Electric Vehicle Smart Charge Point Regulations: Seller Compliance Guide
This article explains the UK’s Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 in practical terms for chargepoint sellers, manufacturers, distributors, and installers. The rules apply across England, Scotland, and Wales and are enforced by the UK’s product safety authorities.
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Their purpose is to ensure private EV chargepoints are “smart by default”, helping manage electricity demand while protecting consumers through minimum access, safety, and cybersecurity standards.
1) What is covered by the regulations
The regulations apply to:
- Private EV chargepoints sold for domestic or workplace use in Great Britain
- Smart cables that can send and receive information and function as chargepoints
What is not covered
- Chargepoints sold in Northern Ireland
- Chargepoints sold before 30 June 2022
- Non-smart cables or rapid chargepoints
- Public chargepoints (covered under other legislation)
- Second-hand private sales between individuals
2) Who has legal obligations
The regulations apply to any person or business that sells, offers, advertises, leases, hires, lends, or supplies an EV chargepoint.
Under UK law, a “sale” includes:
- Direct retail sales
- Leasing or rental arrangements
- Warranty replacements supplied after 30 June 2022
3) Core smart functionality requirements
All regulated chargepoints must meet device-level requirements, including:
- Smart functionality to send and receive data
- Ability to respond to signals that adjust charging time or rate
- Support for demand-side response services
- A user interface allowing control and visibility
Grid and resilience requirements
- Interoperability with electricity suppliers (functionality must remain if the owner switches supplier)
- Continued charging if the communications network is unavailable
- Default off-peak charging hours, adjustable by the user
- A randomised delay function to avoid grid spikes
4) Safety, metering and cybersecurity
- Built-in safety features to prevent unsafe user operations
- A measuring system showing electricity consumption and charging duration
- Visibility of usage data to the chargepoint owner
- Cybersecurity controls aligned with ETSI EN 303 645
5) Documentation and record-keeping
Sellers must be able to demonstrate compliance through:
- A formal statement of compliance
- A complete technical file describing how requirements are met
- A register of sales retained for at least 10 years
These records must be made available to OPSS upon request.
6) Enforcement and Enforcement Undertakings
OPSS is responsible for monitoring compliance and addressing breaches. Where non-compliance is identified, a business may propose an Enforcement Undertaking.
- Undertakings commit the business to corrective actions within a defined timeframe
- They are assessed case-by-case by OPSS
- Successful completion results in a formal Completion Certificate
7) Where sellers typically go wrong
- Selling “smart” chargepoints that lack compliant default off-peak settings
- Incomplete or outdated technical files
- Assuming rapid or public chargers are exempt without verification
- Failing to retain sales records for the full 10-year period
