Every solar company on EcoGen America is listed with facts from its own published materials. Some of them also carry the EcoGen Verified Installer badge. This page explains exactly what that badge means, what we check before a company earns it, and what it does not mean, so you can read any solar company profile on this site and know what you are looking at.
Key takeaways
- An EcoGen Verified Installer has passed three checks: an active state license in the public registry, real in-state crews shown on its own website, and a workmanship warranty that covers roof penetrations.
- Every check is dated on the company’s profile, with the registry or page we read.
- The badge is not a ranking and cannot be bought. A company that pays EcoGen America nothing can be verified.
- Verified is not the same as certified: NABCEP certifies individual technicians; we verify the company you would sign a contract with.
The Three Checks
A company is an EcoGen Verified Installer when it passes all three. Miss any one and the company is listed on our site, but it is not verified.
Check | What Has to Be True | Where You Can See It |
|---|---|---|
1. Active state license | The license the company publishes is active in that state’s public registry, under the exact business name, for the state where the company appears on our site. | The licensing table on the company’s profile, with the registry name and the date we checked. |
2. Real in-state crews | The company’s own website shows it installs in the state: a published service area naming the counties, towns or the state itself, or crews based there. A physical office in the state is not required. Lead marketplaces and resellers never qualify. | The “Where It Installs” section on the profile, with the page we read and the date. |
3. Workmanship warranty with roof coverage | The company publishes a workmanship warranty that covers the roof penetrations its crews make. We record the number of years, but the length is not a pass condition; the roof coverage is. | The warranty table on the profile, with the page we read and the date. |
What the Badge Does Not Mean
- It is not a ranking. Verified companies are not ordered against each other, and no company is scored.
- It is not for sale. Whether a company pays EcoGen America for leads has no bearing on the checks, and a company that pays us nothing can be verified.
- It is not a guarantee of your outcome. It means the three facts above were true on the date shown. Your contract, your roof and your utility still decide the result, which is why every profile ends with the same three things to check before you sign.
Verified Installer vs. Certified Solar Installer
Homeowners often search for a certified solar installer. Certification in this industry usually means NABCEP, the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, which certifies individual technicians and salespeople after an exam and documented installs. That is a credential for a person. Our verification is about the company: the legal entity whose name goes on your contract, whose license the state registry lists, and whose warranty covers your roof. A company can employ NABCEP-certified staff and still fail our license check, and a company can pass all three checks with no NABCEP holder on staff. When a company publishes NABCEP credentials on its own site, we record them on the profile under certifications, separately from the badge.
How the Checks Stay Current
Each check carries the date it was made, on the profile itself. We re-check verified companies on a regular cycle, and a company whose license lapses, whose site no longer shows in-state work, or whose warranty terms change loses the badge until the facts are current again. A company that closes gets a closure notice on its profile so its customers know where they stand.
Where the Facts Come From
Every fact behind a badge comes from two places only: the company’s own published materials, read on a recorded date, and the public state registry for the license check. We do not use third-party review sites for verification, and we never store or score anyone’s star ratings.
If you are a homeowner comparing quotes, start with your state’s solar companies page, open the profiles, and read the dates. Then put the company through our 18 questions to ask a solar installer and read its proposal with our solar quote guide. If you run a solar company and want to be checked, the same three facts on your own website are all it takes.
How This Fits with the Rest of EcoGen America
Verification is one of the ways we earn trust; the others are on Why Trust EcoGen America, About Us, and How We Make Money, which explains plainly that installers pay us for introductions and that this never touches a check.
Verified Installer FAQs
What does EcoGen Verified Installer mean?
It means the company passed three checks on a recorded date: its published state license is active in the public registry under its exact business name, its own website shows real in-state crews or a published service area, and it publishes a workmanship warranty that covers roof penetrations.
Do solar companies pay to be EcoGen Verified?
No. Whether a company pays EcoGen America for homeowner introductions has no bearing on the checks. A company that pays us nothing can be verified, and a company that pays us can fail.
Is a verified installer the same as a NABCEP certified solar installer?
No. NABCEP certifies individual technicians and salespeople. EcoGen verification checks the company that signs your contract: its license, its in-state crews, and its roof warranty. Both can be true of the same company, and we record NABCEP credentials on the profile when the company publishes them.
How do I check a solar installer’s license myself?
Search your state’s contractor or consumer-affairs registry for the exact business name on your contract, then match the license number the company prints on its website. Our profiles show the number, the registry we used and the date we checked, so you can repeat the check in a minute.