C-46 — Solar License
Also known as: C-46 licenseSolar licenseCSLB C-46
C-46 is the California Contractors State License Board classification for Solar contractors. It authorizes work involving the installation of solar energy systems — photovoltaic arrays, solar thermal systems, mounting hardware, and the system-level electrical interconnection.
What C-46 covers: - Solar PV panel installation and mounting - Solar array design and engineering - System-level inverter installation - Some battery storage installation (overlapping scope with C-10) - Solar-specific permit pulls
What C-46 does NOT cover (or overlaps with): - General electrical work (that's C-10) - HVAC equipment (that's C-20)
The overlap zone — battery storage: Battery storage installation can be done under either C-46 (when paired with solar) or C-10 (standalone or paired with solar). Most residential battery installs in California are done by C-46 solar contractors when paired with solar, or by C-10 electrical contractors as standalone backup.
C-46 and C-10 both cover solar PV installation per CSLB. C-46 is the license SPECIFICALLY for solar contractors; C-10 (Electrical) explicitly includes "solar photovoltaic cells" in its scope. A residential solar project can be done end-to-end by a C-10 contractor (which is what Sunrise does), or split between a C-46 array contractor and a C-10 electrical contractor (the older model that some larger solar companies still use).
Sunrise holds C-10, not C-46. Per CSLB, C-10 covers solar PV installation — we install solar and battery systems end-to-end ourselves, including the rooftop array, modules, racking, inverters, wiring, PG&E NEM interconnection, AC disconnect, and AHJ permits. If you want solar, we do the whole thing in-house — same crew that does panel upgrades and EV chargers. We don't split solar projects across two contractors.
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