Paperwork Behind the Plug: The EV Charger Documents Worth Keeping

Most of us treat a home charge point like a fancy white good: the installer arrives, the box goes on the wall, the app gets downloaded, and the paperwork is shoved into a drawer. That works fine until the day you need to prove the thing was fitted properly. Then the drawer becomes surprisingly important.

A good EV charger installation should leave you with more than a working plug and a tidy cable. It should leave you with a small, boring, genuinely useful file. Think of it as the service history for your home charging setup — not glamorous, but exactly what an insurer, a buyer’s solicitor or a warranty desk may ask for later.

Why the folder matters more than the app

Apps are lovely. They tell you when the car is charging, how much energy went in and whether the cat has unplugged you again. But an app account is not proof of a safe installation. The documents are.

That matters because home charge points are electrical equipment wired into your house. If something goes wrong — a failed unit, a scorched accessory socket, water getting into a garage feed — the first questions tend to be about who installed it, when, and to what standard. A clear paper trail answers those questions without you having to remember the name of a fitter you met once in the rain.

The electrical certificate: your proof it was done properly

For a new charge-point circuit, expect an electrical installation certificate — often called an EIC — with a schedule of test results attached. If the work was more limited, there may be a minor electrical installation works certificate instead. Either way, it should have the installation address, the date, a description of the work, test readings and a signature.

Check that the charger itself is named or clearly described on the certificate, not just “external socket” or “garage circuit”. Look at the test results page and make sure it is attached, not just referenced. In England and Wales, EV charger work can also involve building-control notification or evidence from a registered competent person; ask your installer what applies to your job rather than assuming one certificate covers everything.

Do not sign off a blank form or accept a certificate with the wrong house number. Small errors are easy to fix now and annoying to unpick in five years.

The DNO notification: the bit that tells the network

The Distribution Network Operator, or DNO, is the company that runs the local electricity network. Certain charge-point installations need to be notified or approved, and your installer should be able to give you the application reference and any response. For many standard domestic jobs this is a straightforward connect-and-notify process, but the detail depends on the supply and the charger.

You are not expected to become a network planner. You are expected to keep the email or letter. If the DNO imposed a condition — a load limitation, for example — that belongs in the folder too. Future electricians and surveyors will thank you for it.

Grant evidence, if a grant was used

If you used a grant, voucher or subsidy towards the charger, keep the approval reference, the invoice and any confirmation that the installer was eligible to carry out the work. Scheme rules change, and audits can happen after the event. A missing approval email can turn a simple warranty query into a month of digging.

Even if you paid privately, keep the VAT invoice. It shows what was supplied, when, and by whom. That is useful for insurance, resale and any later repair.

Warranty registration and the serial number

Your charger has a serial number. Find it, photograph it, and make sure the warranty has actually been registered in your name. Some installers do this for you; some leave it to the homeowner. Ask which, and get confirmation.

The folder should also include the installer’s company details, the commissioning settings and any handover notes about the consumer unit. If the charger has a dedicated circuit breaker or RCD, note where it is and what label was fitted. Future-you, standing in a dark garage with a torch, will be grateful.

Where the paperwork gets tested

An insurer may ask for proof of professional installation after a claim involving the charging equipment or the garage supply. A missing certificate rarely means an automatic refusal, but it can slow things down and turn a straightforward claim into a paper chase.

A house sale is similar. Solicitors and surveyors increasingly ask about EV charging equipment, and a neat file answers the question before it becomes a negotiation point. The same applies to warranty call-outs: the first thing a manufacturer may ask for is the serial number and installation date.

Keep this, photograph that

Keep in the folder:

• The electrical certificate and attached test schedule
• Any building-control or competent-person notification
• The DNO application reference and response
• Grant or voucher approval and invoice, if used
• Warranty registration confirmation and serial number
• Installer invoice and company contact details
• Commissioning notes and consumer-unit labelling details

Photograph and store in the cloud:

• The charger serial plate
• The consumer-unit label showing the charger circuit
• The first page of the electrical certificate
• The installer’s contact details and warranty email

Write the installation date on the front of the folder and keep it with your boiler and electrical paperwork, not in the loft. The handover file is not exciting, but it is the difference between “I think it was fitted a few years ago” and “here is the evidence”. For a piece of kit wired into your home, that is worth a few minutes at the kitchen table.