How Much to Charge for an EV Charger Installation in 2026 (UK Guide)

EV charge point work looks standardised from the outside: one unit, one cable, one afternoon. In practice the spread between the easiest install and the hardest on the same street is enormous, and installers who quote a flat "fitted price" over the phone lose money on roughly one job in four.

Here is how to price it so the awkward ones pay for themselves.

Rough price guides

Domestic, single 7kW charge point, supply-only-plus-fit, excluding the unit unless stated:

• Straightforward install (consumer unit within 5m of the mounting position, spare way, no upgrades): £350–£550 labour
• Typical install (10–15m run, some chasing or trunking, new dedicated way): £550–£850
• Complex install (garage across a driveway, armoured cable, trenching, board upgrade): £900–£1,800+
• Commercial / multiple bays: priced per project — load assessment first, always

Add the unit itself at trade cost plus your margin. Be explicit about which units you fit and why; "any charger you like" is how you end up commissioning something you have never seen before at 4pm.

The survey is the job

The single biggest difference between a profitable EV installer and a busy one is that the profitable one never quotes without a survey — even a photo survey.

What you need to know before you give a number:

• Where is the board, and is there a spare way? A board upgrade changes the job completely.
• What is the main fuse rating? 60A supplies still exist and load management or a DNO application may be needed.
• What is the earthing arrangement? PME/TN-C-S restrictions drive whether you need an earth rod or a device with integral open-PEN detection.
• What is the actual cable route? Not the route the customer imagines. Measure it.
• Is it a flat, a listed building, or shared parking? Permission problems are not your problem to solve, but they are your problem to price around.

Ten minutes of questions on the phone, or a request for four photos, removes most of the risk.

Charge for the survey on anything non-obvious

For a standard semi with the board in the garage, quote from photos. For anything involving trenching, a shared driveway, a board upgrade or a commercial site, charge a survey fee and deduct it if they proceed.

It filters tyre-kickers, and it pays for the drive when they decide not to go ahead.

Do not forget the notifications

Two things are routinely missed and both cost more later than they would have cost to do properly:

• DNO notification. Most domestic charge point installs need notifying, and some need permission before work starts depending on load and earthing arrangement. Retrospective notification is not a good look on a job you have already been paid for.
• Building regs Part S notification. Required for new charge points, and part of what makes you a competent-person-scheme installer rather than someone who fitted a box on a wall.

Neither is difficult. Both are easy to lose track of when you are doing three a week.

Grant work is worth understanding, not chasing

Grant schemes for EV charge points change regularly and eligibility narrows over time. Treat them as something you can help a customer with, not as the basis of your pricing. If a grant disappears mid-quarter and your prices were built around it, the price rise lands on you rather than on policy.

Where the paperwork goes

An EV install generates more documentation than the fitting time suggests: commissioning record, electrical installation certificate, DNO notification, Part S notification, the customer/vehicle declaration on grant work, and a handover pack.

Gaffer ships all of those as forms you complete on site, sign on the phone, and send before you leave — see the EV charger installer certificates and forms. The commissioning record and the invoice going out the same afternoon is worth more to cash flow than any pricing tweak.

The short version

• Never quote without a survey or photos — the spread between easy and hard is over £1,000
• Charge for the survey on anything involving trenching, upgrades or commercial sites
• Check the main fuse and earthing arrangement before you commit to a price
• DNO and Part S notifications are part of the job, not admin to do "sometime"