NEVI Guidance: What’s changed, and what’s next

In February, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) paused new NEVI obligations and rescinded prior annual plan approvals pending revised guidance. This move froze approximately $2.74 billion in available, unobligated funds for Fiscal Years 2022-2025 while new guidance was drafted. Some states challenged the freeze and, in June, a federal court ordered FHWA to resume obligations for 14 plaintiff states, leaving a patchwork restart.

On August 13th, FHWA released their long-awaited interim guidance. The new Interim Final Guidance (IFG) made a few structural changes to the program, giving states more flexibility in implementing their NEVI programs. Specifically, changes in the IFG are:

• The guidance narrowed what FHWA Division Offices will review in state NEVI plans to three items only: (1) how funds will be used, (2) a Community Engagement Outcomes Report (23 CFR 680.112(d)), and (3) physical/cybersecurity strategies (23 CFR 680.106(h)). States may include more, but FHWA has noted that they won’t review it.

• The IFG dropped the requirement that charging stations must be spaced 50 miles apart and lets states set distances along Alternative Fuel Corridors (AFCs) based on grid constraints, geography, cost, and context.

• Certification of “fully built out” for AFCs is also simplified to a state letter with a reasonable explanation for their view of what “fully built out” means. Once FHWA certifies built-out status, states may then continue to invest in off-corridor, publicly accessible sites.

What didn’t change: minimum standards for power, number of ports, uptime, payment, data and reporting, and interoperability still apply. Data will continue to flow via EV-ChART for reporting. Eligible uses, contracting with private entities, and the 80 percent federal share are also unchanged.

FHWA asked states to resubmit plans covering all unobligated FY22–FY26 funds. Plans are currently due within 30 days of issuance.

While it’s too soon to tell the reaction from state DOT offices in charge of NEVI programs, advocacy groups such as the Electrification Coalition urge quick resubmittals that focus on the three statutory items, a continued use of  approximately 50-mile spacing as a planning benchmark (not a mandate), and proactive identification of opportunities off-corridor once “built-out” is certified.

Before the February pause, many states had moved beyond planning and were building momentum in implementing NEVI. As of August 2025, 84 percent of states have issued solicitations and 73 percent issued awards, of which 42 percent already opened NEVI-funded stations.*  States reported a minimum of $544M in funding awarded and a combined 81,700 AFC miles had been designated overall in NEVI Rounds 1–7 (see Figure 1).

Figure 1. Progress Towards Implementing NEVI (as of August 2025)

Per the February 8th memo from FHW to states, plan approvals were previously rescinded and were awaiting guidance before submitting plans for approval. States have 30 days from interim guidance issuance (August 13th) to re-submit plans to FHWA. Source: EV States Clearinghouse

When published, the IFG was intended to pare back to core statutory requirements, loosen siting to fit real-world constraints, and simplify “built-out” certification while still keeping technical standards intact. From the state perspective, there is now a push to resubmit state plans per the new guidance and, where allowable, resume obligating unobligated funding. We’ll continue tracking approvals, obligations, and openings in the NEVI Awards Dashboard and report updates in future digests as data becomes available.

* In all instances, reference to “State” includes Puerto Rico and the District of Columbia. Under the NEVI Program, “state” is given the same meaning as in Section 101 of Title 23, United States Code.