Are your business chargepoints public or private?

Classify chargers by their intended users, not who owns the car park. The public regulations include customer-only car parks and restricted opening hours [S1]. Separate private workplace equipment rules took effect in Great Britain on 30 June 2022 [S3]. Record the access policy before choosing equipment, grant funding or an operating contract. Checked October 2026.

Last checked 16 October 2026

What makes a business chargepoint public or private?

The central question is who the chargepoint is intended to serve. The public regulations include a charger in a public car park even if the car park is only available to customers purchasing goods or services. They also include chargers accessible only during particular hours. [S1] This is general information; check your site’s classification with your solicitor before choosing equipment or describing the service to drivers.

Land ownership does not settle that question. A business can own a car park that serves the public, or occupy a site with a genuinely restricted staff charging area. Write down the intended users for each group of chargers. Separate the customer offer from the staff policy rather than applying one label to every socket on the premises.

The statutory workplace definition includes employees and contractors at their workplace and visitors to that workplace, excluding people intending to buy goods or services. [S1] That distinction matters when an office receives booked business visitors but a neighbouring shop invites shoppers to charge. Ask your solicitor to review any mixed use against the precise wording rather than relying on a sign saying private land.

How should you classify customer, staff and fleet bays?

Use the proposed access policy to complete a bay-by-bay plan. The examples below follow the legislation and government scope guidance; they are starting points for your solicitor’s assessment. [S1] [S2]

For each area, record how a driver gains access, who may authorise a session and what happens outside opening hours. Ask the installer to show how the proposed access controls support that policy. A staff card and a visitor payment screen need to correspond to the rules you intend to enforce, not simply to different branding in the software.

Describe parking operations as well as charging access. Decide who checks a blocked bay, whether staff must move cars during a shift and how a customer contacts you about a parking problem. Those are site-policy choices to document alongside accessible charging design.

Which rules change when you offer public access?

Public charging brings a consumer-facing operating checklist. The regulations address prices, contactless payment, roaming, reliability, helplines and data. Their application depends partly on equipment characteristics and the operator’s status. Qualifying micro-business operators are exempt from regulations 5 to 10, while regulation 11 pricing still applies. [S1] Check the actual operator and claimed exemptions with your solicitor.

Use the public charging regulations checklist when requesting an operator proposal. Ask who controls the equipment, sets prices, answers drivers and retains reporting records. The government guidance distinguishes ownership from responsibility for overall operation. [S2] Ensure your contract explains which tasks stay with your business, with your solicitor reviewing the allocation.

The private smart-chargepoint rules have a different scope. They apply to covered products sold for private domestic or workplace use in Great Britain, with exclusions including rapid equipment and intended public use. The guidance describes smart functions, security and compliance documentation. [S3] Check applicability with your solicitor and read smart chargepoint regulations before procurement.

Can you share workplace chargers with public visitors?

Treat a change in users as a project change. The workplace exclusion depends on the intended workplace use, and the public definition explicitly includes some customer car parks and restricted-hours access. [S1] Ask your solicitor to assess the revised policy before inviting drivers through a public listing or payment page.

Make the operating plan concrete. Show which bays remain reserved, when public sessions can begin and how the system handles a session still running when access changes. Check that the driver can leave the premises and contact support. Include the location of gates and payment equipment in the review, not just the charging cabinets.

Then check demand against available power. Kilowatts (kW) measure charging power; kilowatt-hours (kWh) measure energy supplied. Adding public users to the same supply changes the timetable to model. Compare load management with a grid upgrade before offering a new service window.

Does the public or private label decide funding eligibility?

No single label establishes a grant award. The Workplace Charging Scheme guidance gives a maximum contribution of £500 per socket for eligible installations completed from April 2026, with the scheme extended to 31 March 2027. Applicant, site and installation conditions still apply. [S4] Check the Workplace Charging Scheme guide against your proposed users.

Capital allowances are separate from that grant. HMRC’s chargepoint first-year allowance extension ends on 31 March 2027 for Corporation Tax purposes and 5 April 2027 for Income Tax purposes. [S5] Check with your accountant; an allowance is not an automatic reimbursement of the invoice or proof of grant eligibility.

Compare fully funded, part funded and self funded proposals against the same access plan. Ask each party to identify who pays for electricity, support, maintenance and any future conversion to public use. Review installer funding versus buying chargers once the operating scope is clear. A funding label should not obscure the driver service or the host’s responsibilities.

What should you do next?

Send a marked parking plan, intended-user list, opening hours and funding preference with your enquiry. Read how we work before sharing your details.

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