AFIR 2024/2025 and EV charging stations: requirements for CPOs

AFIR for EV charging stations: what changes for operators

AFIR, Regulation (EU) 2023/1804, is one of the most important legal frameworks for the European EV charging infrastructure market. It has applied since 13 April 2024 and directly affects how publicly accessible charging stations should be offered to drivers.

For a charge point owner, AFIR is more than a formal obligation. It shifts charging from hardware to a managed service: visible pricing, ad-hoc payment, availability data, reports, settlements, and clear operator responsibility.

This is not only a topic for large CPOs. Hotels, car parks, retail parks, offices, residential communities, fleets, and multi-site businesses should understand AFIR if they want to offer charging to customers, guests, or external drivers. If a station is publicly accessible, installing the charger is only the beginning.

Key points:

• AFIR mainly affects publicly accessible charging infrastructure.
• Drivers should be able to charge and pay ad hoc, without a prior contract with the operator.
• The charging price should be clear before the session starts.
• Operators need accurate data about location, connectors, power, availability, status, and payment methods.
• In practice, AFIR readiness requires a CPO/EPMS system connected with payments, settlements, reporting, and support.

What AFIR is and when it applies

AFIR is the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation. It replaced Directive 2014/94/EU and introduced binding rules for Member States and market participants. The European Commission describes AFIR as part of building a coherent alternative fuels infrastructure across the EU. See the official Commission page on Alternative Fuels Infrastructure.

For EV charging stations, four areas matter most:

• infrastructure availability for drivers,
• ad-hoc charging and payment,
• transparent price information,
• data about charge points and their availability.

These areas require an operational system, not only hardware. The charger must communicate with a backend, the operator must see sessions and statuses, and the driver must have a clear way to start charging.

Who AFIR affects: public or private charging station

The key question is whether the station is publicly accessible. A publicly accessible charge point is not only a motorway charger. It can also be a charger at a hotel, car park, shopping centre, office building, restaurant, or service location if drivers outside a closed group can use it.

Site owners should define the operating model:

• private only, for example for a fleet or residents,
• semi-public, for example for hotel guests or tenants,
• public, available to any driver,
• mixed, with different rules for different user groups.

This decision affects payments, tariffs, invoicing, map visibility, data requirements, and complaint handling. If you are planning an investment, start with our guide on how to choose an EV charging station.

AFIR requirements: ad-hoc payment without mandatory app registration

One of the most discussed AFIR requirements is ad-hoc payment: the ability to use charging without a prior contract with the operator. A driver should not be forced to sign a contract, create an account in a specific system, or choose a mobility service provider in advance to start charging at a publicly accessible point.

In practice, the operator needs a simple payment path. This may include a payment terminal, contactless payment, online payment, QR code, or another process aligned with current requirements and interpretations. The European Commission publishes explanations in its AFIR Q&A.

For the operator, accepting payment is not enough. The payment must be connected with the charging session. The system should know which station and connector were used, which price applied, how much energy was delivered, what amount was paid, whether an accounting document is needed, and whether the session ended correctly.

That is why payments should be part of charging station management software, not a separate process disconnected from CPO operations.

Payment terminal, QR, or web app

AFIR should not be reduced to a simple statement that every charger needs a terminal. A terminal is very useful in many locations, but it is not always the only practical method.

At DC stations, transit locations, public car parks, and high-turnover sites, a terminal can lower the payment barrier. The driver arrives, chooses the connector, pays by card or watch, and starts charging. In those scenarios, see EV24 payment terminals for charging stations.

At AC stations in hotels, offices, residential communities, or private car parks, QR and web payment can often be a better fit. The driver scans a code, sees the price, chooses payment, and starts the session without downloading an app. This driver flow is described on the EV24 charging app page.

For a deeper comparison, read payment terminal at an EV charging station: AFIR and alternatives. Implementation details are also covered in the EV24 documentation for terminal activation and charging.

Charging tariffs and transparent pricing before the session

AFIR focuses on transparent information for users. The driver should know the price before starting the session. In real CPO operations, pricing can be more complex than one kWh rate.

Operators may use a kWh price, start fee, time fee, idle fee, different AC/DC rates, and different rules for hotel guests, tenants, fleets, or public drivers. These models must be clear and controlled.

If pricing is only printed on a sticker or manually changed in several places, inconsistencies appear quickly. The driver sees one price, the system charges another, and the operator has to handle complaints.

Tariffs should be configured centrally and linked to a station, connector, location, or user group. EV24 documentation on charger configuration shows how OCPP settings, tariffs, authorization methods, address, QR code, and country requirements work together.

Charging station data, maps, and site visibility

Drivers need to know whether a charger works, whether a connector is available, what power it offers, which payment methods are accepted, and when the location is open. AFIR strengthens the importance of alternative fuels infrastructure data, and the Commission is developing rules on interoperable and real-time data. See the Commission update on interoperable alternative fuels infrastructure data.

For operators, station data cannot be accidental. If a location is commercial, it should be visible where drivers look for charging: EV maps, apps, vehicle systems, and search. Our article on charging network management explains why data and monitoring are essential for scaling.

OCPP and charging station management software

AFIR is about driver experience and infrastructure availability, but it cannot be delivered without a technical operations layer. The station must send statuses, handle sessions, react to commands, and provide session data.

In practice, the foundation is OCPP, the Open Charge Point Protocol. It lets the backend communicate with the charger, monitor status, collect session data, send commands, and handle events. For more detail, read our guide to Open Charge Point Protocol OCPP.

From an AFIR perspective, OCPP matters because without remote status and session history, the operator cannot reliably confirm payment, issue a document, settle energy, handle complaints, or publish current data.

Settlements, invoicing, and financial compliance

A common mistake is focusing on payment and forgetting settlements. A card or online payment is only the beginning. The operator must know how to settle the session, document the sale, process refunds, and report revenue.

Public charging raises practical questions: who sells the charging service, who collects payment, who issues invoices, how commissions are settled, how revenue is split between the site owner and operator, what happens after an interrupted session, and who handles driver complaints.

EV24 documentation explains the service delivery model, including the role split between the charging station operator, charging service provider, and technology provider. The Settlements section describes financial reports, documents, and settlement flows.

For business planning, read EV charging station billing and how to earn from an EV charging station.

AFIR for hotels, car parks, residential communities, and networks

For hotels, AFIR matters when a charger becomes a service available to drivers, not only a private amenity. The hotel should provide a clear price, simple session start, payment, and invoicing without involving reception in every transaction. See hotel EV charging station.

For car parks and retail parks, rotation is critical. The operator needs to know whether a bay is occupied, whether a session is active, whether the driver is blocking the spot, and whether the tariff encourages efficient turnover.

For residential communities, the model can be private, semi-public, or mixed. It is important to separate resident charging from guest or external charging. See EV chargers in housing communities.

For multi-site networks, AFIR means standardisation. You cannot scale if every site has a different payment flow, a different price table, manual invoices, and a separate complaint process. Central CPO software and the EV24 Partner API become important. The EV24 API documentation describes access, tokens, and integration requirements.

Checklist: is your charging station AFIR-ready

This checklist is not legal advice, but it helps verify operational readiness for public or semi-public charging.

Common AFIR implementation mistakes

The first mistake is treating AFIR only as a payment terminal topic. Payment matters, but without tariffs, data, reports, and settlements, the operator still does not have a complete service.

The second mistake is not defining who is the operator and who sells the service. Site owners, installers, CPOs, and technology providers can play different roles. If these roles are unclear, the first complaint, payment error, or outage exposes the gap.

The third mistake is manual pricing and documentation. It can seem manageable at one location, but several sites quickly create operational chaos. Companies planning growth should start with charging network management.

How EV24 helps prepare infrastructure for AFIR

EV24 provides EPMS/CSMS-class software for EV charging operations. The platform connects infrastructure management, payments, sessions, tariffs, documents, reports, and integrations, so site owners and CPOs can run charging services without building their own IT backend.

For AFIR, EV24 supports:

• charging station management,
• online payments, QR, and payment terminals,
• charging sessions and OCPP data,
• tariffs and authorization methods,
• reports, invoices, and EV charging billing,
• integrations through the EV24 Partner API,
• hotels, car parks, fleets, communities, and multi-site networks.

To estimate operating costs, see EV24 pricing. For larger partner models, start with EV24 partner services.

Summary

AFIR is not just another regulatory acronym. It changes the expected standard of public EV charging. Drivers should have simple access, clear pricing, ad-hoc payment, and current infrastructure information.

For operators, this means aligning OCPP, station status, payments, tariffs, invoices, reports, map data, and complaint handling. The earlier these elements are connected in one system, the easier it is to scale without manual work.

EV24 helps turn a charger into a managed, billable, and compliant charging service.