What removal for good involves, and who may do it
Removal for good takes the panels, racking and inverter off, ends the system's connection to the grid, and puts nothing back. CSLB's Solar Smart page names A, B, C-10 Electrical and C-46 Solar as the classes that can legally install PV, with C-46 described as covering work to install, modify, maintain and repair those systems. C-4, C-36 and C-53 are limited to solar heating. Ask each company for its CSLB license number and class, and check both on CSLB's lookup before anything is scheduled.
Get the scope in writing: which parts come off, who hauls the equipment away, and who patches the roof penetrations. Solar Smart's advice to keep control of payments and get mechanics lien releases signed is written for solar buyers, and it's worth asking for on a removal too.
California removal prices: the model and what it leaves out
Our model puts removal at $3,725 to $12,600 per system removed for good (not put back). It starts from a single national range, widened 15 percent on each side, applies California's installer wage ratio of 1.09, and adds no permit fee. Use it to compare quotes against; no company has offered that price.
The model prices the removal only. Ask what a quote covers: panels, racking, the inverter, wiring, haul-away and the roof repair, and whether it includes contacting the utility.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $3,725 to $12,600 per system removed for good (not put back) | Built from one national published range, adjusted by the California solar installer wage ratio (1.09). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. Basis: no California company price for this job, so the national estimate stands. |
| Solar photovoltaic installer wage, California mean | $30.42 an hour | BLS OEWS (May 2025) installer pay, not what a removal costs. |
Estimated range. Built from national published ranges (1 source), adjusted by California's solar installer wage ratio to the US (1.09, BLS May 2025), plus the city solar permit fee where the city publishes one. Not a quote. One California installer publishes its own quoted range (per watt and per battery), too few to build a range from; the others print blog averages, which we do not count. We have no California company price for this job, so the range is our national estimate alone. Full method. Prices as of Oct 23, 2026.
Owned, leased or on a PPA: who decides
If you bought the system with cash or a loan, the removal is your decision. CSLB's Solar Smart page lists buying, leasing and a power purchase agreement as the three common paths, and with a lease or a PPA you don't own the system. The supporting-information form CSLB uses asks whether the deal is a lease or PPA and whether the contract can transfer to a new homeowner, so read what yours says about removal, early termination and who pays before you hire anyone.
Financed systems leave two sets of papers. CSLB's supporting-information pages list the loan and financing terms, and PACE financing carries its own financing estimate and disclosure, so bring both to the lender or leasing company when you ask what removal means for your balance.
Your utility, your meter and the tariff you're on
Rule 21 is the CPUC tariff that sets interconnection, operating and metering requirements for generation on PG&E, SCE and SDG&E lines, and LADWP and SMUD, as municipal utilities, run their own rules. Its Material Modification, as SCE's tariff sheet defines it, turns on "a material impact on cost or timing" of other queued requests or a change in the point of interconnection.
SCE's FAQ covers taking part of a system out. A change that decreases system size needs Form 14-987 emailed to SCE, with no new interconnection application and no SCE approval, and SCE says "Decreasing your system size will not affect your current tariff eligibility." One kind of removal does need a new application: removing equipment under a Rule 21 multi-tariff agreement, which pairs net metering with another tariff. None of the three utilities' pages says what happens to the agreement when everything comes off, so ask yours in writing before you sign a removal contract.
NEM 2.0 customers may stay on that tariff for 20 years from the date they interconnected, NBT customers keep theirs for nine years, and the NEM tariffs are closed to new enrollments. Keep the permission-to-operate letter and your last true-up statement with the removal papers.
Where the old panels go: California's universal waste rule
Old panels can be hazardous waste here. DTSC's rule for managing PV modules as universal waste took effect January 1, 2021. Its FAQ says "Not all PV modules are hazardous": the rules cover modules that show the toxicity characteristic, and the handler makes a hazardous waste determination "through analytical testing or generator knowledge." DTSC says older modules have more potential for that characteristic because of lead in solders and hexavalent chromium in coatings, and that cadmium telluride, gallium arsenide and CIGS thin film modules can be hazardous too.
Your own duties are small. DTSC's FAQ says the notification and annual reporting requirements "do not apply to homeowners unless they are in the business of accepting PV modules and universal waste." It encourages households to ask their local household hazardous waste facility whether it takes PV modules. Breaking a module on purpose counts as treatment, and DTSC's pages say modules may not be mixed in with other universal wastes such as electronic devices. Ask the remover in writing where the panels will go.
The roof patch, the papers and a home sale
Ask in writing who patches the roof penetrations and what warranty covers the patch, and keep the invoice and any city sign-off with the house papers.
If you're selling, Revenue and Taxation Code 73 keeps a new active solar system completed before January 1, 2027 out of reassessment until a change in ownership. The solar and home sale guide covers what buyers ask about a system, a lease or a PPA.
PG&E's NEM FAQ, an undated PDF, says the 20-year legacy rules are "tied to the system, not the owner," and its example has a buyer inheriting the five years an owner hadn't used.
If the panels are coming off only for roof work and going back up, that's a different job, priced per panel on the panel removal and reinstall page.
When a system you are removing can't wait
- Call 911 for fire, smoke or a burning smell at the inverter, panels or wiring, and don't touch anything.
- The system is working but you plan to remove it.
- A cracked panel that is not smoking or burning.
What to find before you call a company
- Find the contract and note whether you own the system or lease it.
- Locate the permission-to-operate letter and your last true-up statement.
- Read the exports line on your latest utility bill and keep a copy.
Does removal need a permit
Ask your building department whether taking a grid-tied system out needs a permit before work starts, and ask the company who contacts PG&E, SCE or SDG&E. The city rules on the interconnection and permits page are written for installing a system, and that page lists the utility application fees for new connections.
Ask for the company's contractor license number and look it up with your state's licensing board before you sign.
Questions people ask
Who can remove a solar system in California?
Ask for a CSLB license number and class, and check it on CSLB's lookup. The classes CSLB names for photovoltaic work are A, B, C-10 and C-46.
Can I remove a leased solar system myself?
Not without checking the contract, because with a lease or PPA you don't own the system. The supporting-information form CSLB uses asks whether the deal is a lease or PPA and whether it transfers to a new homeowner.
What happens to NEM 2.0 if I remove my system?
Ask your utility in writing before you sign a removal contract. SCE says shrinking a system doesn't affect your tariff eligibility, and the NEM tariffs are closed to new enrollments.
Do I have to tell my utility?
Ask the company who will contact PG&E, SCE or SDG&E. Rule 21 sets the interconnection, operating and metering rules on those three systems, and LADWP and SMUD customers deal with their municipal utility.
How much does solar removal cost in California?
The model's removal range is $3,725 to $12,600 per system removed for good (not put back), not a quote. Ask whether disposal and the roof patch are inside that price.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025: Solar photovoltaic installers (SOC 47-2231), California statewide, mean hourly wage Read Oct 23, 2026.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS May 2025: Solar photovoltaic installers (SOC 47-2231), United States (national), mean hourly wage Read Oct 23, 2026.
- SolarPanelMatch: how we estimate costs, California (editorial policy) Read Oct 23, 2026.
- BLS Public Data API (OEWS series OEUS060000000000047223101..13, OEUN000000000000047223101..13) Read Oct 23, 2026.
- CSLB Solar Smart Read Oct 23, 2026.
- CSLB Licensing Classifications Read Oct 23, 2026.
- CSLB Solar Energy System Supporting Information Read Oct 23, 2026.
- CPUC Electric Rule 21: Generating Facility Interconnections Read Oct 23, 2026.
- CPUC Net Energy Metering and Net Billing Read Oct 23, 2026.
- Revenue and Taxation Code 73 (leginfo); BOE LTA 2024/031 Read Oct 23, 2026.
- SCE Electric Rule 21, Generating Facility Interconnections (tariff text) Read Oct 23, 2026.
- SCE, Net Energy Metering FAQ Read Oct 23, 2026.
- PG&E, California's New Solar Billing Program FAQ (PDF) Read Oct 23, 2026. Confirm with the source before you rely on it.
- DTSC, Final Regulations list; Photovoltaic Modules Universal Waste Management Regulations page (Wayback copy 2026-01-23) Read Oct 23, 2026.
- DTSC, PV Modules (Including Solar Panels) Universal Waste Management FAQ Read Oct 23, 2026.
- DTSC, PV Modules Universal Waste Management Regulations (Wayback copy 2026-01-23); FAQ category copy 2020-12-28 Read Oct 23, 2026. Confirm with the source before you rely on it.