Statute Details
- Title: Fire Safety (Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations — Exemption) Order 2022
- Act Code: FSA1993-S386-2022
- Type: Subsidiary Legislation (SL)
- Authorising Act: Fire Safety Act 1993 (power under section 103)
- Enacting Minister: Minister for Home Affairs
- Citation: SL 386/2022
- Commencement: 19 May 2022
- Current status/version: Current version as at 27 Mar 2026 (with amendment effective 16 Mar 2026)
- Amendment: Amended by S 107/2026 with effect from 16/03/2026
- Key provisions: Section 1 (citation and commencement); Section 2 (exemption and definitions)
What Is This Legislation About?
The Fire Safety (Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations — Exemption) Order 2022 (“EV Charger Exemption Order”) is a targeted legal instrument that temporarily—or more accurately, specifically—carves out certain fire-safety regulatory requirements for the installation of electric vehicle (EV) chargers. In plain terms, it allows EV chargers to be installed without having to comply with specified provisions of the Fire Safety Act 1993 and the Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations, subject to defined exceptions.
The Order is best understood as a facilitation measure for Singapore’s EV transition. By exempting EV charger installations from certain statutory and regulatory controls, the Government reduces friction and compliance burden for EV infrastructure deployment. However, the exemption is not blanket: it is carefully limited to the installation of “any EV charger” and then further narrowed by exceptions for chargers located within petrol stations and chargers that are also part of a battery swap station.
From a practitioner’s perspective, the key legal question is not whether EV chargers are “fire-safe” (they must still be safe), but rather which specific legal provisions are displaced by the exemption and when the exemption does not apply. The Order therefore has immediate relevance to licensing, plan approval, compliance checklists, and enforcement risk assessments for developers, building owners, and operators.
What Are the Key Provisions?
1. Citation and commencement (Section 1)
Section 1 provides the formal name and commencement date. The Order is cited as the “Fire Safety (Installation of EV Chargers — Exemption) Order 2022” and comes into operation on 19 May 2022. This matters for determining whether the exemption applies to installations carried out before or after commencement, and for assessing whether any compliance steps were required at the time of installation.
2. Core exemption (Section 2(1))
Section 2(1) is the operative provision. It states that sections 55, 56 and 60 of the Fire Safety Act 1993 and regulation 17 of the Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations do not apply in relation to the installation of any EV charger.
While the extract does not reproduce the text of sections 55, 56, 60 or regulation 17, the legal effect is clear: those provisions are “switched off” for the relevant subject matter (EV charger installation). In practice, this typically means that certain procedural or approval requirements, and/or certain fire safety obligations tied to those provisions, are not triggered for the installation of EV chargers. Lawyers advising on compliance should therefore map the exempted provisions to the compliance workflow used by the client (e.g., whether a particular approval, notice, or certification step is normally required under the Fire Safety Act and regulations).
3. Exceptions that narrow the exemption (Section 2(2))
Section 2(2) provides that the exemption in Section 2(1) does not apply in relation to two categories of EV charger installations:
- (a) EV chargers located within a petrol station
- (b) EV chargers that are also a battery swap station
This is a crucial limitation. It signals that where EV charging infrastructure intersects with higher-risk fuel or battery-swap operations, the legislature did not intend to remove the relevant fire-safety controls. For practitioners, this means that the exemption analysis must be fact-specific: the physical location (within a petrol station) and the operational configuration (battery swap station) can determine whether the statutory/regulatory displacement applies.
4. Definitions (Section 2(3))
Section 2(3) defines key terms used in the exemption. The definitions are legally important because they determine the scope of “electric vehicle”, “EV charger”, and “battery swap station”, among others. The extract provides the following definitions (summarised):
- “electric vehicle”: a motor vehicle propelled wholly or partly by electricity and equipped with a battery.
- “EV charger”: any device used to supply electricity to the battery of an electric vehicle for charging, including wiring, fitting or apparatus connected to the device for that purpose, but not the isolator.
- “battery”: a rechargeable energy storage system that can be recharged externally to derive power to propel the vehicle.
- “swappable battery”: a battery designed to be removed from the vehicle and exchanged for a fully charged battery for propulsion.
- “battery swap station”: a device used to store one or more swappable batteries to enable exchange of depleted swappable batteries for fully charged ones, whether or not it can transfer electricity from a supply source to the stored swappable batteries.
The “not the isolator” carve-out within “EV charger” is particularly noteworthy. It suggests that while the exemption concerns the charging device used to supply electricity to the battery, the isolator is treated as outside the definition of “EV charger” for the purposes of the Order. This can affect how equipment is categorised in technical submissions and compliance documentation.
How Is This Legislation Structured?
The EV Charger Exemption Order is structured as a short subsidiary instrument with a simple two-section layout:
- Section 1 sets out the citation and commencement.
- Section 2 contains the exemption, the exceptions, and the definitions necessary to interpret the scope of the exemption.
There are no additional parts or complex schedules in the extract. The legal work therefore focuses on interpreting Section 2—what is exempt, what is excluded, and how the defined terms apply to the client’s installation configuration.
Who Does This Legislation Apply To?
The Order applies to the installation of EV chargers in Singapore. Although it is framed as an exemption from provisions of the Fire Safety Act and related regulations, the practical beneficiaries and affected parties include:
- Building owners and developers installing EV charging points in buildings or premises;
- Operators of charging facilities (including private and commercial charging networks);
- Petrol station operators (because the exemption does not apply to chargers located within petrol stations);
- Battery swap station operators (because the exemption does not apply to chargers that are also part of such stations);
- Contractors and consultants preparing submissions and compliance documentation for installations.
Importantly, the exemption is not dependent on the identity of the installer; it is dependent on the subject matter (installation of an EV charger) and context (location within a petrol station; or being also a battery swap station). Lawyers should therefore advise clients to document the installation’s factual circumstances carefully, because those facts determine whether the exemption is available.
Why Is This Legislation Important?
This Order is significant because it directly affects the compliance obligations that would otherwise arise under the Fire Safety Act 1993 and the Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations. For practitioners, it can change the legal risk profile of an EV charging project: if certain provisions do not apply, then certain procedural steps or compliance requirements may not be necessary for the installation of the charger itself.
However, the exceptions in Section 2(2) mean that the exemption is not a universal “EV charging is exempt” rule. Installations within petrol stations and installations connected to battery swap stations remain within the ambit of the relevant fire-safety provisions. This creates a practical compliance bifurcation: the same type of EV charger may be treated differently depending on where it is installed and how the charging ecosystem is configured.
Finally, the definitions and the “not the isolator” limitation are critical for legal-technical alignment. In disputes or regulatory reviews, misclassification of equipment can lead to incorrect reliance on the exemption. A lawyer advising on submissions should ensure that the client’s technical description matches the statutory definitions—particularly for “EV charger” and “battery swap station”—and that the installation boundaries are clearly delineated.
Related Legislation
- Fire Safety Act 1993 (including sections 55, 56 and 60 as referenced by the Order)
- Fire Safety (Building and Pipeline Fire Safety) Regulations (including regulation 17 as referenced by the Order)
- Fire Safety (Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations — Exemption) Order 2022 (SL 386/2022) as amended by S 107/2026
Source Documents
This article provides an overview of the Fire Safety (Installation of Electric Vehicle Charging Stations — Exemption) Order 2022 for legal research and educational purposes. It does not constitute legal advice. Readers should consult the official text for authoritative provisions.