San Diego Solar Sales & Installation: Before You Start

Scope before you use this guide

For businesses preparing to sell residential solar or install systems in San Diego. This is not a guide to selling a solar-equipped home. City boundaries, utility territories, activity and project scope control which rules apply. Commercial and utility-scale projects need separate review.

Official requirements below are selected current checkpoints, with nearby primary sources. The planning worksheets and business judgments are editorial advice. Use them to obtain a complete activity-specific determination from the authorities and your advisers; this page cannot certify that every obligation is satisfied.

Your local approval checkpoints

Match the state credentials to your role

CSLB identifies C-10 and C-46 solar scopes and other qualifying classifications with limits. Solar sales representatives generally need Home Improvement Salesperson registration, subject to limited exceptions. Verify your actual entity, scope and representatives; another state’s credential is not your authorization.

CSLB Solar Smart: contractor scope and salesperson registration

Prepare the required consumer documents

CSLB requires the residential solar disclosure on the contract’s front or cover page in bold 16-point type, with the contract and disclosure in the principal sales/marketing language. Have counsel confirm the complete applicable contract and cancellation package.

CSLB residential solar disclosure requirements

Control the consumer guide version

CPUC requires customer initials and a signature for residential interconnection submissions in SDG&E territory. Its notice requires Version 4 for applications containing contracts signed December 15, 2026 or later. Set a document-version checkpoint before selling across that date.

CPUC solar consumer guide and version transition

Register the business and review the sales channel

San Diego requires businesses operating in the City to register for a Business Tax Certificate; it does not replace other licenses or permits. Confirm business-location zoning and ask the City which police-regulated activity requirements apply to your specific sales method.

San Diego business tax registration

Choose the actual project route

The City publishes a conditional self-issued rooftop route for qualifying residential projects. Batteries, structural work and other scope must be checked against the complete current eligibility list. Confirm the permit before committing a construction date.

San Diego residential rooftop PV permit route

Keep energization separate

Information Bulletin 301 describes permit categories and inspections. City final approval is followed by SDG&E notification, and the system is not approved to energize until utility approval. Assign a person to retain both records.

San Diego PV Information Bulletin 301, May 2026

Model the actual customer account

SDG&E’s Solar Billing Plan distinguishes time-dependent imports and exports, remaining Base Services Charges and CCA generation pricing. Confirm the customer’s program and provider; total annual production alone is not a bill-savings calculation.

SDG&E Solar Billing Plan

Before your first sale or installation

1. Define the activity. List sales, lead generation, contracting, electrical work, storage, roofing and service separately. Assign a legal entity and responsible person to each. A referral partner does not automatically authorize your company to offer regulated work.
2. Set up the business and channels. Confirm entity registration or foreign qualification, tax accounts, business-location zoning, local activity permits and solicitation rules with the relevant agencies. Have counsel review your actual door-to-door, phone, text and online lead practices before using them.
3. Fund and staff the work. Have advisers confirm applicable bonds, insurance, workers’ compensation, employment classifications, safety training and subcontract terms. Budget from written supplier and provider quotes, not an assumed market-wide margin.
4. Review the consumer offer. Approve contracts, cancellation notices, language access, financing disclosures, complaint handling and substantiation of savings claims for this jurisdiction. Recheck incentive eligibility at proposal time; keep unconfirmed incentives out of guaranteed totals.
5. Build the site-to-design handoff. Define roof, attic and electrical evidence; identify who performs licensed design and engineering; record inaccessible areas and missing labels. Do not send a guessed equipment rating as a measured fact.
6. Name the closeout owner. Assign permit corrections, utility authorization, customer education, warranty contacts and service follow-up. Retain the approved design, inspection results and utility operating notice as separate records.

A readiness record you can review

Questions to settle

Keep the market and the project connected

Existing homeowner approval guide · Utility and bill context

Solar Survey AI can discuss site survey scope, permitting and design handoffs and inspection scope. Use our evidence methodology to define verified inputs and limitations. Confirm actual coverage, availability and licensed responsibilities before contracting. We do not license your business, approve a permit or guarantee market success. Homeowner monitoring connections and planned remote diagnosis remain coming soon.

Primary sources and review

Reviewed October 6, 2026 by Solar Survey AI. Selected official sources inform the local checkpoints; tradeoffs and worksheets are our editorial analysis. No agency or utility endorsement is implied. Recheck dated notices before launch.

• CSLB Solar Smart: contractor scope and salesperson registration
• CSLB residential solar disclosure requirements
• CPUC solar consumer guide and version transition
• San Diego business tax registration
• San Diego police-regulated business activities
• San Diego residential rooftop PV permit route
• San Diego PV Information Bulletin 301, May 2026
• SDG&E Solar Billing Plan