Workplace Charging Scheme (WCS): Grant Amount & Eligibility Guide

Summary

The Workplace Charging Scheme is the commercial-premises sibling of the domestic EV Chargepoint Grant, and is the main funding route for a business, charity, school, or public sector body wanting to install EV charging for staff, fleet, or visitor vehicles at its own site. Unlike the domestic grant — which now mostly applies only to flats and rental properties — WCS remains broadly available to any eligible organisation with suitable off-street parking, which makes it one of the more commercially relevant EV grants for installers to understand and quote accurately.

The scheme rate changed materially in 2026: the per-socket cap rose from £350 to £500 from 1 April 2026, while the 75% cost-coverage rule and the 40-socket cap per applicant stayed the same. This means a business installing, say, 10 sockets at £2,000 each (£20,000 total) could previously claim up to £3,500 (10 × £350) and can now claim up to £5,000 (10 × £500), subject to the 75%-of-cost ceiling still applying per socket. Because this is exactly the kind of detail that changes between funding rounds, always verify the live rate on the gov.uk guidance page immediately before quoting — do not rely on a figure quoted from memory or from an older customer conversation.

For tradespeople, the practical value of WCS is that it's a genuine, non-repayable grant (not a loan), it's claimed by the OZEV-authorised installer on the customer's behalf as part of the job (not by the customer separately), and it directly reduces what the customer pays at the point of invoicing — making it a strong selling point for commercial EV charging quotes, provided the eligibility criteria are checked properly before the customer is promised a figure.

Key Facts

• Grant rate — up to £500 per socket from 1 April 2026 (up from £350 previously), covering up to 75% of the total purchase and installation cost including VAT
• Maximum sockets — up to 40 sockets per applicant, across all the applicant's sites combined, not per site
• Maximum total grant — 40 sockets × £500 = £20,000 per applicant at the current rate, assuming costs support that level of claim
• Scheme status — extended for a final year; current published end date is 31 March 2027 ****
• Eligible applicants — businesses, charities, and public sector organisations (including small accommodation businesses and some home-based enterprises meeting specific criteria) across England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland; the Channel Islands and Isle of Man are excluded
• Off-street parking requirement — the site must have dedicated off-road parking clearly associated with the applicant's premises; on-street or public parking does not qualify
• Landlord permission — where the applicant does not own the site, written permission from the landlord/property owner is required as part of the application
• Parking use — parking must be designated for staff and/or fleet vehicles (visitor parking may also be eligible depending on the specific application — check current guidance)
• Installer requirement — the installation must be carried out by an OZEV-authorised installer; see ozev approved installer for the qualification route
• Chargepoint requirement — must be an OZEV-approved model, compliant with the Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 and installed to BS EN 61851 and BS 7671
• Warranty requirement — installations must include a minimum 3-year warranty on both parts and installation
• Voucher validity — successful applicants receive a voucher code; historically valid for 180 days from issue ****
• Claim process — the customer applies for the grant and receives a voucher; the customer then selects an OZEV-authorised installer; the installer verifies the voucher via the OZEV installer portal before starting work; on completion, the grant amount is deducted from the customer's invoice; the installer then claims the grant back from OZEV via the portal, submitting chargepoint photos and installation details, with payment typically following a confirmation period
• Interaction with EV Infrastructure Grant — larger-scale car park or fleet depot electrical infrastructure upgrades (distribution boards, cabling, groundworks ahead of multiple future chargepoints) may be eligible for a separate, related OZEV EV Infrastructure Grant, which is a different funding line from the per-socket WCS grant covered here — see ev charging commercial premises
• Not for home charging — WCS is a workplace/commercial-premises scheme; do not confuse it with the separate domestic EV Chargepoint Grant covered in ev chargepoint grant scheme, which is aimed at flat residents and rental tenants installing at a private home

Quick Reference Table

Detailed Guidance

Checking Eligibility Before Quoting

The most common source of a failed WCS claim is quoting a job before confirming the customer genuinely meets the off-street parking and land ownership/consent requirements. Before including a WCS figure in a quote:

1. Confirm the parking is dedicated to the applicant's premises and not shared public or on-street parking
2. Confirm whether the applicant owns the site outright or is a tenant — if a tenant, landlord permission must be obtained and documented before or alongside the application, not assumed
3. Confirm the applicant hasn't already claimed the full 40-socket allowance across other sites — the cap is per applicant, not per site, so a multi-site business needs to track this centrally
4. Confirm the intended chargepoint model is on the current OZEV-approved list before specifying it in the quote — an otherwise suitable charger that isn't OZEV-approved cannot be claimed against

The Application and Claim Sequence

WCS is applicant-led at the voucher stage and installer-led at the claim stage:

1. Applicant (business/charity/public sector body) applies to OZEV
   for a WCS voucher, providing evidence of eligibility (parking,
   ownership/consent, organisation type)
        |
2. OZEV issues a voucher code, valid for a limited period
        |
3. Applicant selects an OZEV-authorised installer and provides
   the voucher code
        |
4. Installer verifies the voucher via the OZEV installer portal
   BEFORE starting work
        |
5. Installation carried out to BS EN 61851 / BS 7671, using an
   OZEV-approved, Smart Charge Points Regulations-compliant
   chargepoint
        |
6. Grant amount deducted from the customer's invoice at point
   of billing (customer pays net of grant)
        |
7. Installer claims the grant back from OZEV via the portal,
   submitting chargepoint photographs, serial numbers, and
   installation evidence
        |
8. OZEV processes the claim (a confirmation period typically
   applies) and pays the installer

Because the installer, not the customer, makes the final claim, it is the installer's responsibility to keep the paperwork trail (voucher verification, photographs, serial numbers, EIC) complete and in order — an incomplete claim can delay or forfeit payment even after the work is done.

Combining WCS With Other Funding

Larger commercial sites — fleet depots, multi-storey car parks, retail sites planning many future chargepoints — often need supply capacity and distribution infrastructure well beyond what a per-socket chargepoint grant covers. In these cases, the site's electrical infrastructure upgrade (new distribution board, additional cabling routes, sometimes a DNO supply reinforcement) may be eligible for the separate EV Infrastructure Grant rather than WCS, which covers the chargepoints themselves. Treat these as two separate funding conversations with the customer — see ev charging commercial premises for the wider commercial installation context, including load assessment and DNO application requirements for multi-chargepoint sites.

Common Mistakes When Quoting WCS Work

• Quoting the old £350 rate — confirm the current rate before issuing any written quote; the scheme has already changed once in 2026 and may do so again
• Assuming all staff parking automatically qualifies — confirm the parking is genuinely dedicated to the business and not shared with the public or another tenant
• Specifying a non-approved chargepoint — check the OZEV-approved chargepoint list for the specific model before it goes into the quote, not after the customer has agreed a price
• Forgetting the 40-socket cap is per applicant, not per site — for a business with several branches, check what's already been claimed elsewhere in the organisation
• Missing the three-year warranty requirement — confirm the chargepoint manufacturer's standard warranty meets or exceeds this before quoting, or price in an extended warranty if it doesn't

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a sole trader or home-based business claim WCS?

Some home-based enterprises can qualify under specific criteria, but this is a narrower case than a standard business premises application — check the current gov.uk guidance for the specific evidence required (registered business address matching the installation address, and confirmation the parking is used for business purposes) before assuming eligibility.

Does WCS cover chargepoints installed at employees' homes for a company car scheme?

That is generally a different funding route — home chargepoint installations for employees typically fall under different eligibility rules than the workplace-premises WCS scheme covered here, often requiring an evidence letter from the employer confirming the employee's role and permission to install. Do not conflate this with a standard WCS application for chargepoints at the business's own site — confirm which specific scheme applies to the customer's actual situation before quoting.

What happens if the WCS scheme closes before a project is finished?

Because the current scheme end date (31 March 2027) has already been extended once, and grant rates have changed mid-scheme before, any project timeline that depends on the grant being available should build in a buffer and confirm the voucher has been issued and is still valid before committing to a fixed completion date. A voucher issued and verified before the scheme closes should still be honourable per its terms, but do not assume a customer who hasn't yet applied will definitely be able to under the same terms later in the scheme's life.

Is the grant paid to the customer or the installer?

The grant is deducted from the customer's invoice at the point of billing, so the customer only pays the net amount — but the installer is the one who claims the grant back from OZEV afterwards. This means the installer effectively finances the grant amount between invoicing and OZEV's payment, which should be factored into cash flow planning on larger multi-socket jobs.

Regulations & Standards

• Workplace Charging Scheme guidance for installers (OZEV/Department for Transport) — current grant rate, eligibility, and claims process

• Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 (SI 2021/1467) — mandatory smart-charging functionality for all grant-eligible chargepoints

• BS EN 61851 series — electric vehicle conductive charging system requirements

• BS 7671:2018+A4:2026, Section 722 — EV charging installation wiring and protection requirements

• Building Regulations Approved Document S — EV charge point provision requirements for new and refurbished non-domestic buildings, relevant context alongside voluntary WCS-funded retrofits

• gov.uk — Workplace Charging Scheme: guidance for installers — current grant rate, cap, eligibility, and claims process

• gov.uk — Find a grant: Workplace Charging Scheme — applicant-facing eligibility summary

• OZEV / Office for Zero Emission Vehicles — scheme administration and installer authorisation

• Energy Saving Trust — Workplace Charging Scheme overview — independent summary of eligibility and process

• ev chargepoint grant scheme — the domestic/sibling grant for home EV chargepoints, now largely restricted to flats and rental tenants

• ozev approved installer — the installer registration and qualification route required to claim WCS on a customer's behalf

• ev charging commercial premises — wider commercial EV charging installation guide, including load assessment, DNO applications, and the separate EV Infrastructure Grant for larger sites

• three phase ev supply — relevant for multi-chargepoint commercial sites likely to need three-phase supply

• ev charger pricing guide — typical installation pricing to calculate the 75%-of-cost grant ceiling against