Charging points in the Netherlands: costs, paying and applying

What to do first

If you drive electric in the Netherlands and have no driveway of your own, you will often depend on a public charging point. Start with 3 things. Check whether you are entitled to a point in public space, as most municipalities first look at whether you can charge on your own property. Next, sort out a way to pay, which in practice is usually a charge card or charging app. And learn to read the signs: not every parking space next to a charging point is open to everyone.

If you are just passing through from Spain, the United Kingdom, Germany or Italy, you do not need to apply for anything. What matters most to you are the payment options, the price information and the parking rules at charging points.

Applying for a public charging point

You apply for a public charging point to the municipality where you live. According to NKL Nederland, various municipalities use an online system for submitting and processing applications. One example is laadpaalnodig.nl, which municipalities can configure to suit their own needs.

How your application proceeds depends on how your municipality works with the market:

• Through a charge point operator (CPO). A resident’s application usually goes through a CPO, the company that installs and operates the point. Almost all municipalities have agreements with 1 or more CPOs for installing and operating public charging points.
• Under a permit model. The application then often goes through the municipality’s regular parking policy and permits departments.
• Under a concession or contract model. Here the municipality often sets up a separate desk.

Do not count on quick installation. NKL Nederland describes municipalities where more and more residents are applying for a charging point and waiting times for installation are growing. A public charging point is generally installed for a period of at least 10 to 15 years. Moving or removing it is expensive and requires a great deal of coordination, including with the grid operator. A municipality therefore chooses the location carefully.

Note also that some municipalities and regions are phasing out so-called demand-led installation. There you can no longer simply request a point near your home, or applications are only possible for specific users, such as car sharing providers or interested parties, for example people with disabilities.

The charging ladder: when your application is rejected

Authorities want charging to take place first on private land, then on semi-public land and only after that in public space. This is called the charging ladder. Most municipalities have set this principle down in their charging policy.

In practice, this means an application for a public charging point is rejected if you can park on your own driveway or in a private space in a car park. If you rent a home with such a space, your landlord is not always aware of this, according to NKL Nederland. In that case, municipalities may point the landlord to the policy of charging on private property as much as possible, or give you as a tenant guidance for the conversation with your landlord.

A few special situations:

• Shared land. Some car parks are held in joint ownership, for example at a courtyard development. If you want to install a charging point there, this must be agreed with the neighbours, sometimes through a management association.
• Your own space across the pavement. If municipal land, such as a pavement or cycle path, lies between your home and your own parking space, a cable has to run through public space. This requires municipal approval, and many municipalities do not permit such an extended private connection.

Paying at a public charging point

The RVO National Charging Survey 2026 shows how EV drivers in the Netherlands pay:

• Charge card: 86% pay mainly with a charge card.
• Charging app: 9% use a charging app.
• Autocharge or plug and charge: 2%. The charging point recognises your car and starts the session automatically.
• Contactless payment: 1%.

Demand for the less used options exceeds their use: 15% of EV drivers want to pay contactless and 18% want to use autocharge or plug and charge.

Besides charging with a card, at some points you can charge ad hoc, for example via a QR code. This is particularly handy for visitors from abroad without a Dutch charge card. According to RVO, the price with ad hoc charging is also clearer, because there are fewer price components and 1 price per charging point applies. That is not always the case with a charge card.

Ad hoc charging is not new. In Rotterdam, the city’s first charging hub opened in November 2018, where electric drivers could charge without a charge card for the first time. According to NKL Nederland, users there could pay and start and end the charging session via the Laadpaal app/Last Mile Solutions app, linked to PayPal.

What does charging cost per kWh?

There is no fixed national price per kWh for public charging. The price varies by charging point, operator and charge card. That is exactly what makes it difficult for many drivers.

The RVO National Charging Survey 2026 shows:

• 43% never or mostly do not know in advance what they pay at a public charging point.
• Even just before starting the charging session, 41% never or mostly do not know what it costs.
• At public points outside their own neighbourhood, only 38% often or always know what the session will cost.
• Afterwards the picture is better: over 80% often or always know from the invoice what the session cost, whether at home or elsewhere. Still, 11% never or mostly do not know what they paid even then.

Those who pay themselves pay closer attention: EV drivers who pay for charging themselves often or always know what they will pay near home in 66% of cases. Those who do not pay themselves, for example with a lease car, never or mostly do not know in 70% of cases.

Price differences per kWh matter. According to RVO, an EV driver is on average willing to park 345m further away for a rate €0.10 per kWh lower.

Where is charging more expensive? According to NKL Nederland, it is mainly commercial rapid charging stations that charge a higher price. Timing can also make a difference: when there is plenty of renewable energy from sun and wind, the energy price is generally lower, making charging cheaper, according to NKL Nederland’s Basic set for charging infrastructure.

Parking at a charging point without charging

Whether you may park next to a charging point without charging depends on how the bay is designated. If a municipality wants to reserve a bay solely for charging electric vehicles, a traffic order must be issued, according to NKL Nederland. Where there is such a sign, the bay is meant for charging. A petrol or diesel car, or an electric car that is not charging, should not be there.

Not every space at a charging point is designated this way. At the Rotterdam charging hub from 2018, 4 of the 10 parking spaces were reserved exclusively for electric cars. The other 6 spaces could be used by both electric and non-electric cars, with the intention of making them exclusive later as charging demand grew. The signage there was mounted on the charging point itself and can be moved along when an extra charging space is added. So always check carefully which bay belongs to which sign.

Enforcement and fines

Municipalities agree charging rates with charge point operators, as well as any penalty rates for overstaying at the point. Such a rate is an extra cost you may incur through your charging session if you stay too long. How much it is and when it applies varies by municipality and operator. There is no national amount. So check in the app or on the point whether an overstay rate applies.

On checking your invoice: according to RVO, a large share of drivers say the price on the invoice is always or usually correct. Even so, it pays to review your charging sessions, precisely because so many drivers do not know in advance what they will pay.

Exceptions and special cases

Car sharing. Shared electric cars almost always depend on public charging points. Reserving a bay for a shared car, like a bay solely for charging, requires a traffic order. Some municipalities now accept applications for a public point only from car sharing providers.

People with disabilities. Where municipalities are phasing out demand-led installation, applications sometimes remain possible for interested parties such as people with disabilities.

Lease drivers. The National Charging Survey 2026 shows that of lease drivers who charge at home, 30% receive a fixed reimbursement per kWh and only 4% receive no reimbursement. Of that group, 87% are satisfied with how charging costs are reimbursed and 5% are (very) dissatisfied.

Private car for work. If you use your own electric car for business, reimbursement of your charging costs falls, according to RVO, under the targeted exemption of €0.23 per kilometre for business travel. If your employer reimburses the exact charging costs on top of that mileage allowance, or if the actual charging costs exceed €0.23 per kilometre, the excess is taxable pay.

Bidirectional charging. Many public charging points are already technically capable of feeding power back to the grid (vehicle to grid), but it is up to the municipality whether that function is actually offered. According to RVO, 40% of EV drivers want bidirectional charging at public points.

Checklist before you set off

• Check whether you can charge on your own property: if so, an application for a public point will usually be rejected.
• Find out how your municipality handles applications: online system, CPO, permits department or desk.
• Allow for waiting times for installation.
• Get a charge card or charging app, or make sure you can pay ad hoc via a QR code if you are coming from abroad.
• Check the price per kWh before starting each session, especially at commercial rapid chargers.
• See whether an overstay rate applies at the point.
• Read the sign: in a bay reserved solely for charging, you park only to charge.
• Check your invoice afterwards for the price you actually paid.