What does it cost to take my solar panels off for a new roof and put them back?

What the job covers

A removal and reinstall means the panels come off, the roofer finishes the roof, and the panels go back and are reconnected. Michigan's rule R 408.30521a says PV panel systems mounted on or above the roof covering must comply with the code, Section R324 and NFPA 70. The same rule says the roof must support the loads and that roof penetrations are flashed and sealed, so ask who checks the new roof's load and who seals each penetration when the panels go back.

As one city's checklist reproduces the residential code, R324 asks for roof pathways at least 3 feet wide, panels at least 18 inches from a hip or valley when they sit on both sides, and panels at least 3 feet below the ridge. Midland's photovoltaic building checklist asks for the same three-foot paths, 18-inch valley clearance and 3 feet below the ridge. Ask the company to show how the reinstalled layout meets them.

What removal and reinstall costs in Michigan

Our estimate is $175 to $350 per panel, removed and put back for roof work. It's a model, built from two published national ranges and scaled by what Michigan solar installers are paid against the US mean, so a bid will differ. It adds no permit fee, because some cities want an electrical permit to reconnect and charge it per job, not per panel. The roofing itself, a cracked panel and a panel that fails after the work aren't in it.

Multiply by your panel count and compare with the bids, and ask each company what its total includes.

How we estimate costs: the Estimated range row comes out of a model, so treat it as a planning figure and never as a quote. It takes 2 published national ranges for this job (cost guides from third-party sites that we haven't verified and don't cite) and multiplies them by Michigan's solar installer wage ratio to the US (0.87, BLS May 2025). The range is before any incentive: the federal residential clean energy credit does not apply to systems installed after December 31, 2025. The wage and permit rows are what installers are paid and what the city charges, and neither is a price. We have not collected quotes, and too few Michigan installers publish prices to show a range. Full method. Prices as of Oct 23, 2026.

Who does what: the roofer, the solar company and the electrician

The roofer and the solar company are often different businesses, so get the handoff in writing: who disconnects the system, who stores or moves the panels, who reinstalls, and who pays if a panel cracks. Ask whether the roof warranty and the solar warranty each survive the work, and who flashes the penetrations when the panels go back.

Reconnecting is wiring work. Electrical contracting in Michigan takes an electrical contractor license under 2016 PA 407 (MCL 339.5737(1)). The law's definition of electrical wiring covers generating equipment, so ask for the license number of whoever reconnects the panels and look it up with LARA. LARA's licensing page says Michigan has no reciprocity with other states, so ask for the Michigan number even if the electrician holds a license in another state. Detroit issues its own licenses locally.

When to ask about this before you re-roof

If your roof will need replacing during the system's life, the order of work matters, so get the number before you sign for either job. The roof age guide and the guide to removing or reinstalling panels lay out the choices. Ask each bidder for the per-panel price and the total for your array. Bring the warranty papers to both bids: the MPSC's consumer tips tell buyers to ask what warranties come with a system, and a reinstall is where the roofer's and the solar company's terms meet.

If you lease the system or buy power under a PPA, you don't own the panels, so ask the owner what the contract says about removal and who's allowed to touch them. The leases, PPAs and loans guide covers what to ask.

What your city may want for a reinstall

Cities set their own permit rules, and a few print enough to plan around. Dearborn's residential solar checklist, updated January 23, 2025, requires both a building and an electrical permit for solar and gives 10 business days for review. Kalamazoo's checklist asks for an electrical and a building permit with one inspection of each, and says the electrician must hold a valid master's and contractor's license through the state, and that an out-of-state or unlicensed electrician needs sealed plans.

Some fee lines are written per piece of equipment. Detroit's BSEED schedule, effective January 1, 2024, charges $278 per inverter connection per visit for a grid-connected system. Livonia's electrical application lists $8 per solar panel, noting that the line needs plan review and a building permit as well (per the city's form). Ask your building department whether a reconnection after roof work is billed on its solar line, and put the answer on the bid.

Where LARA is the inspecting authority instead of the city, its electrical permit application says work may not start before a permit is issued and no work may be concealed before inspection. Its fee table prints PV at $2.00 per panel and a rough inspection and a final inspection at $75.00 each. Ask whether a reinstall goes on that line.

The utility side

DTE and Consumers Energy both run distributed generation programs, and the MPSC says customers must interconnect before operating. When your system first connected, DTE's overview had the installer upload an approved electrical inspection sticker within 180 days of approval, and had you, the customer, sign the Parallel Operating Agreement. Consumers had a commissioning test and a signed Generator Interconnection Operating Agreement.

Michigan's interconnection rule, R 460.984, says that once your agreement is signed you must tell the utility of plans to modify the system. If the utility finds the change material, you file a new application and fee, and the change can't begin until a new agreement is signed. Consumers' standard agreement repeats that in section 14.2, and its program page says to notify it ahead of time of any changes you plan.

The rule speaks of modifying a system. It doesn't say whether lifting the panels for a roof and putting them back counts, so send your utility the plan in writing before the crew starts and keep its reply with the roof contract.

Adding panels while the array is off is a different question. DTE's procedures say a Legacy Net Metering (Rider 16) customer whose aggregate generation goes up, through added kW or a generator modified to a higher AC or DC nameplate rating, becomes subject to Rider 18 terms. For a system approved under DTE's older AC sizing, section 3.5 of the same procedures says a material change brings a new application reviewed under the DC sizing method. You may then keep the current system and withdraw, or go ahead. Ask DTE which rider you'd be on before you order the extra panels.

When to call 911 and when it can wait

What to settle before roof work starts

1. Count your panels and write the number on both bids.
2. Ask for the per-panel removal and reinstall price and what the total includes.
3. Ask who disconnects, who reconnects and who holds the electrical contractor license number.
4. Ask who flashes the roof penetrations and what each warranty says afterward.
5. Ask your utility and your building department what they need to hear, and when.

Permits and who pulls them

Permits are pulled under the electrical contractor's Michigan license number, and cities set their own fees and rules. Dearborn requires both a building and an electrical permit for solar, and Kalamazoo's checklist asks for one building and one electrical inspection.

Owner-occupants of a single-family home are exempt from the electrical license when doing their own work, but not from the permit or the utility.

Ask for the company's contractor license number and look it up with your state's licensing board before you sign.

Questions people ask

Keep reading

Guides

• When to remove or reinstall solar panels: roof work, a sale, a lease end and who does the job
• Roof age and solar: when to replace the roof first, and what the codes say about the roof itself
• Solar leases, PPAs and loans: the questions to ask before you sign any of them
• Solar quotes: what to compare, and what to get in writing, before you sign

Related services

• Solar panel installation
• Solar repair
• System inspection
• Solar removal

Michigan licensing, code and permit facts · How to check a solar installer's license · Report a wrong price or rule