Your MCS certificate: what it shows, when it arrives, and how a Smart Export Guarantee supplier uses it
The MCS certificate is a single document, created by your installation team from the MCS Installations Database, that proves your solar system was designed, installed and commissioned to MCS standards. It is what a supplier asks for before paying you for exported electricity, and it is far easier to get right in the first month than to recover years later.
Updated 25 September 2026 · written by the Clearline guidance team · 7 min read
The short answer
Your MCS certificate proves the solar system on your roof was designed, installed and commissioned to industry recognised standards, using only MCS certified products, by an MCS certified installation team. Your installation team creates it, not MCS; it should reach you within days of commissioning, and it is what a supplier asks for when you apply for a Smart Export Guarantee tariff. Treat it as part of the value of the system, not admin.
This guide covers the certificate itself. For the scheme, read what MCS certification actually is; for vetting a firm, read how to check an MCS certificate is genuine.
One document, three conditions
MCS will only certify an installation commissioned by an MCS certified installation team, using an MCS certified product, with a commissioning date after 15 July 2009. Miss one and no certificate can exist. MCS also states a certificate is not a mandatory or legal requirement, which is why some cheap quotes quietly leave it out.
Who issues it and when it should arrive
MCS does not post certificates to homeowners. Every MCS installation must be registered on the MCS Installations Database, the MID, a central record of every MCS certified small scale low carbon installation in the UK, used by DESNZ and Ofgem to inform policy and regulation. Your installation team logs in and generates the certificate from it. Access is for certified installation teams, so you cannot search it yourself.
The timescale is short. MCS tells consumers the installation team is required to issue the certificate to you directly, and that this should be within 10 days of commissioning; its own guidance for installation teams says 10 working days, and teams on the redeveloped MCS scheme have a 30 day window. Late certificates can still be raised, but the installation team must give a reason and every late submission is recorded in the MID.
Ask for it at handover, not later
It normally arrives by email or in the handover pack. If nothing has come within a month of commissioning, chase the installation team in writing and quote the commissioning date. Do not wait for the export tariff application to find out.
What the certificate must show
MCS lists three things a certificate confirms: the type and model of the installed technology, the installation company and its certification details, and confirmation that the system complies with MCS Standards. Behind those sit the fields a supplier will ask you to read out.
| Field on the certificate | Why it matters | Who can correct it |
|---|---|---|
Address, postcode and MPAN | Ties the certificate to your property and supply | Your installation team, with MCS Helpdesk approval for an address change |
Commissioning date | Starts the clock for the certificate and export eligibility | Your installation team, with commissioning paperwork and Helpdesk approval |
DNC, EAG and TIC | Declared net capacity, estimated annual generation, total installed capacity | Your installation team, or MCS on the team's behalf with evidence |
Product details | Confirms MCS certified panels, inverter or battery were used | Your installation team, or MCS with evidence |
Meter make, model and serial | Matches the certificate to the meter the supplier reads | Your installation team, or MCS with evidence |
Meter readings and Compliance Certificates | Recorded at commissioning | Cannot be amended by MCS |
Source: MCS Certificate Queries and MCS's MID guidance for installation teams, accessed 18 August 2026.
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How the certificate is used for a Smart Export Guarantee tariff
The Smart Export Guarantee launched on 1 January 2020, after the Feed-in Tariff closed to new applicants from 1 April 2019. Suppliers set their own rate, contract length and terms; Ofgem's one floor is that the rate must be above zero, and payments come from export meter readings. You apply to a SEG licensee directly, and it need not be your import supplier.
Ofgem's guidance for generators says every application must show three things: the installation and the installation team are suitably certified, there is an export meter capable of half hourly readings, and there is an export MPAN, a 13 digit reference separate from your import MPAN. For solar PV up to 50kW both the installation and the installation team must be certified. That normally means an MCS certificate, although Ofgem recognises that other schemes may be equivalent to MCS, and suppliers such as Octopus Energy and British Gas name Flexi-Orb alongside it; a supplier that cannot see certification is not obliged to pay you.
In practice the certificate goes in with a small bundle. Octopus Energy asks for the MCS or Flexi-Orb certificate, a working smart meter and the DNO letter or email approving the export MPAN; it applies to the DNO for that MPAN itself and calls it the longest part of the process, which can take weeks. British Gas asks for the MCS, Flexi-Orb or accreditation certificate, G98 or G99 proof of grid connection, a smart meter recording export every 30 minutes and bank details; set up can take up to four weeks, and it pays every three months, within 28 days of your latest reading.
Rates move. On 18 August 2026 the published SEG rates at those two suppliers ran from 3p/kWh for non customers to 12p/kWh for households buying their import electricity from the same supplier, with conditions at the top end. See the export rates comparison and why the best export rates have conditions.
Gather the DNO paperwork
The G98 notification or G99 approval and the DNO's response. Systems never notified to the DNO can add several weeks. See G98 versus G99.
Complete the supplier's SEG form
Upload the certificate and DNO documents. Every supplier needs half hourly export readings from a smart meter; Octopus also wants a first reading and a photograph of the meter.
Wait for the export MPAN
The supplier cannot pay until it can read the export meter. This is the slow part, so apply the day the certificate lands.
Declare your Feed-in Tariff position
SEG export cannot be paid alongside FiT export payments; a FiT generation only arrangement is fine. Suppliers check the Central FIT Register.
If the certificate is missing or the installation team has gone
The first call is always the original installation team, for a first copy, a replacement or a correction. MCS will only generate a copy on the installation team's behalf if the installation team is no longer MCS certified or no longer trading, and only for the current system owner or their legal representative.
To find out whether a certificate exists at all, phone the MCS Customer Support Helpdesk on 0333 103 8130 with the technology type, the full installation address including postcode, and proof you live there: a utility bill or bank statement under three months old, a Council Tax letter or P45 or P60 under twelve months old, or a photo driving licence.
A copy from MCS costs £30 plus VAT, £36 in total, covering one copy with any number of amendments. MCS assesses your evidence, emails a PayPal payment request and provides the certificate within 10 working days of payment. Refunds can be requested within 14 days via mcshelpdesk@mcscertified.com.
What MCS cannot do
If a certified installation team used certified products but never raised a certificate, MCS says it is unable to help in raising a new one. There is no retrospective route, and MCS warns a copy certificate is no guarantee of access to any government incentive scheme. Buying a house with solar? Ask for the certificate before exchange.
One point on contact. From May 2026 the MCS Customer Insights team has been contacting selected homeowners to verify certificates, only from 0333 103 8198 or insights@mcscertified.com. Anyone else phoning about your MCS certificate, especially asking for money or bank details, is not MCS.
How to avoid delays
- Get it in writing at quote stage that the job will be MCS certified and you will receive the certificate.
- Check the address, MPAN, commissioning date, capacity figures and meter serial against your quote the day it arrives, and file it with the G98 or G99 documents and the DNO response.
- Apply for the export tariff immediately; the export MPAN wait starts when the supplier applies to the DNO.
- If you sell, hand the certificate to the buyer. The next owner inherits the export route only if the paperwork exists.
The certificate is easiest to get right before the deposit is paid. The free remote design call is where the paperwork gets checked before it becomes a problem, and nobody on the call sells you an installation.
Get my free quote →Every system is installed and commissioned by our MCS-certified, fully insured installation teams, and our job is to check the paperwork, certificate included, before any money changes hands.
MCS, Ofgem, Octopus Energy and British Gas pages checked 18 August 2026. Supplier rates and requirements change; confirm with the supplier before you apply.
MCS certificate questions, answered
Who issues the MCS certificate for solar panels?
Your installation team does, not MCS. The installation team registers the job on the MCS Installations Database and generates the certificate from it. MCS tells consumers it should be issued to you directly within 10 days of commissioning; teams on the redeveloped scheme have a 30 day window.
What does an MCS certificate show?
The type and model of technology installed, the installation company and its certification details, and confirmation the system complies with MCS Standards. It also carries your address, postcode and MPAN, the commissioning date, the declared net capacity, estimated annual generation and total installed capacity, the product details and the meter make, model and serial number.
Can I look up my MCS certificate online?
No. The MCS Installations Database is open to MCS certified installation teams, not the public. To check whether a certificate exists for your address, phone the MCS Customer Support Helpdesk on 0333 103 8130 with the technology type, the full address and proof that you live there.
How much does a copy of an MCS certificate cost?
If the installation team can still supply it, ask them first. If the installation team is no longer MCS certified or no longer trading, MCS will provide a copy to the current system owner or their legal representative for £30 plus VAT, £36 in total, within 10 working days of payment. Refunds can be requested within 14 days.
Do I need an MCS certificate to get Smart Export Guarantee payments?
For solar PV up to 50kW, Ofgem requires both the installation and the installation team to be suitably certified, and an MCS certificate is the standard evidence. Ofgem also recognises that other schemes may be equivalent to MCS, and suppliers such as Octopus Energy and British Gas accept Flexi-Orb. Without certification a supplier is not obliged to pay you, though a few choose to; Octopus Energy describes itself as one of the rare suppliers offering its export tariff without an MCS certificate.
My installation team went bust and never sent the certificate. What can I do?
It depends on whether the certificate was ever raised. If it exists on the MCS database, MCS can issue a copy because the team is no longer trading. If the team never created it, MCS says it cannot raise a new certificate for you, and there is no retrospective route. Phone the helpdesk first to find out which position you are in.
Can I keep my Feed-in Tariff and still join a SEG tariff?
You cannot claim SEG export payments while receiving FiT export payments. If your FiT arrangement covers generation only, a SEG export tariff can sit alongside it, and MCS notes that some suppliers let you keep your FiT tariff and sign on to their SEG export tariff. You will be asked to confirm your FiT export status on the application.
See the numbers next: Duracell Dura16, installed, or the battery storage guide.
Figures and specifications in this guide are sourced below and were checked on the date shown. Rates and product specifications change; we confirm the current picture on your free design call.
Sources
- MCS, MCS Certificate Queries: what the certificate is, the three conditions, 10 day issue, certificate fields, copy process, helpdesk, fee, proof of address mcscertified.com
- MCS, MID guidance for installation teams: the MCS Installations Database, 10 working day duty, late submissions, amendable fields mcscertified.com
- MCS Installation Database (MID) login homepage: installation-team access, helpdesk contact certificate.microgenerationcertification.org
- MCS, Smart Export Guarantee consumer page: eligibility, certificate requested at sign up, Feed-in Tariff closure mcscertified.com
- MCS, Smart Export Guarantee for installation teams mcscertified.com
- MCS, Your Renewable Installation: Customer Insights verification contacts from May 2026 mcscertified.com
- Ofgem, Smart Export Guarantee scheme page: launch date, eligible technologies, rates above zero, licensee terms ofgem.gov.uk
- Ofgem, SEG Generators: applying to a SEG licensee, capacity limits ofgem.gov.uk
- Ofgem, SEG Guidance for Generators landing page, published 12 December 2019 ofgem.gov.uk
- Ofgem, SEG Guidance for Generators PDF, December 2019: certification, export meter and MPAN requirements, FIT interaction ofgem.gov.uk
- Octopus Energy, Smart Export Guarantee tariff page: documents required, export MPAN process, rates on 18 August 2026 octopus.energy
- Octopus Energy, FAQs about Outgoing Octopus: MCS certificate, DNO documents, meter types octopus.energy
- British Gas, Smart Export Guarantee tariff: paperwork, set up time, payment cycle, rates on 18 August 2026 britishgas.co.uk
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