Can a Solar Company Be MCS Certified Without a Consumer Code?

Can a Solar Company Be MCS Certified Without a Consumer Code?

No. And that single piece of plumbing is the most useful thing a homeowner can know when checking an installer, because it converts one unverifiable claim into two public records that have to agree with each other.

The dependency

MCS certification is not granted in isolation. To become MCS certified, a company must first belong to a consumer code approved by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. In practice that means the Renewable Energy Consumer Code or the Home Insulation and Energy Systems scheme.

The consequence is a cross-check, and it is free:

• If a company appears on the MCS register, it should also appear on the RECC or HIES register.
• If a company claims MCS certification but appears on no consumer-code register at all, those two facts are in tension, and that is worth asking about before a deposit changes hands.

Most verification advice tells you to "check the MCS register". That is good advice as far as it goes, but checking one register tells you whether a certificate exists. Checking two tells you whether the story holds together.

Why the registers sometimes disagree innocently

Before treating a mismatch as a red flag, rule out the ordinary explanations. There are three, and all of them are common.

The trading name is not the registered name. MCS certification is held by a legal entity. A firm that trades as one name and is registered as another can look absent from a register searched under the wrong one. This is why the single most useful thing to ask for is not a logo but a number. The search was too exact, or not exact enough. The RECC directory is searchable by company name and postcode, and a near-miss on the name can make a genuine member look missing. Type the name as it appears on the quote, then try the postcode instead. The sectors are listed separately. A consumer-code entry sets out which sectors a member covers. A company legitimately registered for one technology may not be registered for solar PV, so confirm that solar PV appears among its sectors rather than assuming membership covers everything.

What each register actually proves

They are not interchangeable, and people routinely read one as if it proved another:

• MCS is technical. It certifies the firm to install the technology to the scheme's standards, and it is what makes your installation eligible for the Smart Export Guarantee. It says nothing about price or financial stability.
• RECC or HIES is contractual. A CTSI-approved code covers the contract, deposit protection and the complaints route. HIES audits each member annually and its guarantees are insurance-backed.
• TrustMark is about recourse. A licence carries insurance that pays out if the firm stops trading, plus warranties of at least two years covering both workmanship and materials, with annual audits and on-site checks by the scheme provider.
• The MCS Product Directory is about the kit. The panel, inverter and battery models on your quote are certified, or they are not.

The one check that is not a register

Ask for three numbers: the MCS certificate number, the TrustMark licence number and the company registration number. Then match the trading name, the registered address and those numbers across the register entry, the quote and the contract.

A company that will not give you those numbers has answered the question without you needing to search anything. A company that hands them over without hesitation has done the opposite. If you would rather confirm a certificate with a person than read it off a screen, MCS runs a helpdesk on 0333 103 8130.

One thing not to read anything into: the logo. MCS is part-way through a rebrand, so legitimate installers are currently displaying the old mark and the new one, and neither tells you whether the certificate behind it is current.

Where this fits in choosing an installer

Verification is the first filter, not the decision. Once a shortlist clears the registers, the questions that remain are about who actually turns up, who honours the workmanship warranty, and what happens in year five. Our guide to the best solar companies sets out the five registers side by side with what each one does and does not prove, and the four routes to a solar company with what each commits you to.

We are MCS certified, a RECC member and TrustMark registered, and we would rather you confirmed each of those on the relevant register than took our word for it. If you are weighing up quotes in Hertfordshire or North London and want a third one, talk to us.