Free EV charging station data: open registries, APIs and downloads
If you build an app, plan a fleet or study charging infrastructure, you need charger data. Much of it is free if you know where to look. This page lists the main open sources and what each contains.
Main open sources
| Source | Coverage | Contains | Licence (check each source) |
|---|---|---|---|
| EU national access points (AFIR) | EU member states | Locations, connectors; increasingly live status | Varies by country |
| UK Public ChargePoint Regulations feeds | United Kingdom | Operators' open feeds incl. live status | Open, per operator |
| NREL Alternative Fuels Data Center (AFDC) | United States, Canada | Locations, connectors, networks | US government open data |
| Open Charge Map | Worldwide | Community and imported locations, free API | Open (see its terms) |
| National registries (e.g. France IRVE, Netherlands NDW) | Single countries | Official location registries, some live | Mostly open licences |
| LiveChargeMap statistics | Worldwide | Daily counts: locations, charge points, live-status share, availability by country | CC BY 4.0 |
Things to check before you use a dataset
- Licence. Some datasets forbid derivatives or commercial use (for example CC BY-NC-ND). Read the licence and keep the attribution.
- Freshness. Static registries may be updated monthly or quarterly; live status needs a feed that updates within minutes.
- Duplicates. The same charger often appears in a national registry, an operator feed and a community map. De-duplicate by distance and operator, not only by name.
- Coordinates. Expect a small share of misplaced pins (swapped latitude/longitude, postal-code centroids). Check that each point lies in its stated country.
LiveChargeMap open statistics
LiveChargeMap publishes daily statistics on how many charge points worldwide publish live status and how many are available, by country, as JSON and CSV under CC BY 4.0. See the statistics page and credit LiveChargeMap when you use them.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a free API for EV charging stations?
Yes. Open Charge Map offers a free API, the US AFDC offers a free API for the United States and Canada, and many European countries publish charger data through national access points.
Can I use open EV charging data in a commercial app?
Often yes, but it depends on the licence of each dataset. Some allow commercial use with attribution (such as CC BY 4.0); others do not allow commercial use or changes.
Where can I download EV charging statistics by country?
LiveChargeMap's statistics page offers daily figures by country as JSON and CSV under CC BY 4.0.