How to Choose a Solar Repair Company: $100 to $500 Visit

First-line license rule for solar work in ten states, from each state's licensing board and GreenLancer's state licensing guide (September 28, 2026).

Who fixes your system: lease, owned, or orphaned?

If you lease or have a PPA, the company that owns the system is responsible for repairs, so call the servicer on your statement before you hire anyone. If you paid cash or used a loan, the system is yours and so is the repair bill once the installer is gone. That is an orphaned system, and no successor has taken on service for cash and loan customers of the closed installers on our bankruptcy tracker. SunStrong, for example, says it does not provide maintenance or repair for SunPower cash or loan systems. The full sorting is on who services my solar system and owned vs leased solar.

For owned systems, warranty parts come from the manufacturer and labor comes from whoever you hire. Enphase and SolarEdge both let a new installer take over the monitoring site, which makes those systems the easiest to hand to a new company; SolarEdge publishes a page for owners whose installer went out of business.

How do I check a solar repair company's license?

Ask for the state license that covers electrical work on solar, get the number, and look it up on the board's site; in Texas, Massachusetts and North Carolina that means an electrical license. Texas requires installation by a TDLR-licensed electrical contractor, and since September 1, 2025 its Residential Solar Retailer rules also require agreements to name the licensed electrical contractor and license number. Massachusetts's Board of State Examiners of Electricians treats PV assembly, including modules and racking, as electrical work for a licensed electrician. North Carolina requires an electrical contractor license for PV work of any value.

Other states use solar or contractor licenses instead: California's CSLB accepts a C-46 Solar, C-10 Electrical or B General Building license. Arizona's Registrar of Contractors issues solar and electrical classes, and Nevada uses a C-2 electrical license with a C-2g photovoltaics subclass. New York has no statewide contractor or solar license, so the check is the city or county electrical license. Each state guide in the table, such as Texas or Massachusetts, links the board.

NABCEP certification is a second, voluntary check. NABCEP runs credentials including the PV Installation Professional and an Operations and Maintenance Associate Technician, and the BLS notes certification is not required to work as a PV installer. Batteries add a third check: Generac's PWRcell 2 warranty requires repairs by Generac-certified technicians. More on who does what is on solar panel technician or electrician.

What questions should I ask a solar repair company before hiring?

Ask whether it services your inverter brand and orphaned systems, what license covers the work, what the diagnostic costs, and who files the warranty claim.

• Do you service my inverter brand and take on systems another company installed? The brand decides who will take the job.
• What state license covers this work, and what is the number? Electrical in Texas, Massachusetts and North Carolina.
• Is anyone on the crew NABCEP certified? Voluntary, but it shows the person passed an exam.
• For a battery, are you certified by its maker? Generac requires it for PWRcell 2 warranty repairs.
• What is the diagnostic fee, and is it credited against the repair? GreenLancer puts the visit at $100 to $300.
• Will you file the warranty claim and handle the part? Manufacturers ship warranty parts; labor is usually yours to pay without a plan such as Enphase Care.
• Can you take over the monitoring site? Enphase and SolarEdge allow it.
• Does the work need a permit, and who pulls it? The FTC lists a contractor who asks you to get permits as a scam sign.
• If panels come off, who flashes the roof penetrations? Roof leaks under panels go to the roof line; see roof and solar.
• Can you send proof of insurance?

What are the red flags? Warning signs when hiring solar repair

Walk away from anyone who pitches a new system or loan when you asked for a repair, promises a 2026 federal solar credit, or wants full payment before the work; state attorneys general have sued over each.

• A repair call that turns into a new-system or "free roof" pitch. New York's Attorney General sued Attyx (formerly SUNco) and its lenders in March 2026 over false free roof and government program claims.
• Promised savings or tax credit eligibility that sound too good. Texas's Attorney General sued CAM Solar in May 2026 over misrepresented savings, undisclosed fees and misrepresented tax credit eligibility.
• A federal residential clean energy credit promised for 2026 work. The IRS says the 25D credit is not allowed for expenditures made after December 31, 2025.
• Payment taken with no work done. Colorado's Attorney General announced a grand jury indictment of Sopris Solar principals in December 2025 for taking payments without completing systems.
• No electrical license where the state requires one for inverter or AC wiring work.
• Pressure to decide now, or a lender it knows (FTC).
• All up front or cash only (FTC).

How much should a solar repair company charge for the first visit?

A diagnostic visit costs $100 to $300 in GreenLancer's 2026 guide and up to $500 in Southern California per Forme Solar, and most companies credit it against the repair.

Published diagnostic and plan prices, shown side by side and not averaged.

Repair prices by fault, from microinverters to string inverters, are on solar repair costs and solar panel repair. Warranty terms by brand are on solar panel warranty.

What should be in a solar repair contract?

The contract should name the company, its license number, the fault found, the parts and who supplies them, labor, permit, price and any workmanship warranty.

• Company name, address, phone and license number, plus dates (FTC). In Texas, solar agreements must name the licensed electrical contractor and its number (TDLR).
• The diagnosis in writing: what failed and how they know.
• Parts: model, whether it is a warranty part, and who files the claim.
• Labor and the diagnostic credit.
• Permit and inspection, where needed.
• Roof work: who seals any penetrations they touch.
• Workmanship warranty on the repair itself.
• Cancellation. The FTC's Cooling-Off Rule gives 3 days for many sales of $25 or more made at your home.

Where do I complain about a solar company?

Complain to the state board that licenses the work and to the state attorney general; Texas also takes solar retailer complaints at TDLR for contracts signed from September 1, 2025.

• Texas: TDLR for retailer contracts on or after September 1, 2025; the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Division for earlier ones.
• California: CSLB and the Attorney General.
• Arizona: the Registrar of Contractors and the Attorney General.
• Nevada: the State Contractors Board, which runs a Solar Investigations Unit.
• Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Florida, Colorado: the state attorney general's consumer office, plus the electrical or contractor board.
• Anywhere: the state attorney general or a local consumer protection office (FTC). State-by-state contacts are on the state solar service pages.

The call line on this page connects you to an independent local solar service company that serves your area and pays us for the referral; hours vary. We do not license, inspect or rate these companies, so run the same checks on whoever answers. How calls work. Ask whether it takes systems another company installed, and for its state license number, on the call.

What to do before you hire a solar repair company

1. Check your paperwork: lease or PPA means call the servicer; cash or loan means you hire.
2. Find the inverter brand and model on the box on the wall or in the app.
3. Register as owner with the manufacturer so warranty parts can ship.
4. Look up your state's license rule in the table and check each company's number.
5. Ask two companies for the diagnostic fee and whether it is credited.
6. Get the diagnosis, parts and labor in writing before any work starts.