Workplace EV charging grants: £500 per socket from the Workplace Charging Scheme, until March 2027

Workplace Charging Scheme: key facts for 2026

What the Workplace Charging Scheme pays in 2026

The Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS) is run by the Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV), with the DVLA running the helpline and applications inbox. It pays towards the cost of buying and installing EV chargepoints at a place of work. From 1 April 2026 the maximum went up from £350 to £500 per socket, and GOV.UK confirms the higher rate applies to any installation completed on or after that date, whenever you applied.

The 40-socket cap is per applicant, not per site. If you want chargers at 40 locations, that's one socket at each. You can apply for further vouchers later, as long as the running total stays at 40 or fewer: claim 10 now and you have 30 left.

Schools have their own route with a much higher rate. See our school solar panels guide for pairing chargers with a solar roof, and apply through the state-funded education version of the scheme. Independent schools use the standard WCS.

Worked example: what 10 sockets could get you

The grant is whichever is lower: £500 for each socket, or 75% of your eligible costs (VAT included). So two numbers matter, and the smaller one wins.

Eligible costs include the unit, electrical components, civil works, installation labour, the site survey (when it leads to an install) and the VAT you pay. Ongoing back-office fees, maintenance and warranty extensions beyond 3 years are not eligible. A twin-socket post counts as two sockets. Ask your installer to show the grant line on the quote so you can check it.

Who qualifies for the workplace EV charging grant

The scheme is open to businesses, charities, public sector organisations and small accommodation businesses. You need to show you are a real organisation with one of these:

• a Companies House reference number
• a VAT registration number
• a business rates (non-domestic) bill issued to you by the council or Land and Property Services

Charities can upload their Charity Commission registration or a letter from their principal regulator. NHS surgeries, and schools or colleges that aren't state-funded, have their own evidence routes and must apply from a matching email domain.

The site must also qualify

• Dedicated off-road parking clearly linked to your premises, either on site or a reasonable distance away. The rest of the car park can be shared, but the charging bays must be designated to you.
• You own it or have consent. Tenants need the landlord's permission for the chargepoints.
• Staff or fleet parking for businesses. Parking that is solely for customers does not qualify, nor do car parks that haven't been built yet.
• Not a mandatory install. No grant where chargepoints are required anyway, for example under Part S of the Building Regulations (England, from 15 June 2022) for new or renovated non-residential buildings with more than 10 parking spaces, the Scottish equivalent, or a planning condition.
• Not funded before. GOV.UK excludes an installation address that has already claimed under the scheme or the old home-charging grants (the Electric Vehicle Homecharge Scheme and Domestic Recharging Scheme). That doesn't stop you adding sockets later: you can apply for further vouchers for more chargepoints and sites, up to 40 sockets in total.

Working from home and employees' homes

If your business is run from home, you can still apply if that address is your registered place of business at Companies House or appears on your business rates bill, and you have off-road parking. Employers can also fit chargepoints at employees' homes for company vehicles where the employee can't charge at work, with an evidence letter confirming the employment and permission. In both cases the chargepoint must be listed for both residential and commercial use.

The subsidy limit

You can't take the grant if it would push you over £315,000 of minimal financial assistance over three financial years (the current year and the previous two). Public authorities don't need to make this declaration.

How to apply for the Workplace Charging Scheme, step by step

The WCS is a voucher scheme. The order matters: if a single chargepoint goes in before your voucher is issued, it can't be funded.

1. Get a site survey first. GOV.UK says you should have the site surveyed by an installer before you apply. The survey confirms parking, cable routes and whether your electrical supply can carry the number of sockets you want.
2. Apply online for a voucher. Use the WCS application form on GOV.UK with your Companies House, VAT or rates evidence, the site address or addresses and the number of sockets.
3. Receive your voucher code. Successful applicants are emailed a code within 5 working days. It shows the sites, the number of sockets and the expiry date.
4. Give the code to an OZEV-authorised installer. They check it's valid on the installer portal. You can use any authorised commercial installer.
5. Install approved chargepoints. Every unit must be on the approved commercial chargepoint model list, come with a 3-year on-site warranty on parts and installation, and be installed to BS 7671 with an Electrical Installation Certificate.
6. Pay the net invoice. The installer deducts the grant from your invoice.
7. The installer claims within 180 days. The work must be finished and claimed within 180 days of the voucher's issue date, with photos showing each model and serial number and the bays it serves.
8. Confirm the claim. There's a 7-day confirmation period after the installer submits the claim, then OZEV pays the installer.

After installation, keep the chargepoints in service. If you remove or decommission them within three years you must tell the DVLA, and the grant may be reclaimed. OZEV audits a sample of sites, so keep your invoices and photos.

Is the Workplace Charging Scheme still available? Yes, until 31 March 2027

Yes. The government extended the WCS for a final year, and Find a Grant lists the closing date as 31 March 2027 at 11:59pm. That's about five months from now. GOV.UK calls this the final year of OZEV's home and workplace chargepoint grants, so plan as if there is no WCS after March.

• Surveys take time. A proper survey, a DNO check if your supply is tight and a quote can take weeks before you even apply.
• The scheme can change early. The government reserves the right to end or change any grant, aiming to give 4 weeks' notice and honouring claims made before an announcement.
• Winter groundworks. Trenching and bay marking go slower in bad weather, and every installer will be busy as the deadline nears.

If you want chargers in 2027, get the survey booked now and the voucher in hand early.

What closed on 31 March 2026, and what to use instead

Three OZEV grants closed to new applications on 31 March 2026. Installers had until 26 May 2026 to claim, and until 13 July 2026 to resubmit evidence. If you see them advertised now, the advert is out of date.

Stack the grant with tax breaks and the rates exemption

The WCS is only part of the saving. Two more reliefs often matter more on a larger install:

• 100% first-year allowance. HMRC's manual (CA23156) says businesses of all sizes can claim a 100% first-year allowance on plant for an EV charging point, including the charger, the groundworks for it and the electrical supply installed only to feed it. It must be new and unused, and bought by 31 March 2027 for corporation tax or 5 April 2027 for income tax.
• Business rates (England). Under SI 2022/405, plant and machinery used mainly to store, transform or transmit power to an EV charging point is excluded from rateable value until 1 April 2035. Chargers shouldn't push up your rates bill.
• Free charging for staff. HMRC says workplace charging doesn't create a taxable benefit where it's available to employees generally at that workplace. That's covered in our business EV charging guide.

Talk to your accountant about how the grant interacts with the allowance claim. A chargepoint carport with a solar roof can also bring the solar into the tax picture: see solar carports and solar capital allowances.

What to prepare before you ask for quotes

• Your evidence: Companies House number, VAT number or business rates bill (or charity registration).
• Landlord consent in writing if you lease the site.
• A site plan marking the bays you want, the main switchboard and any existing sub-boards.
• Who will charge: staff, pool cars, vans, visitors or the public. This decides eligibility and whether the Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 apply.
• Your supply: a recent bill showing the capacity (kVA) and your half-hourly data if you have it.
• Socket count across all sites, remembering the 40-socket limit.

Ask every installer

• Are you OZEV-authorised for commercial chargepoints, and is the model on the approved list?
• Will the supply carry every socket at full power, or do you need load management or a DNO upgrade?
• Is the WCS grant shown as a deduction on the quote?
• What does the 3-year on-site warranty cover, and what are the software and maintenance fees after that?
• Can the system take more sockets later without digging up the car park again?

We pass your enquiry to one commercial installer who can survey your site and handle the voucher claim. Read our hub on business energy grants for every other funding route open in 2026.