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Solar Owner Help In New Jersey

If your New Jersey installer or the company that owns your system has disappeared, these are the state agencies and rules to know.

Who Registers Contractors

New Jersey's Division of Consumer Affairs registers home improvement contractor businesses. The Division of Consumer Affairs page for home improvement contractor businesses (last modified March 18, 2026) describes registration for businesses that repair, renovate, install, replace, or improve residential properties, and links to a tool to verify a contractor business registration. Its list of covered work does not name rooftop solar electric systems, so ask the Division whether the company you are checking should be registered.

How To Check A Contractor

Use the verification link on that Division page, and ask any company for its registration details before you sign. The page lists an inquiries line for home improvement contractor businesses at (973) 424-8150 and an email address, HIC-HECinquiry@dca.njoag.gov, as of its March 2026 update.

Where To File A Complaint

The same Division page has a link to file a complaint against a home improvement contractor. If your problem is with a lease or loan, the U.S. Treasury consumer advisory on solar leases also points to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for complaints about financial products.

Net Metering Status

The Board of Public Utilities net metering notice (Docket QO24090723), dated November 8, 2024, describes New Jersey net metering as crediting a customer at the full retail rate for each kilowatt hour the system produces, up to what the customer uses over an annualized period, then paying for any leftover credits at the supplier's avoided cost of wholesale power.

The same notice says state law lets the Board allow suppliers to stop offering net metering to customers who are not already net metered once statewide net metered capacity passes 5.8 percent of annual kilowatt hours sold, and that Board staff calculated the state passed that mark during Energy Year 2024, which ended May 31, 2024. Staff opened a proceeding to recommend an updated mechanism for new customers. The wording points at new customers, but we did not find a final decision after that notice. If you already net meter, ask your utility whether any change, such as adding panels, would move you to new terms.

Lease And PPA Owners

If a company owns the system on your roof, it is generally responsible for maintenance, per the Treasury advisory. Find out who now holds your agreement before you hire anyone. See Solar Lease Or PPA When The Company Is Gone.

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.