The Office for Zero Emission Vehicles (OZEV) has updated its guidance for the zero emission vehicle grant portal, with the most recent revision published on 14 October 2026. The update reflects a change to the Electric Car Grant (ECG), and forms part of a series of revisions made to the portal guidance since it was first published in December 2018.
What the portal covers
The zero emission vehicle grant portal is used by car manufacturers and dealerships to apply for and manage OZEV funding. The portal now hosts separate guidance for two distinct areas: the Electric Car Grant, and all other zero emission vehicle grants. Both sets of guidance are available in HTML format directly through the portal, alongside a sample invoice in PDF form for zero emission vehicles.
The portal guidance covers a range of administrative matters, including eligibility rules, validation requirements, the audit process, and the responsibilities of both dealers and manufacturers. Guidance on how to define the purchase price of a vehicle - including rules on interpolation family variants - has also been incorporated following updates made in 2025.
A history of changes
The guidance has been revised numerous times since its original publication. Some of the more significant changes include:
- In June 2022, the plug-in car grant was no longer made available, with the exception of wheelchair accessible vehicles.
- In December 2021, grant rates were set at £2,500 for small vans and £5,000 for large vans, with an order limit of 1,000 per end customer introduced at the same time. A wheelchair accessible vehicle grant limit section and a definition of linked enterprises were also added.
- In April 2025, the wheelchair accessible vehicle grant limit was updated.
- In January 2026, new limits were introduced for plug-in van and truck grants.
- On 1 April 2026, a change to the zero emission vehicle grant was reflected in the guidance.
- In October 2026, the guidance was updated again to reflect the latest change to the Electric Car Grant.
Responsibilities for dealers
The guidance also addresses practical situations that can arise in a dealership context. A 2023 update clarified what dealers should do when a dealer leaves the business or moves to a different dealership - an area that touches directly on how grant claims are administered and who holds responsibility for them.
What this changes in running costs
The Electric Car Grant directly affects the grant element of purchase costs for buyers of eligible zero emission vehicles in the United Kingdom. For drivers who purchase through a dealership enrolled in the portal scheme, the grant administered via this system is one of the factors that can influence the effective purchase price of a zero emission car.
If the October 2026 change to the Electric Car Grant affects how the grant is processed through the portal, the administrative route through which dealers apply for funding may itself shift - which in turn could have consequences for how smoothly that funding reaches a buyer at the point of purchase.
The way grants interact with purchase price, depreciation, and other running costs can be assessed using the methodology behind this site's total cost of ownership calculations.