How to Legalise an EV Charging Point in a Shared Garage in Catalonia

Legalising an EV charging point in a shared garage in Catalonia involves several separate tasks. Before work starts, you need to assess electrical feasibility, choose a connection arrangement, prepare the required technical documentation and notify the owners’ association where applicable. The installation must then be tested and certified, inspected by an authorised inspection body if required, and registered or updated in Catalonia’s RITSIC industrial safety register.

The correct route depends on whether the charger is individual or collective, indoors or outdoors, private or publicly accessible, as well as its planned power and charging mode. Checking these points before buying equipment can prevent an unsuitable design, unexpected building work or a connection that exceeds the available electrical capacity.

Check electrical feasibility before choosing the charger

Start by defining the installation as a whole: one parking space or several, private use or public access, indoor or outdoor location, planned power and alternating-current or mode 4 charging. The building’s use also matters, as does any existing communal charging backbone. These details determine the connection options, technical documentation and potential inspection requirements.

A technical review should examine the supply origin, available power, meter-room and distribution-board capacity, cable route and length, conductor sizes, protective devices and voltage drop. It should also consider future chargers and whether dynamic load management could avoid unnecessary increases in contracted power. The Spanish low-voltage rules, including ITC-BT-52, permit different connection arrangements but require the selected arrangement to appear in the technical documentation. [3]

Where available, obtain the garage’s existing project or technical report, electrical certificate, latest inspection record, RITSIC registration evidence and diagrams of communal boards and lines. A RITSIC receipt can prove registration, but it may not contain the drawings and calculations needed for a feasibility assessment. Missing records may therefore require additional site investigation rather than assuming the installation cannot proceed.

• Supply from the dwelling’s electricity meter.
• A separate meter and supply for the charging point.
• A communal supply with an authorised metering and cost-allocation system.
• A collective charging circuit with dynamic load management.
• Capacity for future chargers and extensions.

Notify the owners’ association correctly

For an individual installation in Catalonia, the technical proposal must be sent to the president or administrator of the owners’ association 30 days before work begins. After completion, the corresponding technical certification must also be supplied. During the initial period, the association may propose a reasonable alternative that better serves the community’s general interests. If that alternative is not implemented within two months, the owner may proceed with the original proposal. [2]

This notification is not a substitute for electrical legalisation, registration or any applicable municipal procedure. It should identify the proposed cable route, conduits and effects on communal areas, with evidence of when it was received. Although the Catalan Civil Code uses the expression “technical project”, this does not mean that every individual charger requires a full electrical project signed by an engineer: under the REBT, a technical design report may be sufficient in some cases. [2] [3]

Obtain case-specific advice where the parking space is rented, belongs to a garage sub-community, is held under an administrative concession or has uncertain ownership. A collective system, use of communal electricity or wider alteration of shared electrical equipment may also require decisions beyond the procedure for an individual charging point.

• Prepare the technical information before giving notice.
• Send it to the president or property administrator and retain proof of receipt.
• Allow the required 30 days before starting work.
• Assess any reasonable communal alternative formally proposed.
• Send the final technical certification after completion.

Decide between a technical report, project and OCA inspection

Every charging installation needs prior technical documentation, but not every charger needs a full project. Under ITC-BT-04, a project is required where the planned charging infrastructure exceeds 50 kW, where an outdoor charging installation exceeds 10 kW, or where the installation includes any mode 4 charging station. If more than one electrical classification applies, the strictest requirement prevails. Classification must consider the planned infrastructure, not merely the rating printed on one charger. [3]

An indoor, lower-powered point outside the compulsory-project categories may normally be documented through a technical design report, known locally as a memòria tècnica de disseny. In an existing residential building, a project is not required solely because the car park has mechanical ventilation, or natural ventilation and more than five spaces, provided the new charging infrastructure does not meet another condition that independently requires one. [3]

Charging installations falling within the project thresholds are also subject to an initial inspection before the commissioning documentation is completed. In Catalonia, these are classified among P1 installations and inspected by an authorised control body, commonly called an OCA. Canal Empresa states that regulated periodic inspections generally take place every five years, with a stated ten-year exception for buildings used mainly as dwellings. The classification and current inspection timetable should be confirmed for the particular installation. [3] [4] [8]

• Indoor installation outside the project categories: usually a technical design report.
• Planned charging infrastructure above 50 kW: project required.
• Outdoor charging installation above 10 kW: project required.
• Any mode 4 charging station: project required.
• Another stricter electrical classification: apply the stricter rule.

Installation, certification and RITSIC registration

The work must be carried out by an authorised low-voltage electrical installation company. After installation, it performs the required checks and issues the electrical installation certificate. Where an initial OCA inspection applies, any defects must be corrected and a favourable result obtained before completing the responsible declaration and registration process. [3] [4]

The charging infrastructure must then be entered in or used to update the RITSIC, the Register of Technical Industrial Safety Installations of Catalonia. Depending on the circumstances, the filing may be treated as a new installation, modification or extension. RITSIC should not be confused with RASIC: RITSIC records the installation, while RASIC covers authorised industrial safety agents, including installers and inspection bodies. An installer’s authorised status does not prove that a particular charger has been registered. [5]

Canal Empresa says the holder must retain the technical records and registration evidence throughout the installation’s service life. For a modification or extension supported by a technical report, the file includes the responsible declaration, design report, single-line diagram, installation certificate, operating and maintenance instructions, an updated route drawing and the RITSIC receipt. Project and OCA documents must be added where applicable. Confirm current forms, fees and online procedures with Canal Empresa because administrative requirements can change. [5]

• Technical design report or project and single-line diagram.
• Electrical installation certificate.
• Favourable OCA certificate, where required.
• Operating and maintenance instructions.
• Updated drawing of the installed cable route and equipment location.

Check municipal, supply and public-access requirements

Electrical registration does not settle every possible municipal issue. Check the relevant council procedure if the work involves substantial drilling or chases, new external conduits, façade equipment, civil works, protected elements, occupation of the public highway or a material alteration to a commercial car park. Not every private charger requires planning permission, but not every installation is exempt. In Barcelona, certain charging systems associated with car parks or business activities may also fall under specific fire-safety criteria. [7]

Power and supply arrangements are separate from legalisation. The project may require an increase in contracted power, a new supply, changes to the meter room or work by the distribution company. There is no reliable universal completion period: timing depends on whether a contractual adjustment is enough or whether network work, new equipment and permits are needed. Dynamic load management may be an alternative where the existing capacity is limited, subject to the technical assessment.

Publicly accessible points have an additional Generalitat de Catalunya communication procedure covering commissioning, modifications, changes of charge point operator, known as the CPO, and decommissioning. This is separate from the electrical certification and RITSIC process and does not normally apply to a private charger serving an individual residential parking space. Procedures, forms and fees can change, so check the current Canal Empresa and council information before filing. [6]

• Ask whether municipal works or activity procedures apply.
• Separate distributor or electricity retailer tasks from RITSIC registration.
• Request an itemised quotation for equipment, cabling, building work and technical documentation.
• Include project design, OCA inspection, registration fees and distributor work where applicable.
• For public access, complete the additional Generalitat communication.

Frequently asked questions

How much does it cost to install and legalise an EV charger?

There is no single official total price. Cost depends on the charger, distance to the parking space, cable route, protective devices, building work, load management, technical report or project, OCA inspection, registration fees, distributor work and any municipal charges. Request an itemised quotation and verify current public fees and local taxes with the relevant authority.

How long does the process take?

There is no standard overall timescale. For the regulated individual case in Catalonia, the technical documentation must be sent to the owners’ association 30 days before work starts. Feasibility checks, installation, any OCA inspection, RITSIC filing and supply or municipal procedures add further time. Network work, new metering equipment or permits can extend the process.

Does a private wallbox need the public charging point procedure?

Normally no. The Generalitat’s specific communication procedure is for publicly accessible charging points and covers commissioning, modification, change of CPO and decommissioning. A private residential charger still needs the electrical documentation, certification and applicable RITSIC filing, but public-access communication is a separate requirement.