How to Choose a Solar Installer: 10 Checks Before You Sign

Updated October 29, 2026 · By the Solar Installer Guide team

Choose a solar installer by checking the license, comparing local connection records and getting three written proposals for the same work. Then read the equipment, financing and contract documents before signing. These ten checks help Fresno and Bakersfield homeowners turn a shortlist into a decision, with clear questions about batteries, roof work, permits and PG&E permission to operate. Local installation volume is a starting point, not a measure of workmanship.

How to Choose a Solar Installer: 10 Checks Before You Sign

The short version

Verify the contractor's CSLB license and the salesperson's registration before committing to a residential solar project.
Use local connection volume to build a shortlist, then check the license and compare quotes.
Keep equipment, payment terms, required disclosures and responsibility for permits in one written project record.

Check 1: Verify the contractor and salesperson

Start with the legal business name and contractor license number on the proposal. Look them up on the California Contractors State License Board site. Match the business to the contract and verify the salesperson's registration rather than relying on a badge or sales brochure.

Match the license record to the business named in your contract.
Check license status and the classification for the proposed work.
Look up the home improvement salesperson's CSLB registration.

CSLB identifies C-46 Solar, C-10 Electrical for solar that generates or uses electricity, A General Engineering and qualifying B General Building contractors as eligible to install solar. The B classification applies within the definition of Business and Professions Code section 7057; it is not permission for every general building contractor to take every solar job. If the classification or project scope is unclear, ask CSLB about the specific work before signing the agreement.

Ask who is selling the project, who will perform the installation and which business is responsible under the contract. If different names appear on the proposal and agreement, get an explanation and verify the relevant contractor record. Save the lookup with your project documents and repeat the check if the contracting business changes. Salespeople need CSLB home improvement salesperson registration. A name on a town ranking does not replace either check, even if the company has connected many local systems.

Check 2: Read local volume as evidence of activity

Our rankings count systems connected to PG&E using public California DG Stats interconnection records. They identify the most active installers in the covered area. They do not measure workmanship or service, so use them to build a shortlist, check the license and compare quotes.

The regional data covers 13,153 connections across 17 Fresno- and Bakersfield-area towns from September 2025 through August 2026. Sunrun recorded 4,192 regional connections, GAF Energy 1,620 and Citadel Roofing and Solar 1,189. Those figures show the volume each company connected in this dataset, not how its next project will go. Check the license and compare quotes for every candidate. Rankings are never paid, and this site is a referral service rather than the contractor doing your work.

Read the town page as well as the regional totals. Activity across the covered Fresno and Bakersfield areas does not necessarily describe activity near your particular home. Ask each candidate to explain its role in the proposed project and who will handle questions during installation and after activation. Keep the distinction between completed utility connections and sales claims clear. You are using recorded activity to identify candidates, then using the written proposal and your own checks to decide which candidate fits the work.

Checks 3 and 4: Match battery and ownership experience

Check battery activity and ownership mix separately. A company that often connects storage may have a different project mix from one connecting mostly solar-only purchases. Ask about the design and contract you need instead of assuming a high overall connection count answers both questions.

Check 3: Ask how the proposed battery serves your stated goals.
Check 4: Establish whether you will own or use company-owned equipment.

Across the covered towns, batteries appeared on a weighted 55% of connections, and 46% were leased or PPA systems. The mix varied by installer: Sunrun's regional records showed 90% with batteries and 93% leased or PPA, while Citadel Roofing and Solar's showed 18% with batteries and 0% leased or PPA. These shares describe the recorded systems, not a test of technical skill or contract value. Check the license and compare quotes, then ask each candidate about the specific configuration it proposes for you.

For storage, separate shifting solar electricity into the evening from keeping selected circuits running during an outage. Ask which equipment, controls and electrical work each goal requires, and request a written list of backed-up loads if backup is included. For ownership, identify cash purchase, loan, lease or power purchase agreement in the proposal. Ask who owns the battery, controls its settings and handles service. The Solar Lease vs. Buy vs. Loan: Which Fits Your Home? guide explains the payment choices in more detail.

Check 5: Get three quotes for the same scope

Make the work comparable before comparing totals. Ask three installers to identify the same core equipment, roof work, electrical work and battery goals. Keep the cash proposal visible beside financing so you can see which differences come from the project and which come from payment terms.

Use the same electricity-use history and roof information for each request.
Separate solar, storage, roof work and electrical panel work in each proposal.
Ask for cash and financed terms without assuming a homeowner federal credit.

A proposal with a battery and electrical panel upgrade is a different project from panels alone. Write a short scope sheet with proposed system size, panel and inverter models, battery details and any roof repairs. Ask each installer to mark what is included, excluded or still subject to inspection. For a Fresno home with mature trees, ask how shade enters the design. For a Bakersfield home with heavy summer air-conditioning use, ask how the design reflects the household's actual pattern of electricity use.

Keep financing assumptions visible. Request the cash price, financed amount, fees, interest rate and full payment schedule, including any payment change. A system completed in 2026 does not earn a new homeowner Section 25D solar or battery credit, so reject a financing illustration that assumes one. Ask for every incentive to be named and supported separately. Only an installer can price your home after assessing the work; regional data and a monthly payment in a sales presentation do not establish the cost of your project.

Checks 6 and 7: Specify equipment and read warranties

Check the exact equipment first, then check who stands behind each part of the work. Equipment coverage, installation coverage and service arrangements can be separate documents. Ask for them before signing so you can see the duties, exclusions and claim process attached to your proposal.

Check 6: Record panel, inverter and battery models and any substitution terms.
Check 7: Identify coverage, exclusions and the party handling each service claim.

Ask the installer to explain why the proposed equipment fits the roof and electricity-use pattern. If a battery is included, request both its usable energy capacity and its power output, along with the loads the design supports. Ask what happens if the named model is unavailable and how a substitution would be approved. In older Valley homes, clarify any electrical panel work. Roof age, dust from fields and shade from mature trees are useful discussion points, without turning a townwide pattern into an assumption about your house.

Read the actual warranty documents instead of treating the word warranty as complete information. Ask which party covers equipment, labor, roof penetrations and removal or reinstallation, and which conditions are excluded. Find the claim instructions, any maintenance duties and whether coverage transfers to another homeowner. These are questions to put to each provider, not claims about any named installer. Save the documents with the proposal so that service expectations remain clear if the salesperson, installation contact or equipment model changes before the work begins.

Check 8: Read disclosures and cancellation notices

California requires a Solar Energy System Disclosure Document on the front or cover page of every residential solar contract, provided before the sale, financing or lease is completed. Read its total cost, complaint information and cancellation notice alongside the rest of the agreement.

For contracts not negotiated at the contractor's place of business, the cancellation period is three business days, or five business days for buyers age 65 or older. Read the notice for the applicable procedure and keep a copy of everything you sign. Do not treat the right to cancel as a substitute for reviewing the agreement first. Ask for blank spaces, conflicting equipment descriptions and unclear payment conditions to be resolved in the written contract before you commit.

The provider must collect your initials and signature on the California Solar Consumer Protection Guide with the interconnection application. Contracts signed December 15, 2026 or later must include Version 4; earlier contracts use Version 3 plus its 2025 addendum. Since November 1, 2025, the covered utilities also collect the disclosure document and a Supporting Information form with the application. Ask who prepares these documents and keep your copies. A sales summary alone does not show whether the required paperwork matches your project.

Check 9: Assign payments, permits and PG&E paperwork

Put the payment schedule and responsibility for permits, inspections and utility paperwork in writing. California caps a residential home-improvement down payment at the lesser of $1,000 or 10%. Building approval and PG&E permission to operate are separate milestones, so ask who tracks each one.

Tie each contract payment to a clearly described milestone.
Identify who obtains the permit, arranges inspection and submits utility documents.
Wait for PG&E's written permission to operate before energizing the system.

Ask which city or county has jurisdiction over your property and which permit route applies to the proposed design. Fresno city has a confirmed SolarAPP+ route for single-family homes and duplexes, with the contractor uploading its confirmation to Accela. Fresno County's confirmed route covers roof-mounted systems. Do not assume those details describe a Bakersfield property or that a streamlined route sets your installation date. The proposal should identify the responsible business and how you will receive copies of the permit and inspection records.

PG&E's process includes local inspection and the final building permit, contractor submission of the interconnection application, single-line diagram and final permit copy, utility review and meter work before written permission to operate. Grid upgrades can add work and delay. Ask how the contractor will tell you about missing documents or utility requirements and who handles any additional work. A city signoff alone is not permission to turn the system on. Keep the written PG&E approval with the final project documents.

Check 10: Resolve pressure and unexplained changes

Pause when a salesperson pushes for a signature before providing documents, changes equipment without explanation or builds payments around an unavailable credit. Ask for a revised written proposal that resolves the issue. A clear decision should survive careful reading without a verbal deadline driving it.

A door-to-door pitch can begin a conversation, but it does not replace your license check or comparison. If the price changes, ask which work, equipment or financing term changed and request an updated scope. If an offer depends on an incentive, ask for the program name, current status and written eligibility conditions. General-market SGIP battery funding is closed, while PG&E-area Residential Solar and Storage Equity sub-budgets are waitlisted as of October 29, 2026. An unsupported rebate claim should not hold the proposal together.

Before deciding, collect the license lookup, comparable scope sheets, equipment documents, contract, financing terms and required disclosures. Write down who owns the equipment, who handles service and who gets the system through local approval and PG&E permission to operate. If a material answer remains vague, request a correction in the document that governs it. You now have a practical basis for selecting among installers serving Fresno and Bakersfield: verified identity, a defined project and written obligations you understand.

Frequently asked questions

Does the most active installer have the best workmanship?

Connection volume measures recorded activity, not workmanship or service. Our regional dataset covers 13,153 systems across 17 towns from September 2025 through August 2026. Use the most active installers as a starting shortlist, then check the license and compare quotes. Read the scope, equipment documents and contract for the project being offered to you.

Which license should a California solar installer have?

CSLB identifies C-46, C-10 for solar that generates or uses electricity, A and qualifying B contractors as eligible. The B classification is subject to the definition in Business and Professions Code section 7057. Verify the business and classification on the CSLB site, and ask CSLB about unclear scope. Also check the salesperson's home improvement registration.

What should I send installers when asking for quotes?

Give each candidate the same electricity-use history, roof information and battery goals. Ask for exact equipment models and separate treatment of roof repairs, electrical work and storage. Request cash and financing terms for a comparable scope. Then ask each installer to explain exclusions and assumptions, particularly shade, evening use and any incentive shown in the proposal.

How long do I have to cancel a solar contract?

For contracts not negotiated at the contractor's place of business, California provides three business days, or five for buyers age 65 or older. Read the cancellation notice and its procedure before signing, and keep the signed documents. The Solar Energy System Disclosure Document must explain the cancellation right as well as total cost and complaint information.

Can I turn on solar after the city inspection?

Wait for PG&E's official written permission to operate. Local inspection and final permit approval are part of the process, followed by the required utility documents, review and meter work. Ask the installer who handles each step and how you will receive the approval. Keep that written permission with the final permit and equipment records.

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