OCPP EV Chargers: Does a Business Need OCPP in 2026?

What OCPP is

OCPP stands for Open Charge Point Protocol. The Open Charge Alliance publishes it as a global open communication protocol between charging stations and the charging management system that runs them. In practice it is how a back-office platform, or a site controller, reads a charger’s state and sends it instructions such as a current limit. Because the protocol is open, chargers from one maker can be managed by software from another.

Three versions matter. OCPP 1.6 was released in 2015 and is still the most widely installed. OCPP 2.0.1 followed in 2020, and its third edition was approved as IEC standard 63584 in 2024. OCPP 2.1 was released in 2025. The Alliance states that 1.6 and 2.0.1 are not compatible with each other, so a charger and the software managing it must agree on the version. Version 2.0.1 adds support for ISO 15118, added security, device management and richer smart-charging functions compared with 1.6. The off-peak default hours matter most for fleets charged overnight, covered in solar EV charging at night.

What the law actually requires

The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/1467) came into force on 30 June 2022. They apply to charge points intended for charging cars, vans or both, and regulation 3 excludes three kinds: non-smart cables, public charge points (intended for use primarily by members of the general public) and rapid charge points of 50 kW or more. A private workplace or depot AC charger is therefore in scope, whereas a public rapid charger is not.

For a charger in scope the regulations require:

• Smart functionality (regulation 5): the charge point must be able to send and receive information over a communications network.
• Off-peak default hours (regulation 10): pre-set default charging hours outside peak hours, which the regulations define as 8am to 11am and 4pm to 10pm on weekdays.
• Randomised delay (regulation 11): the charge point must be capable of a delay of up to 1,800 seconds and, by default, operate with a delay of up to 600 seconds, which the owner can cancel.
• Security, measuring, safety and assurance (regulations 8, 9, 12 and 13, with Schedule 1 on security).

The text refers only to a “communications network” and does not mention OCPP or any other named protocol. A charger can meet the regulations without speaking OCPP, and speaking OCPP does not by itself make a charger compliant.

What the grant specification says

The government’s “Commercial chargepoints: minimum technical specification” applies to commercial properties covered by the OZEV chargepoint grant schemes, and states that chargepoints need to meet it to be eligible for the Workplace Charging Scheme. On smart functionality it says the chargepoint must comply with the 2021 regulations, and on cybersecurity it points to the same regulations. It also says the electrical supply of the final installation must allow the charging equipment to operate at full rated capacity. The page, last updated on 30 April 2025, does not mention OCPP. Read the current version before you buy, because scheme rules change; the Workplace Charging Scheme guide and the Depot Charging Scheme guide cover the funding side.

The last point deserves attention. A requirement to run at full rated capacity can sit uneasily with load management that deliberately holds chargers below their rating to protect a limited supply. That tension is a reason to raise load management with the installer and the scheme administrator before the design is fixed, rather than after.

Why specify OCPP anyway

Three reasons are practical rather than legal.

1. Vendor independence. With an open protocol you can change the management platform without replacing the hardware. With a closed one the charger’s maker can set the software price for the life of the equipment.
2. Control from a site controller. Solar-following charging and supply-limited depots both rely on a controller that tells each charger how much current it may draw. Where that controller speaks OCPP, it can drive chargers from different makers. The load-management guide and the solar powered charger guide show why that control is where most of the saving sits.
3. A fleet that grows. A depot that starts with ten chargers and adds twenty in three years is unlikely to buy from the same maker at the same price. A common protocol is what keeps the old and new chargers in one system.

Questions to ask a supplier

• Which OCPP version does the charger support today, and is a firmware update to 2.0.1 offered, and at what cost?
• Is the charger’s smart functionality delivered by OCPP, by a proprietary cloud, or both? What happens to charging if the vendor’s cloud closes?
• Can the charger take a current limit from an external controller, and what is the lowest current it will accept? The IEC 61851 minimum is 6 A per phase.
• Can it switch between single- and three-phase charging, which matters when following a small solar surplus?
• Which meter does it use, and can the data be exported in a form your accountant or energy manager can use?
• Does the supplier confirm in writing that the model meets the Smart Charge Points Regulations and the current grant specification, and will it appear on the approved list at the time of your application?
• Who pays for the back-office platform, per charger per month, and for how long is the price fixed?

OCPP and the rest of the project

The protocol is one line in a specification that also covers the supply, the generation and the funding. A combined solar and charging project needs the grid side settled early, which is the subject of the grid connection guide, and the tax position checked, which the capital allowances guide sets out. For a whole-depot conversion, the fleet depot guide works through supply capacity for a twenty-van example. Hardware choice in general is covered in the EV charger guide.

Sources

• The Electric Vehicles (Smart Charge Points) Regulations 2021, S.I. 2021/1467, regulations 1, 3, 5, 10 and 11 — legislation.gov.uk.
• GOV.UK, “Commercial chargepoints: minimum technical specification” (first published 4 July 2022, last updated 30 April 2025) — gov.uk.
• Open Charge Alliance, “Open Charge Point Protocol” — openchargealliance.org (versions, release years, IEC 63584, 1.6 and 2.0.1 incompatibility).
• evcc documentation, “Solar surplus charging” — docs.evcc.io (IEC 61851 6 A minimum).

Checked 20 October 2026. This page is information, not legal advice; confirm your own chargers’ status with the manufacturer and the scheme administrator.