-transferable.If you wish to change the site(s) where the chargepoints are due to be installed, you will need to:

• email workplacechargingscheme@dvla.gov.uk and request to withdraw your current voucher

• reapply for a new voucher at your preferred site address

How to make a complaint

If you have any issues with the chargepoint or installer at any time before, during and after the installation, you should try to resolve these with your authorised chargepoint installer. If you have had no success after 10 working days, or you feel that your concerns are not being addressed, contact OZEV at chargepointfeedback@ozev.gov.uk

You can also contact chargepointfeedback@ozev.gov.uk if you need to:

• make a formal complaint about the scheme

• report an installer for misconduct

Audits

We will select some installations to be audited. We will use a third-party organisation, who will check WCS data, statements and records held by you and the installer.

Occasionally, there may be an on-site visit that will require access to the chargepoint itself.

Tax

If you provide your employees with workplace facilities to charge an EV used by them (including as a passenger), you will not be taxed on the cost of electricity if certain conditions are met. You can find more information in HMRC’s Employment Income Manual.

Businesses can potentially claim 100% of the costs of installing an electric vehicle charging point as a capital allowance. Some of the expenditure may also qualify for the new super deduction, equating to a 130% enhanced deduction of the total cost.

Help with wider responsibilities of property owners and managers

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 requires property managers and owners to:

• assess potential fire risks

• put in place adequate and proportionate fire protection measures to mitigate against the risk to life from fire and then maintain them

This should be updated when installing EV chargepoints.

The government has produced fire safety guidance for covered car parks.