Workplace Charging Scheme 2026: How to Claim £500 Per Socket

The Workplace Charging Scheme is in its final year, and it has never been worth more. Since 1 April 2026 the grant pays up to £500 per charge point socket, up from £350, and it closes for good on 31 March 2027. If your business has been putting off workplace charging, this is the year the maths is most in your favour. Here is exactly what the scheme pays, who qualifies, and how to claim it without drowning in paperwork.

What the grant is worth in 2026

The Workplace Charging Scheme covers up to 75% of the total cost of buying and installing EV charge points, including VAT, capped at £500 per socket. You can claim for up to 40 sockets across all your sites. In practice that means a typical small workplace installing 4 sockets can take up to £2,000 off the bill, a 10 socket depot saves up to £5,000, and an organisation using its full 40 socket allowance claims up to £20,000. You do not have to use the whole allowance at once. If you install 10 sockets now, the remaining 30 stay available for future applications until the scheme closes.

The £500 rate applies to installations completed on or after 1 April 2026. It stacks with the tax position too: businesses can potentially claim 100% of the cost of installing charge points as a capital allowance. And the WCS is only one of the schemes we check. Between workplace, landlord and school grants, a single organisation can often claim under more than one scheme. Our 2026 grant guide covers every scheme that is still open.

Who qualifies

The scheme is open to registered businesses, charities, public sector organisations and small accommodation businesses across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The main conditions are practical ones. You need dedicated off road parking for your staff or fleet, clearly associated with your premises. You must own the property or have written consent from your landlord. And you need a Companies House number, a VAT registration number or a business rates bill to prove you are a real organisation.

For businesses, the sockets must be for staff and fleet use rather than customers, although you may let local residents use them outside working hours. Charities, public sector bodies and small accommodation businesses have more freedom: their sockets can be used by anyone, including visitors and guests. If you run your business from home, you can still qualify, provided the address is registered with Companies House or on your business rates bill. State funded schools and colleges have their own version of the scheme with a higher grant rate, which we cover separately with our education clients.

How the process actually works

You apply through the official GOV.UK Find a Grant service, and if approved you receive a voucher code by email within 5 working days. The voucher is valid for 180 days. An OZEV authorised installer, which ECC is, then completes the installation and claims the grant on your behalf. The grant value comes off your final invoice, so you never have to chase the money yourself.

One detail catches people out: the government advises having your site surveyed by an installer before you apply, so your application matches what your site can actually support. Supply capacity decides how many sockets you can run without expensive upgrades, and that is exactly what a survey establishes. It is also why we do surveys free of charge. If you want a sense of total project costs before grant money comes off, our 2026 installation cost guide has real ranges by scenario.

The deadlines that matter

The scheme closes on 31 March 2027, and the government has confirmed this is the final year. Your voucher must be used within its 180 day window, and installations have to be completed and claimed before the voucher expires. Working backwards from March 2027, and allowing time for a site survey, any supply upgrades and the installation itself, businesses that want the £500 rate should be starting the process during 2026 rather than gambling on a last minute rush. If the grant changes early, the government has committed to honouring vouchers already issued.

Why applications get rejected

Most rejections are avoidable. Customer only car parks do not qualify. Parking that has not been built yet does not qualify. Sites where charge points were a mandatory planning or building regulations requirement do not qualify. Addresses that have already claimed under the scheme cannot claim again. And the grant is only paid when the work is done by an OZEV authorised installer, so a quote from an unauthorised electrician can cost you the entire grant. This is where having an installer handle the application details pays for itself: we check eligibility before you apply, so you are not burning one of your applications on a rejection.

Claim it while it lasts

Grant schemes rarely get more generous in their final year, and this one has. The first step costs nothing: a free site survey that tells you how many sockets your site supports, what the project costs, and exactly what the grant is worth to you. We confirm every survey within one working day.

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