Eichrecht

What is Eichrecht?

Eichrecht is Germany’s calibration law governing measuring devices used in commercial transactions. In EV charging, it applies to public charging stations in Germany that bill drivers based on kilowatt-hour (kWh) consumption.

The law ensures that electricity sold through public charging stations is measured, billed, and presented to drivers in a verifiable way.

Eichrecht is composed of several regulations:

• Calibration Law (German: Mess- und Eichgesetz – MessEG): This law provides the foundation for deploying measurement instruments and emphasizes the need for accurate measurement.
• Calibration Regulation (German: Mess- und Eichverordnung – MessEV): These regulations include provisions and guidelines for a variety of meters, including electricity meters used in EV charging stations, describing how the meters should be calibrated.
• Regulations on price indication: These regulations aim to ensure transparency and clarity to consumers about what they are being billed for and dictate how pricing should be indicated.

What are the requirements of Eichrecht for EV charging?

Eichrecht sets clear technical and operational requirements for how charging sessions are measured, recorded, and presented to drivers.

1. Charging scenarios

   Eichrecht applies when the driver must pay for EV charging in Germany, so clearly, this includes public and semi-public charging scenarios. If an employee must pay for EV charging at private workplace chargers, then those must also comply with Eichrecht. Workplace chargers where charging is free for employees, and home chargers solely for private use are exempt.

   

2. Accuracy and transparency

   The requirements for Eichrecht are clear for metering accuracy, pricing transparency, and consumer verification:

   • certified energy meters: Charging stations must use an electricity meter certified under the European Measuring Instruments Directive (MID) by an authorized notified body. In Germany, the meter must also comply with MessEG and MessEV and be approved by the National Metrology Institute of Germany (Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt – PTB). The meter must periodically calibrate the amount of energy delivered.
   • clear display of charging data: The charging station must display the amount of energy for which the driver is being charged, along with the date and time of the transaction. Drivers must be able to verify the charges through an external app or web portal.
   • kWh-based billing structure: EV charging tariffs must be based on measured kWh consumption. Flat session rates or purely time-based tariffs are not permitted. Time-of-use pricing is allowed when energy charges remain kWh-based. Additional fees, such as charging or parking time, may be applied but must be clearly itemized and separated from the energy charge on the invoice.
   • home charging reimbursement: Companies that reimburse employees for home charging must ensure reimbursement is based on data from MID-certified meters to maintain accurate and compliant billing.

3. Data and security

Before being sent to the Charge Point Management System (CPMS) in the back end, meter data must be digitally signed with a private key that is securely stored on the charger. This signature ensures the data is original and has not been tampered with.

The backend system must securely store the following data points for each transaction:

• energy delivered
• timestamps
• unique ID of the EVSE or the meter
• customer ID and/or transaction ID
• digital signature of the dataset

This ensures EV billing is based only on authenticated and traceable metering data.

How can drivers verify their charging session?

Eichrecht requires that drivers be able to independently verify the details of their charging session. Since data transmitted from the EVSE to the back-end platform is digitally signed with a securely stored private key, it can be validated using the corresponding public key. This public key must be made available to the driver, either displayed on the charging station, on the invoice, or accessed via a QR code at the charger.

Given the public key, drivers can verify the charging session data using an independent application such as transparency software available from the Software Alliance for E-mobility (S.A.F.E).

Who must comply with Eichrecht?

Eichrecht applies to any party involved in providing or operating public EV charging in Germany where electricity is billed per kWh. Compliance responsibilities vary by role:

• Manufacturers: must supply charging stations and meters that are certified under MessEG and MessEV requirements and hardware must support secure, signed metering data and meet PTB approval standards
• Charge point operators: responsible for deploying certified hardware, ensuring accurate kWh-based billing, securely storing signed charging session data, and enabling driver verification through transparency tools
• eMobility service providers: need to ensure that billing information presented to drivers reflects the certified metering data and provides clear, transparent session details in accordance with Eichrecht pricing regulations

To meet Eichrecht standards, hardware, backend platforms, and billing systems must work in sync so every charging session can be validated by the driver.

What does Eichrecht mean for the future?

Although Eichrecht is specific to Germany, it reflects a broader shift toward stricter metering accuracy, billing transparency, and data verification in EV charging. As electric mobility expands across Europe and globally, regulators are placing greater emphasis on consumer protection and standardized billing practices. Eichrecht may serve as a reference model for other markets developing their own frameworks for secure, kWh-based charging and verifiable transaction data. For charging operators, this signals a continued move toward greater system integrity, interoperability, and audit readiness as EV infrastructure scales.

Ensure Eichrecht compliance with Driivz

The Driivz EV Charging and Energy Management Platform enables network operators to validate charge session data and share it with drivers so they can be fully compliant with Eichrecht. Key capabilities include:

• Secure transaction data management: enterprise-grade handling and storage of charging session data to help ensure integrity and traceability
• Flexible billing: advanced tariff management supporting kWh-based pricing and clearly itemized billing structures
• Hardware-agnostic architecture: interoperability with certified EVSE hardware to support compliant metering and secure data exchange
• Centralized visibility and reporting: access to detailed transaction records and system insights to support transparency and audit readiness