The official name of the SAE J1772 standard is "SAE Surface Vehicle Recommended Practice J1772, SAE Electric Vehicle Conductive Charge Coupler." In short, this standard constitutes a definition of how a charging station (EVSE or electric vehicle power supply equipment) is connected, communicating with the vehicle. Charge the vehicle. In this standard, the EVSE manages the link from the grid or household power source to the vehicle. Think of it as a smart outlet, communicate with the vehicle to "handshake" and ensure safe charging. Although no federal agency requires the J1772 to sell electric vehicles in the United States, all passenger vehicle manufacturers worldwide now use the J1772.

The car features an intelligent on-board AC-DC converter that rectifies the EVSE AC output and raises (or drops) it to a level suitable for car battery pack charging (not standardized, depending on the vehicle). The AC-DC converter communicates via the J1772 protocol and commands the EVSE to power up.

The initial standard was to provide 80A charging at 240V, although most implementations are 30A or lower. "Level 1" means 120VAC charging (usually less than 16A) and "Level 2" means 240VAC charging (less than 32A). The actual current usage is determined by the vehicle. Most electric cars and plug-in hybrids sold today are equipped with some form of portable J1772 (Class 1) EVSE that can be inserted into a wall.

The J1772 standard and connectors provide Pilot and Proximity pins that detect the EVSE plug when connected (even if it is not charged/charged). The EVSE uses pilot tones to identify the maximum current available to the vehicle. The design of the standard allows the vehicle to choose not to charge if the current required by the vehicle is greater than the current that the EVSE can provide. In general, this will not happen because electric vehicle manufacturers seem to choose to be compatible with the lowest available (13A) charging current (Volt, LEAF and other major supply EVSEs, vehicles can only output this).