The last scheduled year of federal NEVI money ended on September 30, 2026. The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) appropriated $1 billion a year for the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) formula program for fiscal years 2022 through 2026, and there is no NEVI money in place for fiscal 2027. The stopgap law signed September 2 extends federal highway programs to December 11, 2026, but it does not continue NEVI's funding. That is the end of new money, not the end of the program: NEVI dollars already apportioned to states stay available until they are spent, and states are still running solicitations with them.
One thing to get straight before reading further: NEVI is a formula program run through annual state plans and state procurements. There is no national application window and no federal "second round." Some states brand their later solicitations "Round 2," but the dates, eligibility, and status of each round are state-specific. For any specific project, your state DOT or energy office procurement page is the source of truth.
⚠️ Note: The federal 30C charger tax credit ended June 30, 2026. No federal EV charger tax credit is available for equipment placed in service after that date; a NEVI-funded corridor project now leans on the NEVI grant and any state program, not the federal charger credit. The 30C figures below describe how the two once stacked and are kept as a record of the basis-reduction math.
What September 30, 2026 changes, and what it does not
Congress wrote NEVI's money as a no-year appropriation. The IIJA provides the $5 billion "to remain available until expended," so there is no use-it-or-lose-it deadline on September 30. Three kinds of money are in different positions.
Grants already obligated. Under FHWA's accounting, which is also the measure Congress used in February, NEVI money is obligated when FHWA and the state sign the project agreement for the project. Once that has happened, the September 30 date does not touch it. The ordinary program rules still apply: the project has to meet NEVI's standards and the state's contract terms to be reimbursed.
Awards and solicitations still in review. Money a state has been apportioned but has not yet obligated also stays available past September 30. The risk here is Congress, not the calendar. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026, signed February 3, 2026, redirected $878.756 million in unobligated NEVI money to other highway programs: $503.756 million of the states' balances (taken in proportion to each state's unobligated fiscal 2022 balance as of January 31, 2026), $300 million from the set-aside for states and localities needing extra help, and $75 million designated for the Joint Office of Energy and Transportation. The administration's fiscal 2027 budget request proposed canceling $4.2 billion in unobligated NEVI and CFI funds; as of September 30, 2026, Congress has not enacted that cancellation, and the September stopgap law neither adds NEVI money nor repeats the February transfer. The other conditions are administrative: a state needs an FHWA-approved plan to obligate its money (the Congressional Research Service listed ten jurisdictions without an approved fiscal 2026 plan in June), and the IIJA lets FHWA, after notice and a chance to cure, withdraw funds from a state that is not carrying out its plan and award them competitively to local governments in that state. If your site has been selected but not yet signed, ask your state DOT where your project sits. A selection announcement and an obligated federal share are not the same thing, and the February transfer drew only on money that had not yet been obligated.
New money after fiscal 2026. None is scheduled. The continuing resolution signed September 2, 2026 (H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027) funds the government and extends federal highway programs through December 11, 2026 at prorated fiscal 2026 levels, but it provides no fiscal 2027 money for the IIJA's advance-appropriated programs, NEVI among them. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's five-year reauthorization bill, the BUILD America 250 Act (H.R. 8870), approved in committee on May 22, 2026, contains no NEVI funding as introduced, and it has not passed the House. Unless Congress acts, what states hold now is the program's remaining budget.
For scale: the Congressional Research Service reported in June 2026 that FHWA had made $4.2 billion in NEVI formula money available to states since fiscal 2022, and that $1.4 billion of it had been obligated as of December 31, 2025. Both figures predate the February 2026 transfer, so subtracting one from the other overstates what states hold today.
The 2025 freeze and the 2026 ruling
NEVI did not move smoothly into the states' later rounds. In early 2025, following a change in administration, the Federal Highway Administration suspended approval of state EV deployment plans, rescinded prior NEVI guidance, and effectively withheld access to funds Congress had already appropriated. States that had approved plans and pending solicitations found themselves stuck, and a coalition of states sued in May 2025.
FHWA ended the pause in August 2025, when it issued new interim final guidance on August 11, and on October 1, 2025 it apportioned $885 million for fiscal year 2026, the final year of NEVI formula money. On January 23, 2026, in Washington v. U.S. Department of Transportation, a federal judge in the Western District of Washington ruled that FHWA and DOT had acted unlawfully under the Administrative Procedure Act when they revoked approvals and withheld funds. The court vacated FHWA's 2025 suspension and rescission, restored previously approved plans, and barred withholding outside the governing statute; states still had to satisfy plan, obligation, and procurement requirements before money could reach projects. The ruling protects money Congress already provided. It does not create new money.
The practical effect: NEVI funds are moving to projects in 2026, but the program is spending its final appropriation, and its rules and timelines are less settled than they were in 2024. Anyone planning a NEVI-funded project should confirm their state's current status directly rather than assuming continuity with pre-freeze plans.
Where NEVI stands in 2026
Most states completed their first NEVI solicitations in 2023 and 2024, awarding grants to station operators and site hosts along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors. Construction of those first-round sites continued through 2024 and 2025. By late 2025, hundreds of NEVI-funded ports had been built nationally, a modest figure relative to the program's ambitions and a frequent point of criticism.
As of Q2 2026, with the court ruling in place and updated guidance issued, several states have reopened their next round of solicitations, and additional states have signaled rounds during 2026. High-activity states have generally moved fastest. The pace varies widely by state, which is why a generic "second round is open" statement is not reliable for any specific location: check your state DOT or energy office procurement page for current dates and eligibility.
What the updated guidance actually says
The August 11, 2025 interim final guidance from FHWA is often summarized as a broad loosening of the rules. What it actually provides is narrower, and worth separating into three pieces:
- Corridor-location rules before certified buildout. Until a state certifies its designated Alternative Fuel Corridors as fully built out, NEVI funds go to projects along those corridors. Certification controls when funds may move beyond the corridors; it does not decide which project types are eligible.
- State discretion over spacing. Rather than imposing a fixed spacing rule, the guidance tells states to determine station spacing based on travel patterns, grid capacity, geography, and cost.
- Eligible project types. Medium- and heavy-duty charging and station upgrades are eligible uses of NEVI funds; they are not categorically gated behind light-duty corridor buildout.
The rules differ from what was published in 2022 and 2023, so read your state's current solicitation rather than assuming continuity with earlier rounds.
One pending change matters for any project still buying equipment. On February 12, 2026, FHWA proposed raising the domestic-content requirement for EV chargers bought or installed with FHWA-administered funds from 55 percent of component cost to up to 100 percent; final assembly in the United States is already required. The Congressional Research Service noted in June 2026 that no known charging equipment would meet a 100 percent requirement. As of September 30, 2026, no final notice has appeared in the Federal Register. If your project is still in procurement, ask the state which Buy America requirement its contract assumes.
What NEVI funds
NEVI funds public DC fast charging that meets specific standards (verify against your state's current RFP, as states can layer additional requirements):
- Minimum 150 kW per port
- At least 4 ports per location
- Within 1 mile of a designated corridor exit (verify your state's current requirement)
- Publicly accessible, accepting credit and debit cards without a network membership
- Network connectivity and high uptime requirements (commonly 97% or higher)
- Federal cost share of up to 80% of eligible costs (as of Q2 2026)
The underlying goal is unchanged: fill the gaps along major highways where fast charging is sparse. Rural corridor routes in states like Montana, Wyoming, and the Dakotas, which historically had little coverage, are the kind of place NEVI is meant to reach.
Impact on EV adoption
Highway charging gaps have long been a barrier to EV consideration for longer-distance drivers. As corridor coverage fills in, that argument weakens. The remaining friction is reliability; early public fast charging earned a reputation for poor uptime, which is why NEVI contracts carry explicit reliability requirements and penalties. The 2025 freeze set the buildout back, and the slow pace of completed ports remains a fair criticism, but the corridor-coverage trend is still pointed in one direction.
For site hosts and developers
NEVI grants require competitive applications and specific location criteria, and they are narrow: this is a corridor fast-charging program, not a workplace, retail, or multifamily program. If your site sits near a designated corridor exit, and especially if it is a travel center, truck stop, or highway-adjacent retail site, checking your state DOT's current NEVI solicitation status is worth the time.
Three cautions for the rest of 2026:
- Get to a signed agreement. With no new NEVI money scheduled, a state's remaining balance is the whole pool, and unobligated balances are the part Congress has already shown it will redirect. A project that has been selected should push to an obligated federal share rather than wait.
- Confirm current status, not last year's plan. The freeze disrupted schedules. A solicitation that was expected in 2025 may have slipped, changed scope, or reopened under new rules.
- The 30C credit is no longer a factor in NEVI timing. NEVI projects can take many months from application to energized station. The federal 30C tax credit, a separate benefit, ended June 30, 2026, so it no longer needs to be sequenced against a NEVI schedule. Plan the project on the NEVI grant and any state program.
How a corridor site once stacked NEVI with the 30C credit
For a qualifying highway-adjacent site, NEVI and the 30C credit addressed different parts of the cost, and the interaction followed the same basis rule that governs any grant stacked on a federal credit. This illustrative four-port DCFC station shows how it worked while the credit was live (the 30C line no longer applies):
- Total eligible project cost: $600,000
- NEVI grant at 80% of eligible cost: $480,000
- Your remaining out-of-pocket cost: $120,000
- 30C credit at 30% (with prevailing wage and apprenticeship compliance), calculated on your $120,000 incurred cost, not the full $600,000: $36,000
- Net cost to you: $84,000
The 30C credit applied only to the cost you actually bear, not to the portion NEVI covers, and the per-port cap of $100,000 is not reached here. That federal credit ended June 30, 2026, so it is no longer part of the stack; the basis rule it illustrates still governs how any state grant reduces the cost you can claim under any other credit. See Stacking Incentives for the general rules, and treat any specific figures here as illustrative until reviewed for your project.
For eligibility details and how NEVI fits alongside the 30C credit and CFI grants, see Federal EV Charging Funding.
Last factually verified: September 30, 2026. Sources: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Public Law 117-58, division J, title VIII, the NEVI appropriation); the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (Public Law 119-75, division D, title I, Highway Infrastructure Programs); the enrolled text of H.R. 6500, the Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2027, and the White House notice of its September 2, 2026 signing; the introduced text of H.R. 8870; Congressional Research Service report R48996 (June 16, 2026); FHWA Notice N 4510.909 (October 1, 2025, fiscal 2026 NEVI apportionment, confirmed through FHWA's published summary because the notice itself returned an access error); FHWA's February 12, 2026 Federal Register notice on Buy America for EV chargers and a Federal Register search for later action; the January 23, 2026 ruling in Washington v. U.S. Department of Transportation; and AASHTO Journal and National Association of Counties coverage of the continuing resolution. congress.gov and highways.dot.gov returned access errors; bill and statute text was read from govinfo.gov instead.
evcharginghelp.com is editorially independent and receives no compensation from any company mentioned.
Corrections (August 11, 2026): This article previously said FHWA's post-freeze guidance authorized consolidated solicitations, relaxed the 50-mile spacing rule, expanded site eligibility, and permitted medium- and heavy-duty charging and station upgrades only after light-duty corridor buildout was certified. The August 11, 2025 interim final guidance prescribes none of that: it directs states to determine station spacing based on travel patterns, grid capacity, geography, and cost; medium- and heavy-duty charging and station upgrades are eligible uses; and corridor buildout certification controls when funds may move beyond Alternative Fuel Corridors, not whether those project types are eligible.
Corrections (September 30, 2026): This article previously said FHWA apportioned the fiscal 2026 NEVI money and issued updated guidance after the January 23, 2026 court ruling. FHWA ended the funding pause with its August 11, 2025 interim final guidance and apportioned $885 million for fiscal 2026 on October 1, 2025, both before the ruling.
