MCS Certificate for Solar Panels: A Homeowner's Guide
What your MCS certificate contains, when it should arrive, how to get a copy if it is lost, and how it is used for SEG, a house sale or a new battery.
MCS Certificate for Solar Panels: A Homeowner's Guide
An MCS certificate is the document that records your solar panel system as a certified installation. This guide covers what it shows, when it should arrive, how to get a copy or correction, and its role in Smart Export Guarantee payments, a house sale and adding a battery.
What an MCS certificate is
MCS is the Microgeneration Certification Scheme. According to MCS's certificate guidance, the certificate is proof that your system was designed, installed and commissioned to industry-recognised standards, using MCS certified products fitted by an MCS certified installer. An installation can only have one if all three of these apply:
- it was commissioned by an MCS certified installer
- it includes an MCS certified product
- its commissioning date is after 15 July 2009
MCS also makes clear that a certificate is not a mandatory or legal requirement for installing a system. Its value comes afterwards: MCS says that with a certificate you may be eligible for government incentives such as the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG).
If you are still choosing a company rather than dealing with paperwork, our page on MCS certified solar installers explains how to check an installer before you sign.
What the certificate shows
MCS says the certificate includes details of the following:
| On the certificate | What to check |
| The type and model of the installed technology | It matches the equipment you had fitted |
| The installation company and its certification details | The company named is the one that did the work |
| Confirmation that the system complies with MCS Standards | The statement is present |
MCS's amendment guidance also lists the installation address, postcode and MPAN, the commissioning date, TIC (total installed capacity), product details and meter details among the things that can be corrected. An MPAN is the 13-digit reference that identifies an electricity connection point. Those details are worth checking against your system when the certificate arrives.
When you should receive it
MCS requires certified installers to issue the certificate to you directly. Its certificate guidance says this should be within 10 days of the system being commissioned, while its solar panels page says you will receive it within 10 working days of completion.
Installers create certificates on the MCS Installations Database, known as the MID, which MCS describes as holding records of every MCS certified small-scale, low carbon installation in the UK since 2010. MCS gives MID access to installers operating as MCS certified, and revokes it if that right is removed, after which they cannot create certificates. If nothing has arrived, MCS says to contact your original installer in the first instance.
Checking, replacing or correcting a certificate
Checking a certificate exists
The MCS Customer Support Helpdesk (0333 103 8130) can tell you whether a certificate exists. You will need the technology type, the full installation address including postcode, and proof that you live there. Accepted documents include a household utility bill under three months old or a Council Tax letter under 12 months old.
Getting a copy of a lost certificate
Ask your original installer first. MCS will only generate a copy on the installer's behalf if the installer is no longer MCS certified or no longer trading, and copies can only go to the current system owner or their legal representative.
When MCS does handle it, you need proof of address and an admin fee of £30 plus VAT (£36 in total), which covers one copy with any number of amendments. MCS assesses your evidence first, emails a PayPal payment request if it is sufficient, and provides the certificate within 10 working days of payment. Requests go through the MCS certificate request form.
Correcting a mistake
MCS says you may need an amendment after a meter change or an administration error. Again, go to the original installer first. Where MCS handles it, only the current system owner or their legal representative can request a change, and each change needs its own evidence:
| Amendment | Evidence MCS asks for |
| Address, postcode or MPAN | Full two-page electricity bill showing the MPAN |
| Commissioning date | Commissioning documents from the original MCS installer |
| Product details or TIC | Original commissioning documents, or a signed letter on headed paper from a currently certified installer |
| Meter make, model or serial number | A clear photo of the meter showing those details |
MCS cannot amend meter readings.
If you were never issued one
If an MCS certified installer used MCS certified products but never issued you a certificate, MCS says it cannot help raise a new one for you, so take it up with the original installer.
Using the certificate for Smart Export Guarantee payments
Under the SEG, you are paid for each unit of electricity you feed back to the grid, and GOV.UK says the scheme applies to England, Scotland and Wales. Ofgem's SEG guidance for generators (December 2019) says every application must:
- show that the installation and/or installer are suitably certified (for solar PV up to 50kW, both)
- have an export meter
- have an export MPAN
For solar PV up to 50kW, Ofgem says an MCS certificate may be how you show this, and that other schemes may be equivalent to MCS. GOV.UK's SEG page names the Flexi-Orb renewables scheme as an example, and says you need a meter capable of half-hourly export readings, typically a smart meter. If you cannot show your installation is suitably certified, Ofgem says a SEG supplier is not obliged to pay, although it can choose to.
Two more points from Ofgem. Your export MPAN is different from the import MPAN on your electricity bills, and your SEG supplier can provide it. And if you do not have an MCS certificate, speak to your chosen SEG supplier to understand exactly what information it needs. For more on SEG tariffs, see our Smart Export Guarantee rates guide.
Selling a house with solar panels
- Copies are owner-only. MCS provides copies and amendments only to the current system owner or their legal representative. Once the sale completes you are no longer the owner, so it makes sense to find the certificate beforehand.
- Tell your SEG supplier. Ofgem says a SEG contract must include a term requiring the generator to inform the supplier as soon as reasonably possible of a change in ownership of the installation.
Adding a battery later
MCS confirms that if you already have solar panels you can still add a battery, and that a certified installer can connect one to your existing system. Its battery storage guidance says a certificate is created when an installation is completed, as a record that the battery was fitted by a certified installer, and that you will receive it within 10 working days of completion. MCS also advises checking that the battery is compatible with your existing solar setup.
For the SEG, GOV.UK says a household battery that can import and export electricity could also be used to benefit, and your prospective SEG supplier can advise. Ofgem adds a caveat: if your export meter also records export from a battery charged from a source other than your SEG-eligible solar panels, the supplier is not obliged to pay SEG on that export, although it can. Ofgem says suppliers may approach this differently, for example paying on none or all of the export, asking for additional meters, or pro-rating or estimating the ineligible share. Raise any new battery with your SEG supplier.
SOLA UK installs SigEnergy battery systems and Tesla Powerwall 3 (13.5 kWh, 11.5 kW continuous), covered on our battery storage page.
What to do next
- Find your certificate and check the address, MPAN, commissioning date and equipment details against your system.
- If it is lost or wrong, contact your original installer, then the MCS helpdesk if they are no longer MCS certified or no longer trading.
- Before applying for the SEG, confirm you have an export MPAN and a meter that can provide half-hourly export readings.
SOLA UK Ltd is MCS certified and an OZEV approved installer, with RECC and TrustMark (government-endorsed) accreditation. Based at Arquen House, 4-6 Spicer Street, St Albans AL3 4PQ, we install solar PV, battery storage and EV chargers for domestic and commercial customers. Call 0800 470 0922.
