Is Plug-In Solar Legal? All 10 State Laws, Checked Nov 2026

So, is plug in solar legal? In ten US states, yes: a plug-in solar law has been signed in Utah, Maine, Virginia, Colorado, Maryland, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Vermont, New Jersey and California. There is no federal ban. In the other forty states there is no specific law, which is not the same as a prohibition. We checked every law against its official text on November 9, 2026 and list what each one says below.

The Short Version

• Ten states have a signed law Legal
• Six have started: Utah, Colorado, Connecticut, Vermont, Maryland and Maine (Maine’s exact start date is not printed in its text) In force
• Four start later: Virginia, New Hampshire and California on January 1, 2027, New Jersey on March 1, 2027 Signed, not in force yet
• No federal ban, and no state is listed as banning it No law yet
• New York has a bill that passed but is not law No law yet

The 10 States With a Plug-In Solar Law

The table gives the headline terms. The cap is the most the laws allow a plug-in system to put into your home. The notification column says whether you must tell your utility. Details and sources follow in the two lists underneath.

In Force Now

Utah. HB 340 was signed on March 25, 2025 and took effect on May 7, 2025, the earliest of the ten laws. It allows up to 1,200 W through a 120 V outlet. The equipment must be UL certified or certified by an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory (NRTL) and must shut down when the grid goes down (anti-islanding). The utility cannot require approval, fees or extra equipment, and there is no notification. Utah HB 340 (2025) Our Utah guide goes deeper.

Colorado. HB26-1007 took effect on August 12, 2026. It sets the highest cap of any state, 1,920 W, with one system per home and one per outlet. The device must be listed by an NRTL and have anti-islanding. The utility may ask you to notify it of the system’s presence and size. Systems of 391 W or less are exempt from installation requirements, and from January 1, 2027 selling a unit above 391 W without a UL listing is banned. Colorado HB26-1007, c. 127, 2026

Connecticut. Public Act 26-127 took effect on October 1, 2026. The cap is 1,200 W, one system per meter. The unit must not be fixed to the structure, must plug into a 120 V outlet and must be certified by UL or an NRTL, including UL 1741. There is no notification, but local building codes still apply, and the law warns that power you export may be billed as consumption if you have no net metering. Connecticut Public Act 26-127, 2026

Vermont. Act 149 took effect on July 1, 2026. It allows 1,200 W combined per meter, and requires UL 3700 or an equivalent NRTL certification, IEEE 1547-2018 and a smart meter. The mounting can be temporary but must be secure. There is no net metering and exported power is not paid. Vermont Act 149 (2026)

Maryland. HB 1532, the Utility RELIEF Act, was signed on May 12, 2026. The cap is 1,200 W, one system per meter, residential only. You must notify the utility before installing, and if an automatic disconnect is needed the customer pays for it. The revised fiscal note gives a July 1, 2026 start. Maryland HB 1532, revised fiscal note, 2026 We treat that date with a hedge: the chapter text contains two versions of the key article, and one tracker says the law took effect immediately.

Maine. LD 1730 became P.L. 2026, c. 644 when it was signed on April 6, 2026. We could not confirm its start date in the text: it has no emergency clause, and one trade outlet says July 2026. Up to 420 W you need nothing more. From 420 W up to 1,200 W per home you need a licensed electrician, a dedicated circuit with a single outlet, and notice to the utility within 30 days. It requires UL 3700 or a comparable NRTL standard, and it also covers plug-in batteries. Maine P.L. 2026 c. 644

Signed, Not in Force Yet

Virginia. HB 395 and SB 250 (2026 acts, chapters 998 and 1052) created Va. Code § 56-596.8, effective January 1, 2027. The cap is 1,200 W per customer, or per unit in a multifamily building. You must notify the utility before installing, using the State Corporation Commission form, and the utility has 15 days to respond. If it does not, the requirement is treated as met. The law does not apply to rented units that split bills under a RUBS arrangement. Va. Code § 56-596.8, 2026

New Hampshire. SB 540 (chapter 262) was approved on July 2, 2026 and takes effect on January 1, 2027. It allows one system per metered customer, up to 1,200 W AC, with NRTL certification. The utility may create a way for you to report the system’s size after installing, for notification purposes only. The building-code section only applies once the US Department of Energy certifies a national standard. New Hampshire SB 540, chaptered text, 2026 One state docket says “Remainder Effective 07/02/2026”. That contradicts the law’s own text, and the text rules.

California. SB 868 (Statutes of 2026, chapter 985) was chaptered on September 30, 2026. It allows up to 1,200 W AC in total per dwelling, effective January 1, 2027, with the National Electrical Code (NEC) and the California Electrical Code applying. The system must be certified as a plug-in PV system by UL or an NRTL, with certified anti-backfeed protection. The utility may ask for a simple online registration with your address, brand, model and power, but cannot require approval. The exemptions expire on January 1, 2030, after which selling units that lack the certification conditions is banned. California SB 868, c. 985, 2026 See our California guide.

New Jersey. The Garden State Balcony Solar Act (S2368, P.L. 2026, c. 82) was signed on September 1, 2026 and applies six months after enactment, which gives March 1, 2027. It allows up to 1,200 W per dwelling and requires a 120 V outlet, UL 3700 or comparable certification, and anti-islanding. Systems of 400 W or less are exempt from changes to the installation. The law exempts them from interconnection and net metering, and the utility cannot require approval or fees. New Jersey Governor's release, September 1, 2026 We read the bill text on the legislature’s site by hand. The start date is our reading of “six months after enactment”, not a printed date.

What the Laws Have in Common

Read the ten statutes side by side and the same few ideas keep coming back. If you know them, you can judge a kit or a state quickly.

The 1,200 W Cap

Nine of the ten states set the cap at 1,200 W. Colorado is the outlier at 1,920 W. Several add a lower threshold, usually 391 W, below which fewer rules apply. Colorado HB26-1007, c. 127, 2026 Maine uses 420 W for its own split between the simplest tier and the one that needs an electrician.

Watch how each law counts. Some talk about AC output at the plug, others about total output per meter or per dwelling. Two panels on a 1,200 W inverter are fine. Two inverters on one home usually are not.

Notification Rules

This is where the states differ most, and it is the question most readers ask.

• Before you install: Virginia, using the State Corporation Commission form, with a 15-day response window. Maryland also requires notice before. Va. Code § 56-596.8, 2026
• After you install: Maine, within 30 days, but only above 420 W.
• If the utility asks: Colorado, where the utility may require notification, and California, where it may require a simple online registration. New Hampshire lets the utility set up a reporting form.
• No notification: Utah and Connecticut.

New Jersey’s law exempts plug-in solar from interconnection, and Vermont ties the right to a smart meter. In every case, the utility’s own website is the place to find the exact form.

Certification: UL 3700, NRTL and UL 1741

Every law wants proof that the unit is safe, and they name the standard in different words. Utah asks for UL or equivalent NRTL certification. Maine, Vermont and New Jersey name UL 3700, or a comparable standard. Connecticut names UL 1741. Maine P.L. 2026 c. 644

UL 3700 is an outline of investigation for interactive plug-in photovoltaic equipment, not yet a consolidated ANSI standard. So the practical test is simple: the box or the listing should say which testing laboratory certified the unit and to what standard. If it does not, ask the seller before you buy.

Why Plug-In Solar Isn’t “Illegal” Elsewhere

If you live in one of the forty states with no law, you may have read that plug-in solar is illegal there. We could not find a federal or state rule that bans it. What exists is a gap.

The Utility Interconnection Gap

Every law above exempts plug-in systems from the normal interconnection requirements. That suggests that without such a law, those requirements apply: a utility application, sometimes a review, sometimes a fee. This is our inference, and we could not verify it utility by utility. Our wording for a state without a law is therefore this: there is no state rule, and your utility’s interconnection process applies. Ask before you plug in.

The Electrical Code Has No Category

The National Electrical Code does not define solar that plugs into an outlet. A proposed change to the NEC (Tentative Interim Amendment 1951) says that no definition of a plug-in photovoltaic system exists in the 2020, 2023 or 2026 editions, and that inspectors have no recognized category to cite on permit documents. NFPA 70 proposed TIA 1951 A second proposal, TIA 1956, suggests utility notification rules. Both are proposals only, not approved, and the person who submitted them is a manufacturer with an interest in the outcome.

So in states without a law, nobody is saying no. There is also nobody with a rule that says yes.

Bills to Watch

New York. The SUNNY Act (A9111C, which replaced S8512C) passed both chambers, with the last action on May 28, 2026. The Senate page shows no delivery to the Governor, no signature and no veto, so it is not law. It allows 1,200 W with notice to the utility within 30 days. A bill that has passed can still be delivered by the end of the year, so check the status page. NY Senate S8512C / A9111C, 2026 See our New York guide.

Massachusetts. H5175 is reported by the press to have passed the House. We could not open the legislature’s site to confirm it, so we are not counting Massachusetts as a state with a law, or listing any terms for it.

Renters and HOAs

State law may change what a landlord or an HOA can say, but only in some states. Here is the short version.

• New Jersey: a landlord cannot ban it if the tenant pays for electricity, apart from reasonable size and placement rules. The tenant gives written notice 14 days before. HOAs cannot ban it either. New Jersey Governor's release, September 1, 2026
• Colorado: from January 1, 2027, no one can unreasonably prohibit it, and covenants that try are void.
• Vermont: tenants give the landlord 10 days’ notice, and the landlord may set reasonable conditions.
• Utah, Maryland, New Hampshire, Connecticut, California: the text has no landlord or HOA rule, so your lease and bylaws decide.

Everywhere else, the lease and the HOA rules decide too. Our renters and apartments guide and the landlord and HOA guide cover what to ask for and how.

What Is Still Unclear

We list these so you know where our checks ended:

• Maine’s start date. The text we read does not state one.
• Maryland’s start date. The revised fiscal note says July 1, 2026, but the text carries two versions of the key article, and a tracker says “immediately”.
• New Hampshire’s docket. It shows a July 2026 effective date that contradicts the chaptered text, which says January 1, 2027.
• New Jersey’s start date. March 1, 2027 is our reading of “six months after enactment”.
• Utility-by-utility rules. In states without a law, we did not check each utility’s process.
• Landlord rules. We did not find general solar access laws that cover plug-in systems state by state.

If one of these affects you, treat our answer as a starting point and confirm it with your utility or the legislature’s own page. For the wider picture of how these systems work, see our plug-in solar guide, and to find your state, use the state-by-state hub.