EV Charging Help

State guide

California

CA9 / 10Adoption

California leads the nation in EV adoption with the most aggressive ZEV sales targets, 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
20,445
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 $85/month

At California's 29.75¢/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

11.1

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 ↗
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, light-duty corridor charging) closed March 25, 2026, and the CEC issued its Notice of Proposed Award on July 14, 2026. Solicitation 4 (GFO-25-604, medium- and heavy-duty corridor charging) closed May 28, 2026, and Solicitation 5 (GFO-25-606, Southern California, medium- and heavy-duty corridor charging) closed June 18, 2026; confirm award status with the CEC. Solicitation 6 (GFO-25-603, community charging, up to $79 million, publicly accessible high-powered DC fast chargers) is open until December 11, 2026Learn 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 customers who applied to interconnect on or after April 15, 2023. Exports are credited at hourly avoided-cost values from the California Public Utilities Commission's Avoided Cost Calculator, which are usually lower than the retail rate customers pay for imports. Earlier systems stay on NEM 1.0 or 2.0 for 20 years from interconnection.
Source
SourceVerified Nov 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 Nov 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 Nov 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 68,000 public charging ports in California as of October 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)1,289
Electrify America331
EVgo399
ChargePoint14,610
Other networks3,816
DC fast ports19,670
Level 2 public ports49,783

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

Cities

Top cities for public charging

  • 1Los Angeles
    2,017 stations
  • 2San Diego
    941 stations
  • 3Irvine
    795 stations
  • 4San Jose
    670 stations
  • 5San Francisco
    575 stations
Context

Regulatory environment

CARB Advanced Clean Cars II set 35% ZEV new car sales for model year 2026, ramping to 68% by 2030 and 100% by 2035, but compliance is now voluntary: Congressional Review Act resolutions signed in June 2025 repealed the EPA waivers underpinning ACC II, ACT, and the Low NOx Omnibus, and on March 26, 2026 CARB permanently adopted a regulation letting automakers certify to the standards in effect before ACC II. Section 177 states are defending the waivers in court, and a DOJ suit filed in March 2026 seeks to block CARB enforcement. 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

CALeVIP Fast Charge Grants: Window 2 Opened Oct. 7, 2026

Window 2 of CALeVIP's Fast Charge California Project, the California Energy Commission's public DC fast charging incentive, accepts applications from 9:00 a.m. PT on October 7, 2026 to 5:00 p.m. PT on January 14, 2027. It has at least $27.6 million of the $55.2 million the CEC announced in May 2026 for two windows. It pays 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, on 4 to 20 ports per site. Funding is reserved first come, first served, except that applications with every charger in a disadvantaged community, low-income community, or on tribal land move ahead of later non-priority applications. Only ready-to-build applications count: you need an issued permit and a final utility service design (or a utility letter saying no new service is needed) at submission, or the application is cancelled. Construction cannot start before October 7, 2026. Window 3 runs February 24 to May 27, 2027 at a flat $55,000 per port. The Window 2 manual bars combining the grant with utility charger programs or other CEC funding, and Window 3 is expected to follow it. Neither window can use the federal 30C credit, which ended June 30, 2026.

Updated Oct 202620 min read

CALeVIP Window 2 Equipment Rules

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. Under the Window 2 Implementation Manual dated September 18, 2026, chargers must be new equipment (replacement installations are not eligible), certified to OCPP 2.0.1 Core and Advanced Security profiles, ENERGY STAR certified or exempt, CTEP certified for metering, listed by an NRTL to UL 2202, ISO 15118 hardware ready, able to deliver at least 150 kW guaranteed per port with every port in use, and listed on CALeVIP's eligible equipment dashboard. Both CCS and J3400 (the SAE standard for the NACS connector) ports count toward the incentive, and at least 50% of a site's charging ports must be CCS. Tesla's V4 Supercharger holds two OCPP 2.0.1 certificates that pass both required profiles, one from July 2025 for a V3 Cabinet configuration and one from June 2026 for a V4 Cabinet configuration tested with European CCS2 connectors, but as of the dashboard's October 16, 2026 list no Tesla equipment appears on it.

Updated Oct 202613 min read

California Title 24 EV-Ready Rules for Commercial Builds

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 Oct 20269 min read

No California Law Sets a 125-Day Hookup

California has no statute that guarantees a utility will energize your EV chargers within 125 business days. A 2023 bill that would have set that clock for municipal utilities, AB 1482, missed its house-of-origin deadline and died in February 2024. What exists instead is a CPUC decision setting average and maximum energization targets for PG&E, SCE and SDG&E, with reporting and remedial plans rather than a guaranteed date for your project. This article separates what is binding from what is a target, and shows how to get commitment language into your own agreement.

Updated Oct 20265 min read
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.

  • Do you actually need Level 2?
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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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