OCPI — the Open Charge Point Interface — is the open protocol charging networks use to pass charger data to each other and to the apps and maps drivers use. For a site host, it matters for one practical reason: it decides whether your chargers show up, correctly priced and correctly marked as available, in front of drivers who are not your network’s own customers. Your network’s platform handles it — so it is a question to ask before you sign.
Key Takeaways
- OCPI is the protocol networks use to exchange charger locations, status, tariffs and session records with each other and with apps.
- For a host, it decides visibility: whether drivers outside your network’s own app can find and use your chargers.
- OCPP links your charger to its platform; OCPI links that platform onward. The host’s questions belong in the network agreement.
- Ask where you will be listed, who keeps the data accurate, whose price is shown, and how the listing moves if you switch networks.
What Actually Flows About Your Chargers
Your network’s platform holds the live record of your chargers. Through interfaces such as OCPI, it shares that record onward:
| Data about your site | What it carries | What it means for the host |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Where the chargers are, their connectors and access details | Your site appears in other apps and maps, not only your network’s own |
| Status | Free, in use or out of order, as it changes | Drivers are routed to working chargers — and away from broken ones |
| Tariffs | The price structure that applies at your chargers | The price a roaming driver sees is the one your deal set |
| Sessions | Start, stop and metered energy for each charge | The record both sides later settle accounts from |
The U.S. Department of Energy’s Station Locator shows the public end of the same principle: cross-network search works only because operators publish clean, current data.
Not the Connection Your Charger Itself Uses
Hosts often meet OCPI and OCPP in the same conversation and merge them. They work at different layers: OCPP connects a charger to its own operator’s platform — commands, meter values, fault messages — while OCPI connects that platform to other businesses. Our explainer on OCPP and what operators need from charger hardware covers the charger-side layer, and our guide to how commercial charging stations work sets out the whole chain. The host’s interest is simpler: a charger that talks properly to its platform, and a platform that shares the data onward.
What to Ask Before Your Chargers Join a Network
- Where will my chargers be listed? Which apps, maps and roaming partners receive your location data — automatic, or an add-on?
- Who keeps the data accurate? A wrong connector type or stale status sends drivers to a charger they cannot use. Who corrects errors, and how fast?
- Whose price does the roaming driver see? Confirm the price shown in third-party apps matches the price you agreed.
- What session data do I receive? Session records are your evidence for how busy the site is and what you are owed — ask for them in a checkable form.
- What happens to my listing if we part ways? If you change networks, your chargers’ data has to move with you. Ask how listings are withdrawn and re-published.
The Hardware End of the Data Chain
EVDANCE is a charger manufacturer, not a network: it does not run a platform or hold your site’s data. Its networked stations supply the first link in the chain. The EV-AC03201T dual-connector AC station — two Type 2 connectors, up to 43 kW shared, OCPP 1.6J and RFID — reports to the operator platform the buyer chooses, where onward data exchange is set up. The EV-RHDC30K-L compact DC fast charger, at 22 kW DC on OCPP 1.6J, works the same way. The full range is on our commercial EV charging page. Either way, the OCPI question lands on the network agreement, not the spec sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need OCPI if I own my chargers and use one app?
Not directly. If your drivers all use your operator’s own app, your chargers are visible without onward exchange. OCPI matters when you want reach beyond that one app — roaming drivers, third-party maps, public listings.
Can I check what drivers see about my site?
Yes, and you should. Look your site up in the apps and maps your network named, and compare the connector, price and status shown against reality. A mismatch is a data problem for the operator.
Does OCPI change what a roaming driver pays me?
It carries the tariff; it does not set it. What reaches you from a roaming session is decided by your agreement with your network — why the tariff question belongs in the contract conversation.
Related Reading
- OCPP Explained: What Charge Point Operators Need From EV Charger Hardware
- How Do Commercial EV Charging Stations Work?
- How Much Do EV Charging Stations Charge? Pricing Models Explained
- Where to Find EV Charging Stations: Maps, Apps and Tips
