Installer partners: what the term means and how to check any installer
An installer partner is a company that has agreed to the referral terms of My Solar Brokers, a comparison website that does not install solar. The term describes that agreement only. To check any installer, ask for its registration or license number in writing and search it in the state lookup.
Source: Federal Trade Commission (FTC), “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022), which advises checking a company’s history with your state and local consumer protection agencies and asking whether it has the licenses, certificates or bonding your state, county and city require. Checked 9 Oct 2026.
What does “installer partner” mean?
On this website, an installer partner is a company that has agreed to our referral terms. The term describes that agreement and nothing else. It is not a recommendation, a rating or a ranking, and it says nothing about the quality of a company’s work or its prices. The label is a starting point for your own checks, not a substitute for them.
- Installer partner
- A company that has agreed to the referral terms of My Solar Brokers.
- Comparison website
- A website that helps you compare. My Solar Brokers connects homeowners with installer partners. It does not install solar.
- Installer
- A company that sells and carries out a solar project. The company to check is the one named on your quote and your contract.
- Registration
- A business’s entry in a state agency’s records, made under a state law. In Pennsylvania, for example, a contractor that performs at least $5,000 worth of home improvements a year must register with the Attorney General.
- License
- Permission from a state licensing board to do regulated work, such as electrical contracting.
Source: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Home Improvement Contractor Registration, which states the $5,000 a year registration threshold (undated). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
What the term tells you, and where to find out the rest
The term answers one question, whether a company has agreed to our referral terms. Everything else you can find out for yourself, and the table shows where.
| You want to know | Does the term say? | Where to find out |
|---|---|---|
| Has the company agreed to our referral terms? | Yes. That is all it says. | The term itself. |
| Does it hold the registration or license your state requires for the work? | No. | Your state’s public lookup. |
| How good is its work? | No. | Recommendations from friends, family and neighbors, and what other people say about the company. |
| What will it charge? | No. | Its quote. How to compare solar quotes |
| Who stands behind each warranty? | No. | The quote and the contract: what each warranty covers, for how long, and who honors it if the installer closes. |
| Is it the only choice in your area? | No. A comparison covers installer partners only, so it does not cover every installer. | Add a column for any other installer’s quote and check that installer the same way. |
What the words “installer partner” say about a company, and where to find out the rest
Has the company agreed to our referral terms?
- Does the term say?
- Yes. That is all it says.
- Where to find out
- The term itself.
Does it hold the registration or license your state requires for the work?
- Does the term say?
- No.
- Where to find out
- Your state’s public lookup.
How good is its work?
- Does the term say?
- No.
- Where to find out
- Recommendations from friends, family and neighbors, and what other people say about the company.
What will it charge?
- Does the term say?
- No.
- Where to find out
- Its quote. How to compare solar quotes
Who stands behind each warranty?
- Does the term say?
- No.
- Where to find out
- The quote and the contract: what each warranty covers, for how long, and who honors it if the installer closes.
Is it the only choice in your area?
- Does the term say?
- No. A comparison covers installer partners only, so it does not cover every installer.
- Where to find out
- Add a column for any other installer’s quote and check that installer the same way.
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022), which advises asking friends, family and neighbors for recommendations, finding out what other people say about a company, and comparing detailed bids from several companies. Checked 9 Oct 2026.
How do you check any solar installer?
Ask for the installer’s registration or license number in writing, search it in your state’s public lookup, match what you find to your quote and contract, and read a match for what it is. These five checks fit every installer, whether or not it is an installer partner.
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Ask for the details in writing
Get the exact business name, the street address, the phone number and the registration or license number your state requires for the work. Pennsylvania requires a contractor’s registration number on a home improvement contract.
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Search the number and the name in the state lookup
Use the lookup in the table below. Search the number first, then the business name.
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Match the details to your quote and contract
The name and address in the lookup should match your paperwork. A different name or number is a question for the installer, and the answer belongs in writing.
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Read a match for what it is
A match shows a registration or a license, not the quality of the work. The Pennsylvania Attorney General’s office says registration under Pennsylvania’s home improvement law is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval by that office.
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Ask about complaints and insurance
The FTC advises checking a company’s history with your state and local consumer protection agencies. Ask for proof of insurance in writing.
Source: FTC, “Solar Power for Your Home” (April 2022); Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, 73 P.S. 517.7(a)(1) (amended 22 Oct 2014), and lookup (undated). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
Where do you look up an installer?
Pennsylvania has a public lookup run by the Attorney General. The table shows what a lookup covers and where the number should appear in your paperwork.
| Market | Lookup and who runs it | Where the number appears in your paperwork | What a match means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pennsylvania | Verify a Contractor’s HICPA Registration, run by the Attorney General’s office. Search the registration number or the business name, and leave the Type of Work box blank, because its list has no solar choice. | The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act lists solar energy systems at a private residence among home improvements for jobs above $500. It requires a contractor’s registration number on advertisements, contracts and estimates. | An active registration. The Attorney General’s office says registration is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval by that office. |
State lookup for checking a solar installer in Pennsylvania, as of 9 Oct 2026
Pennsylvania
- Lookup and who runs it
- Verify a Contractor’s HICPA Registration, run by the Attorney General’s office. Search the registration number or the business name, and leave the Type of Work box blank, because its list has no solar choice.
- Where the number appears in your paperwork
- The Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act lists solar energy systems at a private residence among home improvements for jobs above $500. It requires a contractor’s registration number on advertisements, contracts and estimates.
- What a match means
- An active registration. The Attorney General’s office says registration is not an endorsement, recommendation or approval by that office.
For the electrical work in Pennsylvania, ask your municipality what it requires. The Department of Labor & Industry says the Commonwealth has no licensure or certification requirements for most construction contractors, and some municipalities set their own.
Source (Pennsylvania): Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Verify a Contractor’s HICPA Registration (undated), Home Improvement Contractor Registration (undated) and the Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, 73 P.S. 517.2 and 517.6 (amended 22 Oct 2014); Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Contractor Licensing (undated). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
Read the guide for your market
For installers
An installer that wants to talk about joining as an installer partner can write to hello@mysolarbrokers.com. Joining is an agreement with My Solar Brokers. It does not replace any registration or license that state law requires of an installer.
Questions about installer partners
Does My Solar Brokers install solar?
No. My Solar Brokers is a comparison website that connects homeowners with installer partners. It is not an installer, a utility or a government agency, and a comparison covers installer partners only. The company you hire does the work, so check that company. About My Solar Brokers
Does “installer partner” mean My Solar Brokers recommends the company?
No. The term is not a recommendation, a rating or a ranking, and it says nothing about the quality of the work or the price. Judge every installer by what it puts in writing and by what your state’s lookup shows, using the five checks above.
Should you check an installer that is not a partner?
Yes, in the same way. The five checks fit every installer. If another company gives you a quote, add a column for it in your comparison table and read it line by line. How to compare solar quotes
What if the lookup finds nothing?
Ask the installer for its exact business name and number in writing, then search again. If the lookup still shows nothing, ask the agency that runs it before you sign: the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s HelpLine at 1-888-520-6680 or the New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs at 800-242-5846.
Source: Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, lookup page (undated); New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, “Hiring Home Improvement Contractors” (revised 13 Jan 2025). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
What can you do if something goes wrong with an installer?
Start with the installer, in writing. The New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs advises giving a contractor the chance to resolve a problem directly first, and lets you file a complaint online at NJConsumerAffairs.gov. To report a suspected scam in any market, the FTC points to ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
Source: FTC, “How to avoid getting burned by solar or clean energy scams” (7 Aug 2024); New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, “Hiring Home Improvement Contractors” (revised 13 Jan 2025). Checked 9 Oct 2026.
Related guides on quotes
We link each fact about the world to the agency page or statute it comes from and print the date we checked it. A source with no date is marked undated.
Start with your ZIP code
My Solar Brokers is a comparison website that connects homeowners with installer partners. We do not install solar.
Sources
Every source was checked on 9 Oct 2026. Pages without a date show “undated”.
- Federal Trade Commission, Solar Power for Your Home (April 2022).
- Federal Trade Commission, How to avoid getting burned by solar or clean energy scams, consumer alert (7 Aug 2024).
- Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Home Improvement Contractor Registration (undated).
- Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Verify a Contractor’s HICPA Registration (undated).
- Pennsylvania Office of Attorney General, Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act, 73 P.S. 517.1 et seq., sections 517.2, 517.6 and 517.7 (amended 22 Oct 2014).
- Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, Contractor Licensing (undated).
- New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs, Hiring Home Improvement Contractors, consumer brief (revised 13 Jan 2025).