NEVI and AFIR Requirements for EV Charging Software

Two regulations shape public charging software more than any others: the US National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) standards in 23 CFR Part 680, and the EU Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR), Regulation (EU) 2023/1804. Both are mostly read by people specifying hardware and sites, but a large share of their requirements land on the CSMS. This guide pulls out those parts.

US: NEVI (23 CFR 680)

23 CFR 680 sets minimum standards for chargers funded under the NEVI Formula Program and certain other federal funds. The program itself was paused in early 2025 and resumed under revised interim final guidance in August 2025, which gave states more flexibility in planning but kept the Part 680 minimum standards in place.

Interoperability (680.108)

• OCPP: chargers must conform to OCPP 1.6J or higher, and to OCPP 2.0.1 from February 28, 2024.
• OCPI: from February 28, 2024, the charging network must be able to communicate with other networks using OCPI 2.2.1.
• ISO 15118: chargers must conform to ISO 15118-3 and have hardware capable of ISO 15118-2 and ISO 15118-20. From February 28, 2024, charger software must conform to ISO 15118-2 and be capable of Plug and Charge.
• Network switching: chargers must be able to switch to a different charging network provider securely without hardware changes.

The last point is the one that matters most for software procurement: a NEVI charger should not be locked to its vendor's backend. In practice that means standard OCPP configuration of the CSMS URL and security credentials. See the OCPP 2.0.1 tutorial and the OCPI tutorial.

Hardware and site minimums (680.106)

• At least four network-connected ports; corridor stations need four DCFC ports able to charge four vehicles at once.
• Corridor DCFC ports: continuous rating of at least 150 kW per port, output between 250 V and 920 V DC. AC Level 2 ports: at least 6 kW.
• DC ports must be able to charge any CCS-compliant vehicle and have at least one permanently attached CCS Type 1 connector. AC Level 2 ports need a permanently attached J1772 connector.

Payment and pricing (680.106(f), 680.116(a))

• Contactless payment accepting major debit and credit cards, plus an automated toll-free phone number or SMS option. No membership requirement; no curtailing power based on payment method or membership.
• The price must be displayed before the session starts and be based on $/kWh. The price at the start of a session cannot change during that session.
• Any other fees must be clearly displayed and explained.

For the CSMS, the fixed-price rule means your tariff engine must snapshot the applicable tariff at session start, including for time-of-use tariffs that would otherwise change mid-session. See EV charging pricing models.

Uptime (680.116(b))

Each charging port must have average annual uptime greater than 97%. A port is up when its hardware and software are online and available for use, or in use, and it can deliver at least the minimum power level. Uptime is calculated monthly over the previous twelve months:

uptime % = ((525,600 - (T_outage - T_excluded)) / 525,600) x 100

T_outage   = total outage minutes in the previous year
T_excluded = outage minutes caused by excluded factors

Excluded factors are outages outside the operator's control, provided the operator can show the port would otherwise have been operational: utility service interruptions, vehicle faults, scheduled maintenance, vandalism, natural disasters, and time outside the station's hours of operation. Your CSMS needs per-port outage records with a cause attached, which is harder than it sounds; see measuring charger uptime.

Data (680.112 and 680.116(c))

• Quarterly: per session and per port, start and end times, error codes for unsuccessful sessions, energy delivered (kWh), peak power (kW) and payment method; port uptime, T_outage and T_excluded for each of the previous three months; and the duration of each outage.
• Annually: maintenance and repair cost per station, plus certain one-time cost and operator data.
• Public API: station location, operator, connectors, power, pricing and payment methods made available free of charge to third-party developers, with real-time port status and real-time price expressed in OCPI 2.2.1 terms.

The real-time fields map directly onto the OCPI Locations and Tariffs modules, which is one reason to keep your OCPI model clean. See OCPI Locations and OCPI tariffs.

EU: AFIR (Regulation (EU) 2023/1804)

AFIR applies directly in all EU member states from 13 April 2024. Alongside deployment targets (for example, recharging pools at regular intervals along the TEN-T road network, with power requirements that step up over time), it sets user-facing and technical rules that affect software.

Ad-hoc payment and pricing (Article 5)

• Publicly accessible recharging points must allow ad-hoc charging with electronic payment. Cash alone does not comply.
• New points of 50 kW or more: a payment card reader or a contactless device that can at least read payment cards. Below 50 kW, internet-based methods such as a QR code are also allowed.
• Existing points of 50 kW or more on the TEN-T road network must meet the card reader or contactless requirement from 1 January 2027.
• At 50 kW or more, the ad-hoc price must be based on price per kWh, and must be shown at the station. A per-minute occupancy fee to discourage blocking is allowed; the Commission's Q&A indicates transaction fees are not.
• Prices must be reasonable, easily and clearly comparable, transparent and non-discriminatory. Mobility service providers must show drivers all price information, including roaming costs, before the session starts.

Digital connectivity and smart charging

AFIR requires publicly accessible recharging points to be digitally connected, and points built after 13 April 2024 or renovated after 14 October 2024 to be capable of smart recharging. AFIR does not name OCPP, but in practice digital connectivity and remote smart charging mean an OCPP connection to a CSMS. The Open Charge Alliance has published guidance on how OCPP features map to AFIR obligations.

ISO 15118-20 from 2027

Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/656 supplements AFIR with technical standards. It requires EN ISO 15118-20 for recharging points installed or renovated from 1 January 2027, and points offering automatic authentication such as Plug & Charge must also support ISO 15118-2. Industry bodies have raised open questions about how compliance will be demonstrated and whether other automatic authentication methods remain allowed, and the Commission has been working on Q&A guidance. Watch this one closely if you specify hardware for 2027 deployments.

Data (Article 20)

Operators must make static data (location, connectors, power, accessibility) and dynamic data (availability and ad-hoc price) available free of charge through national access points. Implementations differ by country, with OCPI and DATEX II both in use, and work on a common European access point is ongoing. For a CSMS this is another consumer of the same location, status and tariff model you already publish to roaming partners.

What this means for a CSMS

Key takeaways

• NEVI names protocol versions explicitly: OCPP 2.0.1, OCPI 2.2.1, ISO 15118-2 and -20.
• AFIR focuses on outcomes: ad-hoc payment, price transparency, digital connectivity, smart charging, data, and ISO 15118-20 from 2027.
• Both push work into the CSMS: per-port uptime accounting, price snapshots, public data feeds and payment integration.

HashTech builds CSMS platforms with OCPP 2.0.1, OCPI and payment integration; see our EV charging work or get in touch.