Due diligence is the formal step that follows screening and an accepted offer: you stop reading the seller’s summary and start reading the seller’s documents. The checklist below organises the requests into four classes — agreements, operating records, hardware history, and compliance — and for each one, the cross-check that turns a document into evidence. Anything that cannot be documented gets priced as absent. Run the process with legal and accounting advisers; this checklist structures their questions, it does not replace their advice.
Key Takeaways
- Request documents in four classes — agreements, operating records, hardware history, compliance — plus the financial file.
- Every document earns its place by surviving a cross-check against another source.
- Verify uptime and utilisation from raw platform records; programme standards describe funded sites, not this seller.
- Gaps resolve as a price move, contract protection, or walking away — never as a conversation.
The Document Checklist
| Document class | Ask for | Cross-check against |
|---|---|---|
| Corporate and host agreements | Company ownership records; the host agreement or lease for every site, including assignment and change-of-control clauses | Remaining term against your holding horizon; written confirmation from host counterparties where the deal depends on it |
| Session and revenue records | Platform exports for the full period the price relies on: sessions, energy delivered, uptime, revenue; the platform’s settlement statements | A three-way match — platform exports against settlements against the revenue the accounts report; gaps in any leg are findings |
| Hardware and service history | A unit register with models, serial numbers and install dates; installer certificates; fault and repair logs; warranty status per unit | A physical sample on site: units, serials and condition against the register, and repair frequency against the story you were told |
| Compliance and permits | Installation permits and inspection sign-offs; for grant-funded sites, the programme conditions and the reporting filed under them | The authority’s and programme’s own documents — conditions such as the NEVI standards in 23 CFR Part 680 bind the operator, whoever owns it |
| Financial records | Filed accounts, equipment finance or security documents, and any debts attached to the chargers themselves | Your accountant’s review: whether the hardware you are buying is also collateral for someone else’s loan |
The Uptime Claim, Specifically
Sellers lead with utilisation and uptime because those numbers carry the price. Verify both from the platform’s own session records, not from a dashboard screenshot in the sales pack: export the raw sessions, recompute the busy hours, and compare the fault log against the claimed availability. Hold the figures to the right standard — the above-97% average annual uptime in the NEVI rules is a U.S. programme requirement for funded corridor stations, not a description of this seller’s network. A business that genuinely performs will have the records to prove it; that is what the records are for.
When the File Has Holes
Gaps are findings, not inconveniences. A missing year of session records means that year’s revenue is unverified; host agreements that cannot be assigned mean the sites may not be yours for long; a unit with no service history is a repair budget you have not seen yet. Each gap resolves in one of three ways: the price moves, the contract protects you — retention and warranty mechanics your lawyer drafts for the purpose — or you walk away. What a gap should never do is be explained away in conversation.
Planning the Hardware You Inherit
Due diligence also sizes the work after completion: units near the end of their support life, sites that need additional bays, replacements to schedule. EVDANCE supplies that layer for its own range — from shared-bay AC stations to the compact EV-RHDC30K-L DC unit at 22 kW with OCPP 1.6J and IP54 — with a 3-year standard warranty on new units. Exact-model documents for an inherited fleet, or a replacement plan across the commercial range, can be requested through contact us with the unit register from this checklist as the starting point.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does due diligence on a charging business take?
There is no standard period; the seller’s document readiness sets the pace. A complete file moves in weeks of document work, while missing records extend the process — or end it.
What if the seller will not share session records?
Then the revenue is unverified, and unverified revenue should be priced as such or treated as a reason to withdraw. That judgement belongs to you and your advisers, made on the documents you did receive.
Do charger warranties transfer to the new owner?
Only where the manufacturer’s written terms say so. Confirm transferability per model, in writing, inside this checklist — never assume a warranty follows the hardware.
Related Reading
- How to Open an EV Charging Station: Step by Step
- How to Get an EV Charging Station Franchise (and What to Check)
- How Much Does It Cost to Install a Commercial EV Charging Station?
