An MCS certified installer is a company approved under the Microgeneration Certification Scheme to design and fit small scale renewables to a recognised standard. If you want the Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant or Smart Export Guarantee payments, you have to use one. There's no way round it.
MCS certification is the UK's quality mark for small scale renewable energy. It covers safety, performance and consumer protection, and it's the single easiest thing to check before you let anyone near your roof.
What Is MCS?
MCS stands for the Microgeneration Certification Scheme.
It's the UK's quality mark for renewable energy technologies, including:
- Solar PV
- Air source heat pumps
- Ground source and water source heat pumps
- Solar heating
- Small wind turbines
- Electrical energy storage systems (battery storage)
The scheme sets the industry standards that improve installation quality, keep work compliant with building regulations, and give customers somewhere to go if something goes wrong.
Why Does MCS Certification Matter?
Because it's the difference between a system that qualifies for funding and one that doesn't.
Choosing an MCS certified installer gives you:
- Work carried out to a documented, audited standard
- Products that have been independently tested
- Consumer protection through a recognised code
- Access to government grants and export payments
- Proof that building regulations have been met
Without MCS certified installation, you may not qualify for government incentives at all. In a market with a lot of new entrants, it's also the quickest way to separate an established installer from someone who bought a van last month.
Do You Need an MCS Certified Installer for Government Incentives?
Yes. Every time.
If you want the Boiler Upgrade Scheme, your heat pump has to be installed by an MCS certified installer using MCS certified products. The same principle applies to the Smart Export Guarantee, where your supplier will ask for an MCS certificate before they'll pay you for exported solar.
Current Boiler Upgrade Scheme grant levels in England and Wales, according to Ofgem:
| Technology | Grant |
| Air source or ground source heat pump | £7,500 |
| Air-to-water or ground source heat pump, eligible off-gas-grid property | £9,000 |
| Biomass boiler (limited circumstances) | £5,000 |
| Air-to-air heat pump (residential only) | £2,500 |
Your installer applies for the grant on your behalf and it comes off your quote. The MCS certificate is the document that gets used for scheme records afterwards, so keep it somewhere safe. More detail in our Boiler Upgrade Scheme questions answered and heat pump grants guide.
What Is the MCS Mark?
The MCS mark is the badge that shows a system was installed under the scheme.
It tells you that:
- The installer meets MCS requirements and is audited against them
- The products used are MCS certified products
- The company runs a documented quality management system
- The work complies with scheme requirements
You can check any company on the MCS installations database on the official MCS website. If they're not on it, they're not certified, whatever the website says.
What Does an MCS Certified Installer Actually Do?
Certification isn't a one-off badge. A certified business has to:
- Complete MCS approved training and keep skills current
- Demonstrate competency against the Installer Operating Requirements
- Assign the required business roles (more on this below)
- Work to strict standards of workmanship and run the business consistently
- Maintain a documented quality management system
- Self certify installations in line with building regulations
- Pass ongoing audits by their certification body
They also have to be registered with a consumer code, usually the Renewable Energy Consumer Code, which is overseen by the Chartered Trading Standards Institute. That's the layer that gives you a route to dispute resolution outside the courts.
The business roles have changed
Under the redeveloped MCS installer scheme, the old "nominee" and "nominated technical person" titles have been replaced. Certified businesses now assign a Licensee who signs the installer agreement, a Main Contact who deals with MCS and the certification body day to day, and one or more Technical Supervisors. A Technical Supervisor is assigned to each installation and is responsible for making sure that job meets the relevant MCS installation standard. Source: MCS guide to the new business roles.
If you're comparing installers, asking who the Technical Supervisor on your job will be is a very good question.
What Products Must Be MCS Certified?
All of the main kit. Installers can only use MCS certified products on a system claiming accreditation.
That covers:
- Solar panels and inverters
- Air source heat pumps
- Ground source and water source heat pumps
- Battery storage and other electrical energy storage systems
- Solar heating equipment
Certified products have been tested against performance benchmarks, so the output figures on your quote are based on something real rather than a manufacturer's best guess. It also means the system genuinely delivers the carbon reduction it claims.
How Can Installers Gain MCS Certification?
For businesses looking to become MCS certified, the route is:
- Complete an MCS approved training course and any relevant technical training
- Meet the competency requirements in the Installer Operating Requirements
- Implement a quality management system
- Assign your Licensee, Main Contact and Technical Supervisor roles
- Pass assessment by your chosen certification body
- Sign the installer agreement before certification is issued
- Join an approved consumer code
- Maintain compliance through ongoing audits
It isn't quick and it isn't meant to be. The audit cycle is what keeps quality up across the solar industry and the wider renewables sector.
How Does MCS Support Installers?
Certification opens doors that are closed otherwise.
- Access to grant-funded work, which is most of the heat pump market
- Credibility with customers who've been told to check
- A framework for demonstrating competency
- Alignment with recognised industry standards
- A share in the growth of low carbon heating and generation
For heat pump installers in particular, being MCS accredited is effectively the price of entry.
How Does MCS Protect Consumers?
Consumer protection is the point of the scheme.
It gives you:
- An installation designed and fitted to a published standard
- Clear documentation, including your MCS certificate
- Compliance with building regulations
- Eligibility for grants and export tariffs
- A consumer code behind the work
- A route to further guidance and dispute resolution if there's a problem
You can search the MCS database at any time to confirm an installer's certification number and check their accreditation is still active. Do it before you pay a deposit, not after.
Is MCS Certification Worth It?
For homeowners, yes, and it isn't really a close call.
Using an MCS certified installer means a safer installation, access to grant funding, a system that performs closer to its design figures, and better long term reliability. What you'll actually save depends on your usage, your generation and energy prices at the time, but a properly designed and commissioned system gives you the best chance of hitting the numbers on your quote.
For installers, accreditation is what unlocks the grant-funded side of the market and the trust that comes with it.
How Do You Find an MCS Certified Installer?
Five things to do before you sign anything:
- Search the MCS website database rather than trusting a logo on a website
- Confirm the certification number matches the trading name on your quote
- Check which technologies they're certified for, since solar PV and heat pumps are separate certifications
- Ask who the Technical Supervisor on your installation will be
- Ask which consumer code they belong to
If you're weighing up solar PV, a heat pump or battery storage, our guide to choosing a local installation company goes into what else to look for beyond the certificate.
CRG Direct is MCS certified. If you'd like to talk through what would suit your property, get in touch and we'll give you a straight answer about what's worth doing and what isn't.
As Marketing Executive at CRG Direct, Lark looks after the company's brand and online presence, applying her expertise in SEO, PPC, copywriting and website development to make sure customers can find us and get the information they need. With a strong passion for renewable energy and sustainability, she creates engaging, informative content that showcases the benefits of solar power for homes and businesses alike.