Accessible EV Charging Stalls: New ADA Rules for Oregon Lots

A New Requirement Catching Up to a Fast Trend

EV charging stations went from rare to common in Oregon parking lots in just a few years, and accessibility guidance has been catching up. Recent federal accessibility guidance addresses EV charging stalls directly, setting out how a charging station should be made usable by people with disabilities. For any Oregon business or property adding chargers, this guidance changes how the charging stalls get laid out.

This page covers accessible EV charging for Oregon lots: what the guidance calls for, how it interacts with your existing accessible-parking count, and how to plan chargers so they serve everyone. The general accessible-parking standard is in our ADA parking compliance guide for Oregon. This is general guidance based on current accessibility direction, and the specifics continue to develop.

What Makes an EV Charging Stall Accessible

The core idea is that a charging stall has to be usable by a person with a disability, which means more than just a wide space. The accessibility guidance for EV charging generally addresses:

• An access aisle. Like an accessible parking space, an accessible charging stall needs an adjacent access aisle so a person using a wheelchair has room to get out of the vehicle and reach the charger. The aisle striping follows the same logic as our ADA access aisle striping spec covers.
• A clear route to the charger. A person has to be able to travel from the vehicle to the charger's controls and connector, which means an accessible route and a clear floor space at the charger.
• Reachable controls. The charger's interface, the screen, payment, and connector, should be within accessible reach ranges so a person seated in a wheelchair can operate it.
• Connector and cable usability. The cable and connector should be manageable, which affects how the charger is mounted and positioned.

The guidance generally calls for at least some of a site's charging stalls to be accessible, scaling with the number of chargers, so a larger charging installation includes more accessible stalls.

The Key Point: It Does Not Reduce Your Accessible Count

The single most important interaction for existing lots: accessible EV charging stalls are generally treated as a separate requirement, and adding them should not reduce the number of standard accessible parking spaces your lot already needs.

In other words, you cannot convert one of your required accessible parking spaces into an accessible EV charging stall and call your accessible parking satisfied. The accessible-parking count, calculated from our accessible parking count requirements page, stands on its own. The accessible charging stalls are additional. A lot that needs four accessible parking spaces and is adding EV charging needs those four accessible spaces plus accessible charging stalls, not four total split between the two.

This is the mistake to avoid when planning chargers: treating an accessible parking space and an accessible charging stall as interchangeable. They are not.

Planning Chargers and Accessible Parking Together

Because the two requirements are separate but related, the smart approach is to plan them together rather than adding chargers as an afterthought:

• Confirm your required accessible parking count is met and will stay met
• Determine how many of your charging stalls need to be accessible based on the total chargers installed
• Lay out the accessible charging stalls with their access aisles, clear floor space at the charger, and a route to the controls
• Position chargers so the controls and connector are within accessible reach
• Keep the accessible parking and accessible charging serving the relevant entrances, with routes that work, per our ADA accessible route to the door page

Doing this at the design stage is far cheaper than retrofitting after the chargers are installed in the wrong configuration.

Why This Matters Now in Oregon

Oregon is aggressive on EV adoption, and chargers are appearing at hotels, retail centers, workplaces, and public lots across the state. As they proliferate, accessible charging moves from a niche concern to a standard part of any charging installation. A property that installs chargers without accessible stalls is building in a compliance gap from day one, and unlike a faded stripe, it is a gap baked into the construction.

For owners adding charging, the practical message is simple: bring accessibility into the charger plan from the start, keep it separate from your accessible-parking count, and lay out the accessible stalls so a person using a wheelchair can actually charge their vehicle. This is general guidance reflecting current accessibility direction, and your specific site and the evolving requirements should be confirmed with an accessibility professional and a site survey.