One of the hardest parts of electrifying a government fleet is paying for it. State and local government agencies already operate on tight budgets. When faced with the pressure to move toward zero-emission vehicles with limited funding, adopting EV charging infrastructure can feel like an uphill climb.

The good news is that many agencies have access to grants and incentives, which can help offset the costs of EV charging infrastructure. However, it takes some careful searching to see what’s truly available. The funding landscape is constantly changing, both at the federal and state levels. Some programs have been paused, cut or restructured, while others have quietly expired.

This guide explores the funds and incentives that are currently active and available for government fleets so you know where to focus your attention for financial support.

The Federal Funding Landscape

The majority of federal EV charging funding traces back to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), officially known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The IIJA split its EV charging dollars into two main programs: the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) Discretionary Grant Program and the National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) Formula Program.

Currently, the CFI program is still paused and has been since January 2025. Whether this program will reopen or disappear entirely is yet to be determined. Meanwhile, the NEVI program is active, sending funds to states automatically, and then the individual states decide how to award that money for charging infrastructure projects.

However, NEVI money can’t be used to fund your agency’s own closed depot charging because it requires funded EV chargers to be publicly accessible. Your drivers can still use NEVI-funded EV charge stations, just as long as they follow NEVI’s rules.

If you’re a city, county or local agency looking to add publicly accessible charging to a parking lot, the following programs in addition to NEVI may be helpful:

Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG): One of the most flexible federally funded programs available, STBG explicitly covers EV charging infrastructure and isn’t limited to areas with air quality problems. STBG also doesn’t require public access, but your region’s transportation department or metro planning organization might. Nevertheless, you may want to explore STBG as a funding option.
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ): Since its implementation in 1992, the CMAQ Program has funded thousands of transportation projects aimed at improving air quality and reducing congestion. State transportation departments can put CMAQ funds toward EVs and charging infrastructure. But like NEVI, CMAQ-funded EV charging infrastructure is generally required to be publicly accessible.
Carbon Reduction Program (CRP): CRP helps pay for projects that reduce transportation emissions, including the acquisition, installation or operation of publicly accessible EV charging infrastructure. Since the CRP is linked to the CMAQ and STBG programs, states can transfer a portion of the funds to those other programs.

State Incentives You Can Tap Into

Many states run their own dedicated programs for government fleet charging, often through their energy office or transportation department. Your regional metropolitan or transportation planning organization may also have funding worth exploring. Here are some examples to show you what’s out there:

Kentucky’s Level 2 rebate program: Funds Level 2 charging equipment at public places, workplaces or multi-unit dwellings, with recent awards going to both cities and businesses.
Utah’s Clean Fleet program: Supports Level 2 chargers for government fleets through Volkswagen Settlement money, reimbursing up to 60% for closed agency use or up to 100% if the charging is also open to the public.
Oregon’s EV charger rebates: Funds qualifying EV charger installation for state, local and tribal government entities, covering up to $8,000 per Level 2 port or 80% of project costs.
Colorado’s Fleet-ZERO grant: Offers funding for EV charger installation at private fleet depots, with government entities eligible for up to $7,000 per Level 2 port under the program’s enhanced incentive rate.

Beyond your state’s programs, it’s worth calling your utility company. Many utilities offer incentives for EV charging, including equipment rebates or reduced rates for fleet charging, and government fleets are typically eligible. Since these programs open, close and get replaced often, check directly with your utility for what’s currently available.

In addition, installing chargers can open up an ongoing source of revenue, depending on where you operate. For example, under California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), fleets can generate credits tied to electricity dispensed and then sell the credits. To get these credits, they (or their charge station management system) must track and report their usage each quarter.

Why Accurate Data Matters for Funding and Rebates

Since many EV incentive programs are reimbursement-based, you need a way to document what you actually spent, installed and used. Some programs also demand ongoing data reporting to ensure you’re complying with their requirements. In the case of revenue-generating programs like LCFS, you’ll need EV charging data to get credits. If you can’t produce real numbers when needed, you risk payment delays, denied reimbursements or disqualification altogether.

If your fleet is charging on basic, non-networked equipment, sometimes called “dumb” chargers, you likely can’t produce this kind of data on your own. A dumb charger delivers power, but there’s no way to tell who used it, how much energy they drew or which department should be billed for it.

Fortunately, you don’t have to replace working chargers to get useful data. Retrofitting existing equipment with a Charge Station Management System can bring your current hardware up to the reporting standard that incentive programs expect, without the cost of ripping out and reinstalling functioning equipment.

How Liberty Plugins Supports Government Fleets

Liberty Plugins helps government fleets bring new and existing charge stations under management with one system, capturing the usage data that today’s funding and reporting programs require.

If you already have chargers in place, our retrofit-friendly Hydra™ Charge Station Management System connects your non-networked charge stations to a central control unit, so you can mix and match old and new chargers instead of replacing everything at once.

When you pair Hydra™ or your existing networked chargers with the Liberty Access Platform™, you can track usage and costs by user or department and easily document activity. The Liberty Access Platform™ is our cloud-based dashboard that gives administrators one place to manage users and track usage data for reporting. This helps you meet the data requirements built into today’s incentive programs, all without needing to replace hardware that still works.

The Liberty Access Platform™ offers:

Low cost: Starts at $9 per month per Level 2 charger.
Universal compatibility: Works with any Level 2 or DC fast charger that supports Open Charge Point Protocol (OCPP).
Automated reporting: Automates reporting for programs like California’s LCFS, with usage data ready for other incentive programs and utilities, too.
Easy administration: Lets you easily manage users, roles and chargers from one dashboard.
Detailed usage data: Shows user charging history, session duration, energy consumption and related costs, and aggregates this data to highlight patterns.

If There’s No Funding Available, Consider CodeConnect™

If your organization isn’t eligible for grant money or incentives, but you still want chargers with access control without spending a lot, we have a solution. Our CodeConnect™ chargers are a low-cost, high-output charger with built-in keypad access control, so only authorized drivers can use it. The rugged, non-networked design makes it perfect for busy or remote fleet yards needing reliability and maximum uptime. No app and no internet connection required.

Since CodeConnect™ is non-networked, it won’t generate the usage data that incentive programs require. That said, if your organization doesn’t need to track or report charging activity down to the kilowatt-hour, the CodeConnect™ is an easy choice.

Take Charge of Your EV Project With Liberty Plugins

EV infrastructure funding has been volatile, but it hasn’t disappeared. NEVI still has billions available, while state programs and utility incentives remain active in many places.

To make the most of what’s available, fleets should stay current on program status and apply through more than one channel. They should also build data and reporting capability into their charge stations before a program requires it. That’s where we can help.

Whether you’re planning new charging infrastructure or getting existing EV chargers ready for an incentive program, Liberty Plugins can help you track usage, control access and document costs from day one. Get in touch with us to learn more about our solutions.

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EV Charging Grants and Incentives for Government Fleets