Solar Installer Licensing: Electrical Rules and NABCEP

How to get a solar installer certification

1. 1

   Find out how your state licenses PV work

   Establish whether the electrical connection requires a licensed electrician or electrical contractor, whether a solar or photovoltaic specialty classification exists, or whether general contractor licensing applies. This shapes your whole route.

2. 2

   Get into the field with a licensed firm

   Start on racking, module mounting and mechanical work under supervision while licensed personnel handle terminations and interconnection, and begin documenting the installations NABCEP will later require.

3. 3

   Take the NABCEP PV Associate

   Complete approved training and sit the entry examination covering components, site assessment, safety and basic design. It requires no experience and is the standard first credential in the industry.

4. 4

   Learn NEC Article 690 and pursue licensure

   Study Article 690 to the edition your jurisdiction has adopted — circuits, conductor sizing, overcurrent protection, grounding, disconnects and rapid shutdown — and, where the electrical work requires it, pursue an electrician's licence through your state's apprenticeship and examination route.

5. 5

   Build to PV Installation Professional and add storage

   Document the installation experience the senior NABCEP credential requires and sit its examination, then add energy storage certification and manufacturer training. Keep OSHA fall-protection training current throughout, since most residential work is roof work.

Solar Installer certification requirements

What you need depends on how your state regulates the electrical connection. In practice:

How much a solar installer certification costs

Certification is inexpensive; licensing costs sit with the electrical or contractor licence. Budget for:

The solar installer certification exam

NABCEP's examinations are the industry benchmark. The PV Associate examination is an entry-level knowledge test open to anyone completing approved training, covering system components, site assessment, safety and basic design. The PV Installation Professional requires documented installation experience as well as an examination covering site assessment, design and sizing, mechanical and electrical installation, commissioning, maintenance and troubleshooting. Separately, where the work requires an electrical licence, that state examination is written against the adopted National Electrical Code including Article 690 — photovoltaic circuits, conductor sizing, overcurrent protection, grounding, disconnects and rapid shutdown, provisions that have changed materially across recent code editions.

How long it takes to get licensed

PV Associate can be obtained in weeks; the PV Installation Professional and any electrical licensure take years of documented work.

Solar Installer certification types: the full ladder

Progression combines the industry certification ladder with whatever licence your state requires for the electrical work.

NABCEP certification vs State licence: solar installer certification

Solar Installer certification reciprocity between states

NABCEP certification is national and moves with you, which is why it is the credential solar professionals lead with. Licensing does not: because PV work sits under electrical or contractor law, portability depends entirely on the electrical licence reciprocity of the states involved, which is patchy, and on whether the destination state offers a solar specialty class at all. A firm expanding across state lines generally needs new contractor licensing, bonding and insurance in each state even where its NABCEP-certified staff and manufacturer approvals carry over. Confirm with each state's electrical board.

Solar Installersalary & job outlook

Solar photovoltaic installers earn a median of about $53,140 per year ($25.55/hour), with licensed electricians working in solar and NABCEP-certified professionals earning above the installer rate. Employment is projected to grow 42.1%, one of the fastest rates of any occupation, though from a small base of roughly 4,100 openings a year. See the full solar installer salary guide for pay by state, city and experience level.

Solar Installer certification requirements by state

The question by state is which licence the electrical work falls under, and whether a solar or photovoltaic specialty classification exists at all.

No state licenses solar installers as such. Where an authority is named it is the body that licenses the electrical or contracting work solar falls under, and a few states offer a photovoltaic or solar specialty classification. NEC Article 690 applies as adopted in every jurisdiction. Confirm with the state licensing board and the authority having jurisdiction on interconnection.

Browse all state guides

Solar Installer certification FAQs

BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook (Solar Photovoltaic Installers) · NABCEP, North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners · National Fire Protection Association, National Electrical Code (NFPA 70) · U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025 (47-2231). Requirements and fees are set per state and change, confirm with your state board before applying.

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