How to become a solar panel installer in the UK: courses and MCS

There is no single licence that makes you a solar panel installer in the UK. The trade runs on a stack: a trade base (almost always electrical, sometimes roofing), a Level 3 solar PV qualification that typically takes three to five days and costs roughly £600–£1,500, then MCS certification for your business through a certification body such as NAPIT or NICEIC if you want to sign off domestic installations that qualify for the Smart Export Guarantee and grants. A qualified electrician can realistically be fitting certified systems within two to six months. Someone starting from scratch should plan in years.

This guide covers the route in. MCS cost, MCS timeline and how MCS, NICEIC and RECC fit together each have their own guide, linked where they come up, so this page stays on how you get into the trade and what the first year looks like.

The four routes into the trade

Which door you are standing at decides your timeline and your cost.

• Qualified electrician adding PV. The shortest route by a wide margin. You hold a Level 3 electrotechnical qualification (the Level 3 NVQ Diploma in Installing Electrotechnical Systems or the current equivalent) and a current BS 7671 award, currently the 18th Edition. The PV award sits on top as a short course; add the energy storage award and you can fit batteries too.
• Roofer or builder focusing on the mounting side. Rails, hooks, flashings and in-roof trays are roofing skills, and a good roofer fits them better than most electricians. You cannot sign off the electrical work, so the model is a partnership: you handle the array and access, a qualified electrician handles wiring, commissioning and notification.
• New entrant via apprenticeship or college. An electrical apprenticeship (typically three to four years), or a Level 2 then Level 3 college course plus site experience, then employment with an established installer while you add the PV award.
• Existing heating or renewables business adding PV. You already hold MCS for another technology. Adding PV means putting someone through the electrical and PV qualifications, or subcontracting a qualified Technical Supervisor, then adding the technology to your certification.

What a solar PV course covers, and what it costs

The qualification certification bodies recognise is a Level 3 Award in the Design, Installation and Commissioning of Solar PV systems, offered by City & Guilds (historically the 2399 suite), EAL, LCL Awards and BPEC, or the current equivalent code when you enrol. Check with the provider that the award is currently accepted by MCS certification bodies.

A typical course runs three to five days and covers site survey (orientation, pitch, shading, structure), system design (string sizing, inverter matching, cable sizing and protection), DC and AC installation, commissioning and testing to BS 7671 and the IET Code of Practice, and handover paperwork. Expect roughly £600–£1,500 including assessment. Almost every provider requires your Level 3 electrical qualification and BS 7671 award first.

Book two add-ons at the same time. The Level 3 Award in Electrical Energy Storage Systems runs one to two days and adds roughly £400–£900; most 2026 domestic jobs include a battery. Working at height and asbestos awareness training, often a day combined at roughly £100–£300, are what your insurer and scaffolding partner expect.

One distinction matters more than any course code: a course certificate is not MCS certification. The award proves you as an individual are competent. MCS certifies your business, per technology, after a certification body assesses a real installation you completed. Finishing the course does not let you self-certify or unlock the Smart Export Guarantee for your customer.

The compliance layer before your first paid job

Once you hold the qualifications, the business needs its own credentials.

• MCS certification. Through one of the five certification bodies covering solar PV (NAPIT, NICEIC via Certsure, Amtivo, Simply Certification and The IAA), assessed against a real installation, renewed annually. Costs are in what MCS certification actually costs; the process, including the first-installation catch, is in the realistic MCS timeline.
• Competent person scheme registration. Domestic solar is notifiable under Part P in England and Wales. NAPIT or NICEIC registration lets you self-certify instead of paying Building Control per job. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own arrangements.
• DNO notification. Under G98 (up to 3.68 kW per phase) you fit and inform within 28 days; under G99 (larger, or where a battery pushes the total over) you apply and wait for approval first.
• Consumer code membership. RECC or HIES. No longer mandatory under the redeveloped scheme, but many installers keep it because homeowners recognise the badge. See MCS vs NICEIC vs RECC.
• Financial protection for the customer. An MCS approved product, bought per installation, covering at least six years. It replaces the old insurance-backed workmanship warranty as the baseline.

Homeowners increasingly check all of this before signing; our MCS certified installers and MCS, RECC and HIES guides are written for them.

Insurance, kit and vehicle: rough starting costs

Ranges; your area, claims history and appetite for used kit move every number.

• Public liability. Typically £2 million to £5 million of cover; roughly £400–£1,200 a year for a small firm doing roof work.
• Professional indemnity. Covers design errors. Roughly £300–£800 a year.
• Employer's liability. Legally required the moment you employ anyone. Roughly £200–£600 a year.
• Tools and test equipment. PV-capable multifunction tester, insulation tester, irradiance meter, clamp meter and crimpers, roughly £1,500–£4,000 new, plus roof ladders and fall-arrest kit.
• Scaffold. Hired per domestic job at roughly £600–£1,200 and priced into the quote.
• Van. A used panel van is roughly £8,000–£20,000 to buy or £300–£600 a month to lease.

A realistic first-year outlay for a sole trader coming from electrical work, excluding the vehicle, lands roughly in the £8,000–£20,000 range. An order of magnitude, not a quote.

How long it realistically takes

Starting point	To qualified for PV work	To your first MCS-certified installation
Qualified electrician with current BS 7671	1–4 weeks (PV award, battery award, height and asbestos training)	Roughly 2–6 months
Roofer partnering with an electrician	Weeks for mounting and height training	Roughly 2–6 months, gated by your partner's certification
Roofer or builder retraining as an electrician	Roughly 18 months–3 years for the Level 3 electrical route	Add 2–6 months
From scratch via apprenticeship or college	Roughly 3–4 years apprenticeship, or 2–3 years college plus site experience	Add 2–6 months, usually after time employed by an installer
Heating or renewables firm already holding MCS	1–4 weeks per person, or immediate with a subcontracted Technical Supervisor	Roughly 1–3 months to add the technology

The 2–6 months in every row is the MCS stage, dominated by one thing: you must complete a compliant installation before your assessment, and that first job cannot be certified retrospectively. Subcontracting under an existing MCS installer's umbrella scheme is the usual way through.

What the work is really like

Solar is a good trade. It is also roofing in the British weather with high-voltage DC involved.

• Heights and weather. You are on pitched roofs most working days. Rain stops roof work; wind stops it sooner. Winter days are short and slippery, and indoor electrical work fills the gaps.
• Two people minimum. A 2 m panel at 20–25 kg does not go up a scaffold safely alone, and neither does a battery.
• Seasonal demand. Enquiries surge from March to July. November to January is quieter, though battery retrofits smooth it.
• Desk work. Surveys, string calculations, DNO applications, MCS certificates and handover packs are a growing share of the job.
• Informed customers. Homeowners arrive with numbers from online tools. Explaining why their roof will make roughly 700–900 kWh per kWp rather than a brochure figure is a sales skill as much as a technical one.

The demand side is real. Domestic solar and batteries stay at 0% VAT until at least 31 March 2027, and the Smart Export Guarantee needs an MCS certificate, so certified installers stay in demand.

Getting your first customers

Your first ten jobs will almost certainly come from three places. Word of mouth from the electrical or roofing work you already do. Trade partnerships: roofers who want an electrician they trust, heating engineers whose customers ask about solar, and established MCS installers who need subcontractors and are expected under the redeveloped scheme to help you towards your own certification. And being visible where homeowners are already deciding.

On that last point, our directory lists MCS-certified installers by the postcodes they cover, and homeowners reach it after checking their own roof's orientation, shading and likely output. They contact you directly, on their terms. A listing is visibility, not a promise of enquiries; what it does is put a verified profile in front of people whose next step is choosing who to call. The verification is set out in how we vet installers, and you can get listed on Solarable once your MCS certificate number is live.

So the route in is not mysterious. Get the trade base, take the Level 3 PV award and the battery award, sort height and asbestos training, then work towards MCS through a certification body with a real installation behind you. Read the cost and timeline guides before you budget, and start the trade partnerships before you need them.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need to be an electrician to install solar panels in the UK?

To sign off the electrical side, yes in practice. The Level 3 solar PV award almost always requires a Level 3 electrotechnical qualification and a current BS 7671 award before you can enrol, and the wiring is notifiable under Part P. Roofers and builders can still build a solar business around the mounting side by partnering with a qualified electrician who handles wiring, commissioning and notification.

How long is a solar PV installation course?

Typically three to five days for the Level 3 Award in the Design, Installation and Commissioning of Solar PV systems, including assessment. A battery storage award adds one to two days, and working-at-height and asbestos awareness training a further half day to a day. Expect roughly £600–£1,500 for the PV course and a few hundred pounds for each add-on, varying by provider and region.

Does a solar PV course make me MCS certified?

No. The course certifies you as an individual. MCS certification is granted to your business, per technology, by a certification body after it assesses a real installation you have completed. Without MCS your customer cannot claim the Smart Export Guarantee or most grants, and an installation cannot be certified after the fact. The course is the entry requirement for certification, not certification itself.

Can I become a solar installer without any trade background?

Yes, but plan in years. The reliable path is an electrical apprenticeship of three to four years, or a Level 2 then Level 3 college route followed by site experience, then employment with an established installer while you add the solar PV and battery awards. Most people then work under someone else's MCS certification before certifying their own business. Direct solar apprenticeships exist but remain limited.

Related

• What MCS certification actually costs a solar installer
• Getting MCS certified as a small installer: the realistic timeline
• MCS vs NICEIC vs RECC: what a UK solar installer actually needs
• MCS certified solar installers: what it means and how to check
• MCS, RECC, HIES: UK solar accreditations decoded
• How we vet installers
• Get listed on Solarable