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Solar Owner Help In Maryland

Maryland licenses home improvement contractors through its home improvement commission, which also runs a Guaranty Fund for homeowners. Here is what an owner whose installer is gone should know.

Who Licenses Contractors

The Maryland Home Improvement Commission page says the Maryland Home Improvement Commission licenses home improvement contractors and salespersons, investigates complaints by homeowners, awards monetary damages against licensed contractors, and prosecutes violators. The same page carries a notice to contractors that install rooftop solar panels, which refers to home improvement contracts for rooftop solar installation, so ask any installer for its Commission license number and check it.

How To Check A License

Use the MHIC license search to look up a contractor before you sign. The Commission page says that since June 1, 2024, Maryland home improvement contractors must carry general liability insurance of at least $500,000, so ask for proof.

The Guaranty Fund

The Commission page says the Guaranty Fund compensates homeowners for actual losses from poor workmanship or failure to perform a home improvement contract, and applies only to work done by licensed contractors. It says the most a homeowner can recover is the amount paid to the contractor, up to $30,000, and that if all claims against one contractor total more than $250,000, awards are prorated. That makes it worth confirming your original installer was licensed, even if it has closed.

A Rule On Wildlife Barriers

The Commission page says that since June 1, 2024, contracts for rooftop solar must include a barrier that meets industry standards to keep wildlife out from under the array, unless the customer waived it after being told the cost and the risks. If birds or squirrels are under your panels and your contract is newer than that date, check what it says. See Bird And Critter Proofing.

Net Metering Status

The Public Service Commission release of March 6, 2024 says that under Senate Bill 143 of 2023, customers of Baltimore Gas and Electric, Delmarva Power and Light, Pepco, and Potomac Edison can ask their utility to carry banked net metering credits forward monthly at full retail value until they are used up. Before 2024, those utilities paid customers once a year after the April bill for unused excess generation, and the release says those payouts covered only the production cost of generation. Customers who do nothing stay on the annual payout. It says customers of electric cooperatives and municipal utilities are not subject to the change. Ask your utility which method your account uses.

Steps For Any Orphaned System

1. Gather your contract, permit, equipment list, warranty papers, and any loan or lease documents.
2. Call each equipment maker with your serial numbers. EnergySage guide to installer bankruptcy (updated January 7, 2026) says manufacturer warranties remain valid regardless of installer status, and that the manufacturer can often point you to installers certified on its equipment. It also quotes a service coordinator warning that if an installer is not certified on your equipment, those warranties could be determined to be void, so ask the manufacturer before you hire.
3. If you lease or have a power purchase agreement, contact the company that owns the system before hiring anyone. See Solar Lease Or PPA When The Company Is Gone.
4. Check any new company's license with the agency above before you sign, and get the scope and price in writing.

Agency rules, rates, and contact details change. Treat the dates on the sources here as a snapshot and confirm on the agency's own site.

If you want a local service company to look at your system, describe it in the system check form. We name the one company before anyone contacts you.

Related: Installer Went Out Of Business, Solar Warranty Help, Solar System Not Producing.