Taking panels off and putting them back is two jobs on one roof
A re-roof means the array comes off, the roofer works, and the array goes back on and gets reconnected. Disconnecting and reconnecting touch the system's wiring. TDLR licenses electrical contractors for installing or altering conductors that carry power, and Houston's solar permit page names Occupations Code Chapter 1305, the electricians chapter, as its authority, so ask the company for its TDLR electrical contractor license number.
A homeowner may do electrical work on a dwelling they own and live in without the state license, though cities can add their own rules. Lubbock's solar permit form, for instance, says only electrical contractors holding the state license may obtain its permit.
Arlington shows how one city ties the trades together: its May 2021 FAQ describes a single Solar Panel permit that combines the residential and electrical permits, with the contractor holding the city's New Home Builder/Remodeler and Electrical Contractor registrations.
What removal and reinstall costs in Texas: the model per panel
The model's price for taking panels off and putting them back is $180 to $365 per panel, removed and put back for roof work. It adjusts two national ranges by Texas's solar installer wage ratio of 0.91, adds no permit fee, and is an estimate and not a quote.
The range doesn't include re-roofing, new flashing or a panel replaced because it cracked, and no federal credit comes off it. Ask for the per-panel price and the number of panels counted.
| Item | Figure | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Estimated range, not a quote | $180 to $365 per panel, removed and put back for roof work | Built from 2 national published ranges, adjusted by the Texas solar installer median wage ratio (0.91). Before any incentive: there is no federal credit for a system installed in 2026. Basis: no Texas company price for this job, so the national estimate stands. |
| Solar photovoltaic installer wage, Texas median | $23.19 an hour | O*NET 2025 median from BLS May 2025 data: what installers are paid, not what you are charged. |
| Solar Panel Permit, Houston | $91.06 plus a $33.56 admin fee | HPWCODE1119 page; a fee for a new system, and plan review may apply. |
| Residential solar installation permit, Garland | $150 plus a 4.5 percent surcharge | City page; a new-system fee, not a reconnection price. |
Estimated range. Built from national published ranges (2 sources), adjusted by Texas's solar installer median wage ratio to the US (0.91, BLS May 2025), plus the city solar permit fee where the city publishes one. Not a quote. One Texas installer publishes its own current price on its own page (Palmetto, per watt), too few to build a range from; the others print blog or market averages or dated figures, which we do not count. We have no Texas company price for this job, so the range is our national estimate alone. Full method. Prices as of Oct 24, 2026.
Whether the city wants a permit to reconnect
Each Texas city issues solar permits under the codes it has adopted. The Texas rows here are written for solar installations: Houston's $91.06 Solar Panel Permit with a $33.56 admin fee, Garland's $150 residential solar installation permit plus a 4.5 percent surcharge, Frisco's $150 from October 1, 2026 and Amarillo's $230 on a fee page with no printed date. None of those rows names a reinstall, so ask your permit office whether putting the array back takes a new permit, and what it costs, before the roof comes off.
Houston adds that plan review may apply depending on scope. Dallas's bulletin sends solar permits through zoning, building code and fire specialty review and requires compliance with IRC R324.3 and R324.6, which cover rooftop PV, roof access and pathways.
The roof layout and your HOA
Property Code 202.010, as the statute reads (the copy cited here may predate the latest session), lets an association prohibit a device installed without prior approval, one that doesn't conform to the roof slope, and one that rises above the roofline. If the panels will go back in a different spot on the new roof, ask the association whether it wants to approve the new layout.
The utility side after the panels return
Your interconnection agreement stays with the system. Oncor programs the meter to measure surplus kWh flowing out, and CenterPoint requires an AC disconnect that is visible and accessible, typically within 10 feet of its meter. Ask your utility whether it wants notice before the array is disconnected, and keep the agreement with the roofing contract.
In CPS Energy territory, the rooftop solar page asks that the system be added to your homeowner's insurance at full replacement cost.
What to put in the roofing and solar contracts
Name which company removes the panels, which one reinstalls them and who pays if a panel cracks. Ask whether the solar company's warranty stays in force when another company handles the removal. The model's range covers moving panels, not roof repair, so the roofer's price is separate.
When a roof job with solar becomes an emergency
- Smoke, a burning smell or sparks at the inverter, the panels or their wiring during or after the work is a 911 call.
- Production is lower after the panels went back on.
- A panel was scratched but nothing is hot or smoking.
What to gather before the roof comes off
- Photograph the array and the inverter display so the before state is on record.
- Find your interconnection agreement and the panel warranty papers.
- Ask each company for its TDLR electrical contractor license number.
Permits for moving a solar array
Cities set the rule. Ask the building department whether an electrical permit is needed to reconnect, who may take it out and what it costs.
Houston has contractors register their state license with the city, and only electrical contractors holding the state license may obtain Lubbock's permit.
Ask for the company's contractor license number and look it up with your state's licensing board before you sign.
Questions people ask
Do I need an electrician to reinstall solar panels in Texas?
Ask for a TDLR electrical contractor license number for the reconnection. A homeowner may do electrical work on a home they own and live in, but cities can add their own rules.
Does Texas require a permit to put the panels back?
Your city decides, under the codes it adopts. Ask the permit office whether it wants an electrical or solar permit to reconnect, and the amount.
Is the roofer or the solar company responsible for panels?
The contracts decide, so write it down. Name who removes, who reinstalls and who pays for a cracked panel before the work begins.
Does my HOA need to see the new layout?
Ask it, if the panels will move. Property Code 202.010, as the statute reads, lets an association prohibit a device installed without prior approval.
- O*NET OnLine (BLS May 2025 wage data): Solar photovoltaic installers (SOC 47-2231), Texas statewide, median hourly wage Read Oct 24, 2026.
- O*NET OnLine (BLS May 2025 wage data): Solar photovoltaic installers (SOC 47-2231), United States (national), median hourly wage Read Oct 24, 2026.
- SolarPanelMatch: how we estimate costs, Texas (editorial policy) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Houston Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Garland Read Oct 24, 2026.
- TDLR: Apply for a New Electrical Contractor License; Houston Permitting Center HPWCODE1119 Read Oct 24, 2026.
- TDLR: Electrical exemptions Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Lubbock Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Arlington Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Frisco Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Solar permit fee, Amarillo Read Oct 24, 2026.
- City solar permit page, Dallas Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Texas Property Code 202.010 (legacy host statutes.legis.state.tx.us via Wayback copy) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- Oncor: for installers Read Oct 24, 2026.
- CenterPoint Energy DER Application Tariff (PDF) Read Oct 24, 2026.
- CPS Energy: Rooftop Solar (residential) Read Oct 24, 2026.