EV Charging Help

State guide

California

CA9 / 10Adoption

California leads the nation in EV adoption with the most aggressive ZEV sales mandate, the largest public charging network of any state, and a layered set of income-targeted purchase programs that replaced the now-closed Clean Vehicle Rebate Project.

Last updated September 2026

California EV adoptionAdoption 9 / 10

EV Charging Snapshot

Leading
EV Adoption Rate
17.8%
Public Chargers
66,589
Top Incentive
Driving Clean Assistance Program and Clean Cars 4 All, up to $12,000 combined for income-qualified buyers
Recent regulatory activity
Adoption score
9/10

What applies to your address?

Enter your ZIP code to see your electric utility, county, and the most relevant EV charging programs.

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Cost to charge

Charging an EV in California costs about $99/month

At California's 34.74¢/kWh residential rate (EIA). See the full cost breakdown for California →

EV adoption snapshot

EVs registered in California

1,843,100

2025 data · U.S. DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center

Public chargers per 1,000 EVs

10.8

Lower ratio = more demand per existing charger

EV adoption by county: top 10

County-level light-duty plug-in EV registrations.

CountyRegistered EVsShare of state
Los Angeles County443,10024.0%
Orange County210,80011.4%
Santa Clara County170,6009.3%
San Diego County157,8008.6%
Alameda County112,0006.1%
Riverside County85,1004.6%
Contra Costa County66,7003.6%
San Bernardino County64,0003.5%
San Mateo County60,5003.3%
Sacramento County57,2003.1%

Source: California Energy Commission · 2025 data

01

Incentives and rebates

Amounts shift as funding rounds open and close. Confirm the live program page before you apply.

Residential programs
Residential EV incentive programs in California
ProgramAmountWho qualifiesApply
Driving Clean Assistance Program (DCAP)$9,500 to $14,000 in grants (including a $2,000 charging incentive) depending on disadvantaged community status and whether an older vehicle is scrapped. The no-scrap Financing Assistance pathway (low-interest financing capped at 8%) closed to new applicants August 21, 2026 due to high demand; the Clean Cars 4 All scrap-and-replace pathway remains open.California residents at or below 300% of the federal poverty level who have not previously taken a CARB light-duty purchase incentive, purchasing or leasing a new or used BEV, PHEV, or FCEV with a sale price at or below $45,000Learn more ↗
Clean Cars 4 All (CC4A)Up to $12,000 for income-qualified buyers in disadvantaged communities who scrap an older vehicleLower-income residents in participating air districts (Sacramento, San Joaquin Valley, South Coast, San Diego, and Bay Area as funding rounds open)Learn more ↗
PG&E Residential Charging Solutions RebateStandard tier: up to 50% of the purchase price of one eligible Level 2 charger. Rebate Plus (income-qualified, under 80% of Area Median Income): up to $2,000 for the charger and installation, or up to $5,000 when a panel upgrade is also required.PG&E residential customers installing a Level 2 charger from PG&E's qualified equipment list; Rebate Plus requires income under 80% AMI for county and household size, enrollment in a qualifying assistance program (CalFresh, Medi-Cal, SSI, WIC, and others), or Rebate Plus participation in the prior 12 monthsLearn more ↗
PG&E Empower EV ProgramNo longer offered (confirmed as of 2026-09-01)This program offered a free Level 2 charger (valued at $500) plus up to $2,000 toward panel upgrades for PG&E residential customers within 400% of the federal poverty level in single-family homes. It closed to new applicants December 31, 2024, per PG&E's own program page.Learn more ↗
SCE Pre-Owned EV Rebate$1,000 standard, $4,000 for income-qualified customersSCE residential customers who purchase or lease a used BEV or PHEV with at least 8 kWh battery capacityLearn more ↗
SDG&E Pre-Owned EV Rebate$1,000 standard, $4,000 for income-qualified customersSDG&E residential customers who purchase or lease a used BEV or PHEVLearn more ↗
Federal Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (30C)Ended June 30, 2026 (no longer available)The federal 30C charger credit ended June 30, 2026. It previously covered residential charging equipment placed in service in an eligible census tract; property placed in service after that date cannot claim it.Learn more ↗
Commercial and property-owner programs
Commercial EV incentive programs in California
ProgramAmountWho qualifiesApply
CALeVIP Fast Charge California ProjectFCCP-2 (applications Oct 7, 2026 to Jan 14, 2027) pays up to 100% of eligible costs, capped per DC fast port by guaranteed output: $55,000 per port at 150 to 274.99 kW and $100,000 per port at 275 kW and above, minimum 4 and maximum 20 incentivized ports per site. FCCP-3 (Feb 24 to May 27, 2027) is announced at a flat $55,000 per port with a 150 kW minimum, dropping the 275 kW tier; its implementation manual is not published yet.Tier 1 ready-to-build sites only (issued permit plus final utility service design), on a closed list of eligible site types that no longer includes hotels, charging hubs, or business districts; DAC, low-income, and tribal applications get processing priority. FCCP-2 prohibits stacking with NEVI, other CEC funding, and IOU, POU, CCA, or air-district charger programs.Learn more ↗
NEVI Formula ProgramUp to 80% of project costsEV charging projects along designated Alternative Fuel Corridors; California Solicitation 3 (GFO-25-602, up to $79 million, light-duty corridor charging) closed March 25, 2026. Solicitation 4 (GFO-25-604, up to $69.5 million) closed May 28, 2026, and Solicitation 5 (GFO-25-606, up to $79 million, medium- and heavy-duty corridor DC fast charging) closed June 18, 2026; confirm award status with the CECLearn more ↗
Federal Alternative Fuel Vehicle Refueling Property Credit (30C, commercial)Ended June 30, 2026 (no longer available)The federal 30C charger credit ended June 30, 2026. It previously covered commercial charging equipment placed in service in an eligible census tract; property placed in service after that date cannot claim it.Learn more ↗
California Clean Fuel Reward (CCFR)$7,500 to $120,000 per vehicle depending on class, with $250 million available in 2026 and up to $1 billion in total funding expected through 2030Commercial, public-agency, and nonprofit buyers of new battery-electric Class 2b to Class 8 trucks (drayage trucks, semis, box trucks, delivery vans); funded through the Low Carbon Fuel Standard program and administered by SCE on behalf of CARB alongside PG&E, SDG&E, LADWP, and SMUD. Announced May 13, 2026; rebates available at authorized retailers starting June 26, 2026. Distinct from the separate HVIP voucher program, which offers its own per-vehicle amounts (roughly $60,000 to $120,000 standard, more for small fleets) and has delivered over $1 billion cumulatively since 2009.Learn more ↗
02

Time-of-use rates

Peak windows and prices are set by each utility and change at rate cases.

Residential EV time-of-usestatewide
Availability
statewide
Summary
All three California major IOUs offer dedicated residential EV time-of-use rates: PG&E's EV2-A and EV-B, SCE's TOU-D-PRIME, and SDG&E's EV-TOU-5. Peak windows are standardized at 4pm to 9pm every day, with off-peak rates substantially lower (SDG&E EV-TOU-5 carries a super off-peak window with deep discounts midnight to 6am). LADWP and other municipal utilities run their own EV-specific TOU schedules with separate-meter discounts.
Source
SourceVerified Sep 2026
03

Net metering and solar export

Matters if you pair rooftop solar with home charging.

Net metering / solar + EVnet billing
Status
net billing
Summary
California moved from full-retail NEM to a net-billing tariff (NEM 3.0) for systems interconnected on or after April 15, 2023. Exports are credited at hourly avoided-cost values from the California Public Utilities Commission's Avoided Cost Calculator, typically $0.05 to $0.08 per kWh versus retail rates of $0.23 to $0.30 per kWh. Pre-April 2023 systems are grandfathered into NEM 1.0 or 2.0 for 20 years from interconnection.
Source
SourceVerified Sep 2026
04

Right to charge

Whether an HOA or landlord can block a home charger install.

Statutory protectionStatute on the books
Statute
Cal. Civ. Code § 4745
Applies to
single family hoa, condo, rental
What it does
California voids any HOA covenant, deed restriction, or governing document that prohibits or unreasonably restricts installation of an EV charging station in a designated parking space, unit, or exclusive-use common area. The homeowner pays for installation, uses a licensed contractor, complies with reasonable architectural standards, maintains a liability coverage policy, and provides the association with a certificate of insurance. As of January 1, 2026, SB 770 removed the earlier requirement that the certificate name the association as an additional insured, though the owner must still carry liability coverage. Section 4745.1 extends parallel protections to renters.
Source
SourceVerified Sep 2026
05

Registration and EV fees

The annual surcharge that replaces gas-tax revenue.

Annual fees
California EV and PHEV registration fees
Vehicle typeAnnual fee
Battery electric (EV)$121/year
Plug-in hybrid (PHEV)None
The Road Improvement Fee under California Vehicle Code section 9250.6 applies to model year 2020 and later zero-emission vehicles at each renewal, and is indexed annually to the California Consumer Price Index; it is $121 for 2026. It does not apply to initial registration of a new ZEV from a licensed California dealer. No statewide PHEV fee.
SourceVerified Sep 2026
Utilities

Utilities serving California

Your EV rate, rebates, and make-ready programs depend on who serves your address.

Pacific Gas and Electric Company

EV rates, rebates & programs →

Southern California Edison Company

EV rates, rebates & programs →

San Diego Gas and Electric Company

EV rates, rebates & programs →

Network

Public charging network

Tesla Supercharger, Electrify America, EVgo, and ChargePoint operate dense statewide networks. Shell Recharge's driver-facing US network is much smaller and concentrated in select metro hubs; that is separate from Shell's December 2024 shutdown of its third-party charge-management software, which did not affect Shell's own stations. AFDC counts more than 66,000 public charging ports in California as of September 2026; the state's own broader count, which also includes shared-private and workplace charging, topped 200,000 in a January 2026 CEC announcement. NEVI corridor buildout continues on I-5, US-101, I-80, I-15, and I-10.

NetworkStations
Tesla (incl. Destination)1,438
Electrify America328
EVgo412
ChargePoint13,966
Other networks3,717
DC fast ports18,234
Level 2 public ports48,038

Source: NREL Alternative Fuels Data Center, as of Aug 2026.

Cities

Top cities for public charging

  • 1Los Angeles
    1,975 stations
  • 2San Diego
    906 stations
  • 3Irvine
    783 stations
  • 4San Jose
    651 stations
  • 5San Francisco
    582 stations
Context

Regulatory environment

CARB Advanced Clean Cars II requires 35% ZEV new car sales in model year 2026, ramping to 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035, though Congressional Review Act resolutions signed in June 2025 repealed the EPA waivers underpinning ACC II, ACT, and the Low NOx Omnibus, and a DOJ suit filed in March 2026 seeks to block CARB enforcement while Section 177 states defend the waivers in court. Title 24 and the 2026 building code update require EV-ready wiring in all new residential parking spots, at least one EV-ready spot per multifamily unit, and 65% EV-ready parking at new hotels. AB 2127 directs ongoing statewide charging infrastructure assessments.

Reading

Articles mentioning California

California Reopens CALeVIP Fast Charging Grants: The Two New Windows and What Changed

In late May 2026, the California Energy Commission scheduled the next two windows of CALeVIP's Fast Charge California Project, making more than $55 million available for public DC fast charging. The October 7, 2026 to January 14, 2027 window covers up to 100% of eligible installation costs, capped per port by guaranteed output: $55,000 at 150 to 274.99 kW and $100,000 at 275 kW and above. The February 24 to May 27, 2027 window uses a simplified flat cap of $55,000 per port for any charger of at least 150 kW. The new windows tighten eligibility: charging hubs, hotels, and business districts are no longer eligible site types, applicants must own the equipment they install, and projects must be ready to build with final utility design and permits in hand. Because any project funded through them will be placed in service well after the federal 30C charger credit ended on June 30, 2026, it cannot also claim that credit.

Updated Aug 202613 min read

CALeVIP Window 2's Equipment Rules, and Why Tesla's Supercharger Is a Question Mark

CALeVIP's Fast Charge California Project pays up to $100,000 per charging port in its Window 2 application period, October 7, 2026 to January 14, 2027, but the money is gated on hardware. Chargers must be certified to OCPP 2.0.1 Core and Advanced Security profiles, carry CTEP metering certification and an NRTL safety listing, be ISO 15118 hardware ready, deliver at least 150 kW guaranteed per port, and appear on CALeVIP's eligible equipment dashboard. Incentive caps are calculated on CCS connectors only, and Window 2 requires at least 50% CCS connectors per site. Against that spec, Tesla's V4 Supercharger holds a current OCPP 2.0.1 certificate for the Core profile, but that certificate records the Advanced Security profile as not tested, which is one of the two profiles CALeVIP names.

Updated Aug 20269 min read

California's Title 24 EV-Ready Rules for Commercial Construction: The 2025 Code Raises the Bar

California's Title 24 / CALGreen has required EV infrastructure in new nonresidential and multifamily construction for years. The 2025 code edition, effective January 1, 2026, is the biggest change in a while: it splits the nonresidential scoping table by building use (office/retail versus other), pushes a much larger share of spaces from merely capable to actually installed EVSE, and cuts the power that may be allocated to EV-capable-only spaces. This piece is a high-level summary of the tiers and the 2025 changes; the binding numbers live in the adopted code tables.

Updated Aug 20268 min read
Sources

Sources

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Free guide

The Home EV Charging Guide

Everything a homeowner needs to go from curious to charging. Chargers, installation, costs, and the credits that pay for it. No sales pitch.

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A practical guide to deploying commercial EV charging that pays for itself. Planning, utility coordination, funding, and the real business case. No vendor spin.

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  • ROI and the business case
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