How to check a solar installer's license: what each state record proves and what it does not

Three records that sound alike and prove different things

People say an installer is certified, licensed or registered as if they were one thing. They are issued by different bodies for different purposes, and each fails to prove something the others do.

California: several classes may install, and sellers register too

The Contractors State License Board's consumer guide to solar says there are thousands of licensed contractors who can legally install photovoltaic systems because they hold one or more classifications. A general engineering contractor (A) can; a general building contractor (B) can within the definition of Business and Professions Code section 7057; the C-10 electrical contractor can perform any solar project that generates, transmits, transforms or utilizes electrical energy; and the C-46 solar contractor installs, modifies, maintains and repairs thermal and photovoltaic systems, and may not otherwise perform building trades except as needed for that installation. Boiler, plumbing and swimming-pool classes are listed only for solar heating of their own kind. The board's instruction is blunt: do not use a contractor who is not licensed to perform solar work.

The sales side has its own record. The board says solar sales representatives generally must be registered with it as Home Improvement Salespeople, unless the buyer initiated the negotiation at a storefront operation with a fixed location, with other limited exceptions. The same page links a lookup that checks a contractor's license or a salesperson's registration.

California adds two documents worth knowing about before reading a contract. The board and the Public Utilities Commission produce a solar energy system disclosure document that Business and Professions Code section 7169 requires to be printed in 16-point boldface on the cover of every solar energy contract. It covers the total cost and payments including financing, how to complain, and the cancellation right under section 7159, and the board's page lists the contractor's license number among the details that a related disclosure must carry. And section 7159.5 caps a home improvement down payment at $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract amount, whichever is less, so a demand for a larger deposit is a reason to ask which law the contractor thinks applies.

California's contract rules reach the salesperson too. A salesperson who falls under the registration rule and does not appear in the board's lookup is a finding in itself, so the registration check belongs in the same sitting as the contractor's. And because a California solar contract must carry the cancellation notice and the solar disclosure on its front page, the two documents give a homeowner a second, independent record to compare against the board's: the contractor's license number on the disclosure should match the board's lookup, the company name should match the contract, and the salesperson should appear in the registration check.

Texas: no solar installer license, an electrician's license, and a new sales registration

Texas has no separate photovoltaic installer license. The state licensing department's electricians guide says anyone who performs or offers non-exempt electrical work must be licensed and must perform that work through a licensed electrical contractor, expressly including installing solar panels, and that anyone who sells a turnkey service that includes components and installation must hold an electrical contractor license. An electrical contractor license requires employing a licensed master electrician; an owner wiring their own home falls under a separate exemption with its own conditions, set out with six other states in the DIY solar installation rules.

Senate Bill 1036 added a second layer for the sale. Under Occupations Code chapter 1806 the department regulates the sale or lease of residential solar energy systems, and beginning September 1, 2026 residential solar retailers and solar salespersons must be registered with it. Licensed electrical contractors and their employees are exempt from the registration but must follow most other provisions. The department says it is accepting registrations and is temporarily suspending enforcement of certain administrative rules, including the contract requirements and educational materials rules, until November 1, 2026.

The contract rules under the statute are what make a Texas check more than a name lookup. If a sale or lease involves installation at a residence, the agreement must provide that a licensed electrical contractor will install the system, conspicuously state that contractor's name and license number, say who will obtain any permit and the utility's, cooperative's or municipal utility's approval to interconnect, and, if an affiliated or referred third-party lender is involved, require that lender to cancel the loan if the agreement is cancelled. The contract must allow cancellation without penalty by written notice on or before the fifth business day after execution, and must state the last date and the address to use. The department's consumer brochure also tells buyers never to pay the full amount up front and to pay only for fully completed work, including required local inspections.

What stands behind a Texas electrical contractor license is spelled out in the department's summary. The business must be a licensed master electrician or employ one, and must keep workers' compensation insurance and at least the minimum general liability coverage at all times as proof of financial responsibility. A master electrician needs 12,000 hours of on-the-job training under a master electrician, at least two years as a journeyman, and a passed examination; a journeyman needs 8,000 hours and an examination. All non-exempt electrical work must follow the edition of the National Electrical Code that the department has adopted, the 2023 edition since September 1, 2023. The department reported 227,117 electrical licensees for fiscal year 2025, so a license number is common, and the thing to check is that it belongs to the firm named in the contract and is current.

Florida: a defined solar contractor, and a shortcut for electricians

Florida's contractor statute, section 489.105, defines a solar contractor as one whose services consist of installing, altering, repairing, maintaining, relocating or replacing solar panels for potable solar water heating systems, swimming pool solar heating systems and photovoltaic systems, with their appurtenances. It then adds the point that matters for checking: a contractor certified or registered under the chapter is not required to become a certified or registered solar contractor, or to contract with one, to provide those services where they fall within the scope of what that contractor may already do.

So a Florida installer may appear in the state's database under a solar classification, or as a certified or registered electrical contractor, and both can be legitimate. The thing to read is the classification, the status, and whether it is certified, which is a statewide license, or registered, which is limited to the local jurisdiction that issued the local license. The statute was read on the legislature's site; the state's licensing department pages were not reachable, so the lookup steps are the department's to give.

North Carolina: any photovoltaic installation needs an electrical license

North Carolina's electrical board, in a joint guideline with the general contractors' board, states that solar photovoltaic installations of any value require an electrical contractor license under General Statute 87-43, which bars anyone from engaging or offering to engage in electrical contracting without a license in the right classification. Installations of $60,000 or less may be contracted by a limited, intermediate or unlimited licensee, those of $150,000 or less by an unlimited or intermediate licensee, and larger ones only by an unlimited licensee.

The general contractors' board treats these installations as electrical work unless the scope includes structural or other improvements of $30,000 or more of the kind general contractors typically perform. For a homeowner, the check is therefore the electrical board's lookup, the license classification against the contract value, and, if the contract bundles a roof or structural work, a second check with the general contractors' board. The guideline is dated 2022, version 1.3, and the boards have not been rechecked for later changes.

Nevada: a contractor license, a separate installer license, and a statute for the contract

Nevada's Contractors Board says a licensed contractor is required to construct, repair, maintain, restore, alter or improve solar systems on single-family residences, including replacing equipment, and that anyone advertising or soliciting a residential solar contract must hold a Nevada contractor license or be authorized under state law. Licenses from other states are not valid. The board adds a warning that deserves its own line: a salesperson who says they "hire" or "work with" a local licensed contractor to do the installation usually indicates an unlicensed contractor, which raises the homeowner's risk of financial harm and liability.

Senate Bill 303 of the 2021 session made the rules stricter for licensed contractors on residential solar systems from October 1, 2021. The contractor's license number must appear on advertisements, company vehicles, bids and contracts. Contracts must be in at least 10-point type and must carry the contractor's name, address, license number and monetary limit; the total price including taxes; a down payment not above $1,000 or 10 percent of the contract value, whichever is less; the disclosures required by NRS 624.600 plus the full retail price of a kilowatt-hour, any offsetting tariff and the identity of the electric utility; a statement that change orders must be agreed in writing; a plan and scale drawing for new systems; and a schedule of progress payments that cannot exceed 100 percent of the value of the work performed, apart from the down payment. The contractor must start work within 30 days after all permits and utility approvals arrive, must furnish a mechanic's lien release for work paid for unless a bond or joint control is used, and the board says a contract can be voided if the contractor fails to follow the requirements of the law.

A second Nevada credential belongs to the person doing the wiring. Nevada OSHA issues a Photovoltaic Installer's License to people directly engaged with the electrical connection and wiring of a photovoltaic project; site preparation, trenching and hauling do not require it. Getting the license means passing a Nevada OSHA exam with 70 percent or more of the questions correct, with a $25 fee for each examination that is applied to the license on passing. A Nevada company is therefore checked at two levels, the contractor license on the board's lookup and the installers on the crew, and the board says to verify the license shows an "Active" status on its website or mobile app.

The contract itself is a license check: fields the law requires

California, Texas and Nevada require specific content in a residential contract, which means the paper can be audited before any lookup. A missing field is information. The table lists fields that are verifiably required by the sources read, and what each tells you.

California's Business and Professions Code section 7159 governs home improvement contracts, and a solar installation is one. The text read on a public mirror, which lists the section as updated January 1, 2026, requires the name, business address and license number of the contractor; a schedule of progress payments stated in dollars and cents and tied to specific work; an approximate start date and completion date; a workers' compensation notice stating either that the contractor carries it or has no employees; a statement that the owner may require a performance and payment bond; and a mechanics lien warning. The contractor must also give the buyer a signed, dated copy before any work starts, and the buyer's receipt of that copy starts the cancellation period.

A contract that fails several rows is not proof of fraud; some are drafting errors. It is a reason to ask the company to correct them in writing before anything is paid, and to call the licensing board if it declines. The cancellation sections of California's statute say a buyer may file a complaint with the board when the required notice is missing, which is the board's own invitation to use the contract as evidence.

A verification sequence that works in any state

Start with the contract, not the website. The legal name and the license number on the contract are the things to look up, and in Texas, California and Nevada the law puts them there. A number that is missing is the first finding. This guide read five states; eight more in the site's index, Arizona, Georgia, New York, Virginia, Illinois, Indiana, Ohio and Massachusetts, were not read, and the same method applies there: find the state contractor or electrical board, find the classification that covers photovoltaic work, and use the board's own lookup.

Look up the exact number on the board's own search. Match the legal name to the name on the contract and the business address to the one on the proposal. Read the classification, since a license for a different trade does not cover solar work. Read the status and expiration, and read whatever the board shows about complaints, discipline or bond. Boards differ in what they publish, and some show more than others.

Then ask who will do each part. Many solar companies sell under one brand and install through subcontractors, and the sales firm and the installing firm can be separate legal entities. Texas requires the contract to name the electrical contractor who will install. In any state, ask in writing who is installing, who is pulling the permit, and who will answer for the warranty. For the sale itself, check the salesperson's registration where the state requires one.

Last, check the permit and the utility, because they leave records. Ask who will pull the permit, since the licensed contractor should be the one named on it. The utility's permission to operate is a separate approval, and the sequence of steps is in the installation process guide.

Keep a record of the check. Screenshot or print the lookup result with the date and time, because boards update statuses and a record that was active in October can be suspended or lapse in the spring. If a deposit has been paid, add the receipt and the contract page that shows the license number. The file is cheap to make, it is what a board or an attorney general's office will ask for if there is a complaint, and it answers the question a buyer's lender or a later owner may ask about who installed the system and under whose license.

Do the check again before final payment. A license that was current at signing may have been suspended or expired by the time the work is finished, and the final inspection, the lien releases and the warranty paperwork all depend on the contractor still being in good standing. Repeat the lookup, confirm the permit shows a passed final inspection, and only then release the last payment.

What a clean record cannot tell you

A licensed company can quote high, write a one-sided lease or close. A license board is a regulator of conduct, not a price check, so the price tools still apply: the price-per-watt reconciliation and the quote comparer. It also tells you nothing about a lender or leasing company, which holds its own obligations; if the installer fails, the questions move to the financing, as described in the closed solar company guide.

A problem record is also not an automatic disqualifier. Boards publish what the law lets them publish, and a dismissed complaint, an old action and a recent revocation read the same at a glance on some lookups. Read the dates and the outcomes, and ask the company about anything that appears. If a company refuses to give its license number, or gives one that belongs to another firm, treat it as the answer to the screening question.

If the record is wrong or the work is

Where a license is missing or the number does not match, the licensing board takes complaints, as California's board does for a contract missing its cancellation notice. For deceptive sales practices, the state attorney general and the Federal Trade Commission take reports, and a loan company can be reported to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, which has published its own findings on solar financing. Keep the contract, the proposal, messages with the salesperson and photographs, and note dates. The cancellation windows described above are short, and a complaint about work already done is a different path from cancelling a contract that is days old.