Frequently Asked Questions

For the Standard Rebate 

• $2,500 toward the purchase or lease of a new eligible vehicle with a battery capacity of 10 kWh or more.
• $1,500 toward the purchase or lease of a new eligible vehicle with a battery capacity of less than 10 kWh. 
• $750 toward the purchase or lease of an eligible zero-emission motorcycle. 

For the Charge Ahead Rebate

• $5,000 for Charge Ahead applicants with Date of Purchase/Lease on/after Jan 1, 2022.

Standard and Charge Ahead Rebates can be combined for up to $7,500 toward the purchase or lease of a new eligible vehicle.

Yes, if you purchase or lease a new eligible vehicle and meet all requirements, you can apply for the Standard Rebate and Charge Ahead Rebate for a total rebate of up to $7,500.

Applications are processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Once we have received your application, we will send an email from oregoncvrp@energycenter.org with additional steps. If your rebate application is approved, you will receive an email with an expected timeframe to receive your rebate.

Individuals (Oregon Residents) can apply for the Standard or Charge Ahead Rebate at the time of purchase or lease, called point of sale, of a new vehicle at a Participating Dealership. Only Participating Dealerships may offer the rebate at point of sale. You can find the locations of Participating Dealers on this map. If you purchased or leased your vehicle through a Participating Dealer, the dealership will complete and submit the application on your behalf; you will receive the rebate amount off the purchase or lease price.

For the Charge Ahead Rebate to be applied at the time of purchase or lease, applicants must first apply for and be issued a Charge Ahead Prequalification Voucher. Applicants can apply to be prequalified by visiting the application page (completing the application) to verify their income meets the eligibility requirements. Without a Charge Ahead Prequalification Voucher, applicants must apply post purchase for the rebate. Validity of the voucher must be confirmed by the dealer prior to applying the rebate to the purchase or lease.

Charge Ahead Applicants purchasing a used vehicle and Organizations (business, nonprofits, and government agencies) cannot apply at point of sale.

Yes, you must submit a rebate application within six (6) months of the date of purchase or lease of your vehicle. For vehicles ordered from an original equipment manufacturer (OEM), the date of first registration will be considered the date of purchase or lease.

For mailed-in applications, the post-mark date will be used to determine eligibility.

Oregon Residents
If you have not yet purchased or leased a new, eligible EV, you can visit a participating dealership to apply directly at the point of sale. Applicants eligible for the Charge Ahead rebate will need to first get prequalified through DEQ's income verification portal.

Standard Rebate for Residents
If you have already purchased or leased your vehicle, start by creating a program account on the online portal. After creating your account you will land on your program dashboard where you can begin a standard rebate application. The following documents will be required to submit your standard rebate application:

• Proof of Oregon residency
• Complete purchase/lease agreement
• Proof of vehicle registration (temporary or permanent)

Standard Rebate for Organizations and Charge Ahead Applications After Purchase or Lease
Mail your application packet. Please submit the following required documents:

• Rebate Application form
• Proof of Oregon residency
• Complete purchase/lease agreement
• Proof of vehicle registration (temporary or permanent)
• Business license or articles of incorporation (Organizations only)

Mail the completed application packet to the Center for Sustainable Energy (CSE), the Program Administrator: Center for Sustainable Energy, ATTN: Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, 3980 Sherman Street, Suite 170, San Diego, CA 92110.

Low-income service providers that are eligible for the Charge Ahead rebate will need to attest to being registered as a 501(c)(3) that provides health, dental, social, financial, energy conservation or other assistive services to low- or moderate-income households in Oregon.

Charge Ahead income documentation will be requested after CSE receives the required documents above. Do not submit any income verification documents until requested by CSE.

No, we are unable to accept emailed applications due to security and privacy concerns. Please mail your application to: Center for Sustainable Energy, Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, 3980 Sherman Street, Suite 170, San Diego, CA 92110.

Once we have received your application, we will send an email from oregoncvrp@energycenter.org with additional steps. After reviewing your application, CSE will notify you of your eligibility by email. The notification will state your application (a) is approved, (b) is incomplete and you will need to send additional information or (c) is ineligible and you do not qualify for a rebate.

If applying for a Charge Ahead Prequalification Voucher, you will need to provide DEQ with information about your household size, members, contact information and either:

1. Proof of current enrollment in an eligible public assistance program (a detailed list can be found below), or
2. Authorization for the Department of Revenue to review your Oregon State Tax transcripts to verify you meet the income requirements.

If applying post-purchase or lease, you will need to submit a completed and signed IRS Form 4506-C and a Household Summary Form OR proof of enrollment in an eligible public assistance program at the time your vehicle was purchased. If you participated in a public assistance program at the time you purchased or leased your vehicle, an IRS Form 4506-C form is not required. Please provide documentation indicating program participation for the year in which you applied for the rebate. Accepted public assistance programs include:

• Oregon Health Plan/Medicaid
• SNAP: Acceptance Letter
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
• Free and Reduced-Price Lunch
• HUD Housing Choice Voucher
• LIHEAP (home energy assistance)
• Employment-related daycare
• Women, Infants and Children (WIC)
• Trimet reduced fare program for low-income rider
• Individual Development Account (IDA) holder

For Applicants who are not qualified through a public assistance program and have not filed the tax year requested, CSE will request income and asset documentation. Examples of additional documentation may include W-2s, bank statements, etc.

Please see the OCVRP Implementation Manual for additional detail.

CSE will complete Income Verification for the year the vehicle was purchased or leased. CSE will request a tax transcript from the IRS for the Applicant, and all other household members age 18 and older, from the year the vehicle was purchased or leased. If the tax transcript for that year is not available at the time the application is processed, the tax transcript from the previous year as required to have been filed by the IRS will be requested.

Please see the OCVRP Implementation Manual for additional detail.

The Oregon Clean Vehicle Rebate Program (OCVRP) calculates your gross household income, not adjusted gross income. For the purposes of OCVRP, gross income includes both taxable and non-taxable income sources. This includes, but is not limited to, the following:

Wages, unemployment, workers' compensation, Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, public assistance, veterans' payments, survivor benefits, pension or retirement income, interest, dividends, rents, royalties, income from estates, trusts, educational assistance, alimony, child support, assistance from outside the household, and other miscellaneous sources.

The Administrator will review the following sections of an applicant’s federal tax return to determine gross annual income:

1. On IRS Form 1040: Sum of lines 1–7, and point 2 below (if applicable)
   • Line 9 is not used to calculate total gross income for OCVRP.
   • Line 1 is equivalent to line 1z on the 2022 IRS Form 1040.
2. On IRS Form 1040 Schedule 1: Sum of lines 1–8z
   • If line 8, “Other Income,” is negative, then it will not be included as part of the Program’s income calculation, unless an exception applies.
   • If line 8 on Schedule 1 is negative, then the corresponding “Statement” filed with your 1040 must be provided. The Administrator will review documentation for possible exceptions. One such exception is the inclusion of a negative community property adjustment. Net operating losses carried over from previous years are not an exception.

DEQ can provide documents in an alternate format or in a language other than English upon request. Call DEQ at (800) 452-4011 or email deqinfo@deq.state.or.us.

Yes. In order to receive a rebate, your vehicle must be purchased through a licensed vehicle dealership or an original equipment manufacturer (OEM). If a vehicle is purchased through an OEM, the OEM cannot have any licensed, franchised, new automobile dealerships in Oregon.

No, only Oregon residents or business, nonprofits, and government agencies domiciled in Oregon qualify for the rebate. The vehicle must also be registered in Oregon for two years.

If the buyer is an Oregon resident and the vehicle is registered in Oregon, vehicles purchased outside of Oregon may qualify. If purchasing a vehicle outside of Oregon, the vehicle will be subject to the Oregon Vehicle Use Tax.

Using Internet Explorer (IE) for the online application process is no longer supported. You may encounter performance or functional issues when using this browser to submit an application. For the best experience, we recommend using the most current version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox or Microsoft Edge when applying.

An organization that provides health, dental, social, financial, energy conservation or other assistive services to low or moderate income households in Oregon. Providers must be registered as a 501(c)(3) organization based in Oregon or have an Oregon-based affiliate at the time the eligible vehicle is purchased or leased.

Charge Ahead Applicants can apply for a prequalification voucher through a DEQ webform. Applicants must complete a webform providing DEQ with their name, driver’s license number, contact information, household member information and proof of income eligibility. Proof of income can be demonstrated by providing proof of enrollment in an approved public assistance program or by authorizing the Department of Revenue to verify household income through State of Oregon tax transcripts.

Tesla Model Y vehicles purchased/leased between January 1, 2023 and April 8, 2023 do not meet OCVRP vehicle eligibility requirements, and are not eligible for the program.

For Tesla Model Y vehicles purchased/leased on or before 12/31/2022
After December 31, 2022, the Tesla Model Y was no longer eligible to receive a rebate due to the vehicle not meeting program requirements. Any completed vehicle purchases or leases for eligible model years (2020-2022 model years) prior to January 1, 2023 will be honored with the rebate. The vehicle purchase date is based on the first date of registration, so to qualify for the rebate, first date of registration (odometer date) must be on or before December 31, 2022. To be eligible, the applicant must meet all eligibility requirements and must apply within 180 days of registering the vehicle.

For 2023 Tesla Model Y vehicles purchased/leased between 4/9/2023 – 4/30/2023
2023 Tesla Model Y vehicle purchases and leases completed between April 9, 2023 and April 30, 2023, when the vehicle met program requirements, are eligible for the rebate. Any Tesla Model Y vehicle purchases or leases made in 2023, outside that window, do not qualify for the rebate. The vehicle purchase date is based on the first date of registration, so to qualify for the rebate, first date of registration (odometer date) must be between April 9, 2023 through April 30, 2023. To be eligible, the applicant must meet all eligibility requirements and must apply within 180 days of registering the vehicle.

Dealers can apply to be a participating dealership anytime. Before starting the enrollment process please review the step by step instructions on the Become a Participating Dealership page.

To provide the rebates as "cash on the hood”, you will need to collect, complete and submit the following information for each Applicant.

1. Proof of temporary or permanent Oregon vehicle registration
2. Copy of the sales or lease contract
3. Proof of Oregon residency (e.g., Oregon driver license)
4. A signed Rebate Assignment Form
5. A valid Charge Ahead Prequalification Voucher number. (Charge Ahead only)

Prequalified Oregon residents can apply for both the Charge Ahead and Standard rebate at dealership point of sale. Before offering the Charge Ahead rebate to applicants, dealers should first verify the prequalification voucher through DEQ’s prequal verification portal.

The Participating Dealer must fill out the point-of-sale application online on behalf of the Applicant. The Applicant must sign the Rebate Assignment Form, and the dealer must upload the Rebate Assignment Form to the online application as a required document.

No, all dealership point-of-sales applications must be completed online and submitted electronically through the dealership program account on the secure OCVRP website.

Vehicles must be continuously registered in Oregon for at least two (2) years. Vehicles must be purchased through a vehicle dealership licensed in the state of Oregon or an original equipment manufacturer that does not have licensed dealerships in the state of Oregon; no person-to-person sales are eligible.

DEQ receives annual funding for the rebate program. Rebate availability depends on program funding at the time of vehicle purchase or lease.

Due to overwhelming demand and limited funding, rebates will be suspended as of May 1, 2023. Any vehicles purchased or leased on or after May 1, 2023, will not be eligible to apply for the rebate once the program reopens. Once funding is available again, the program will announce its reopening.