California Plug-In Solar Law (SB 868): What It Allows From 2027

Short answer: yes, plug-in solar becomes legal in California on January 1, 2027. SB 868 lets you connect up to 1,200 watts AC per home through a receptacle without your utility’s approval, an interconnection agreement or any fee. The catch is that the system has to be certified as a plug-in PV system by UL or an equivalent lab, and as of October 2026 no complete kit has been reported as certified. The rules also expire on January 1, 2030 unless the Legislature extends them.

Bill

SB 868

Cap

1,200 W AC per dwelling, all devices combined

Takes effect

January 1, 2027

Checked

October 9, 2026

Governor Newsom signed the bill on September 30, 2026, and it became Chapter 985, Statutes of 2026 (Digital Democracy). It adds a new chapter to the Public Utilities Code, sections 8530 to 8532. Everything below is taken from that chaptered text unless we say otherwise. If you’re new to the idea, start with what plug-in solar is and how it works.

What counts as a “portable solar generation device”?

The law only protects systems that meet all six conditions in section 8530. A device, or a combination of devices, must:

1. Have a maximum combined AC output of no more than 1,200 watts per dwelling.
2. Be designed to be connected to and disconnected from the building’s wiring through a receptacle.
3. Be intended to offset your own consumption on site.
4. Meet the latest National Electrical Code and the California Electrical Code.
5. Be certified as a plug-in photovoltaic system by Underwriters Laboratories or an equivalent nationally recognized testing laboratory.
6. Include a certified feature that isolates it from the building’s wiring so it can’t backfeed the grid during a power outage.

Two details matter more than they look. The cap is per dwelling, not per panel or per outlet, so two 800 W kits in the same apartment are over the limit. And the text says “a receptacle”, not “a standard wall outlet”: an earlier version said “single standard electrical outlet”, and the Assembly committee recommended the change partly because ordinary US receptacles aren’t fully touch-safe (committee analysis, pages 6 and 7). Depending on how certified products are designed, some may need a dedicated or special receptacle, and some may need an electrician, as KQED reported.

What your utility can and can’t ask

For a device that meets the definition, section 8531 says:

• No interconnection requirements from state law, the CPUC, investor-owned utilities or publicly owned utilities, including no interconnection agreement. Today, home solar connects under the CPUC’s Rule 21 or a publicly owned utility’s own rules.
• No approval before you install or use it.
• No fee or charge for the device or for the electricity it feeds into your home.
• No extra equipment beyond what is built into the device.

What a utility may do is ask you to fill in a simple online registration form with your address and the device’s make, model and size. Registering doesn’t give the utility the power to approve or refuse it. The law covers both investor-owned utilities like PG&E, SCE and SDG&E and local publicly owned utilities.

The catch: the system has to be certified, and none is yet

Condition 5 asks for certification of the whole plug-in system, not just one part. UL Solutions opened its certification program for plug-in solar under UL 3700 on January 8, 2026 (UL Solutions). The Assembly committee wrote in June 2026 that, to its knowledge, no commercially available balcony solar system had that certification, only individual components. KQED reported on September 30 that products on the market still don’t meet the law’s requirements, and that the bill’s sponsors expect compliant models in spring 2027.

So on January 1, 2027 the law will be in force, but you may not be able to buy anything that qualifies yet. A certified microinverter inside an uncertified kit doesn’t count. Our guide to UL 3700 explains how to check a listing yourself.

Can I use a kit I can buy today?

Not under SB 868’s protections. Section 8531(d) says a device that doesn’t meet all six conditions doesn’t get the exemptions. Until certified systems exist, KQED reports that utilities ask people to register available systems the way rooftop solar is registered; PG&E told KQED its process costs roughly $100 to $800 and approval typically comes in about three days. Ask your utility before you plug anything in, and don’t connect a system it hasn’t approved.

From January 1, 2030, section 8532 goes further: a plug-in PV device that connects through a receptacle and doesn’t meet conditions 4 to 6 (electrical codes, system certification and the anti-backfeed feature) can’t be sold or offered for sale in California.

The 2030 sunset

Section 8531, the part that exempts you from utility approval and fees, is repealed on January 1, 2030 unless the Legislature extends it. According to pv magazine, the Assembly Appropriations Committee added the sunset in August 2026, and an advocate who backed the bill attributes it to the utilities. Note the asymmetry: the sales ban in section 8532 has no end date in the text.

If you buy a system in 2027, you’ll have the exemption for about three years for sure. What happens after that depends on the Legislature. We’ll update this page when anything changes.

Renters, condos and HOAs

SB 868 says nothing about landlords, leases or homeowners associations. It changes what your utility can ask of you, not what your lease or your HOA rules say. If you rent, read your lease and ask your landlord before you hang anything on a balcony railing or a wall. If you own in an HOA, check its rules on balcony and exterior installations. Our setup guides cover mounting in apartments and houses.

How much can 1,200 W do?

It’s a ceiling, not a target. The Assembly committee estimated average California household use at about 17 kWh a day, roughly 700 W of average demand, and noted that coastal and smaller homes use less, inland and larger homes more. A plug-in system only produces when the sun is out, and only at full output in good sun, so what it saves you depends on your rate, your orientation and how much of the power you use as it’s made. Our plug-in solar calculator does that math for your city, with every assumption shown.

Bottom line

• From January 1, 2027: up to 1,200 W AC per home, through a receptacle, with no utility approval or fee, at most a free online registration.
• Only for certified systems: the whole system has to be certified as a plug-in PV system, with a certified anti-backfeed feature. Wait for one to appear in a lab’s directory before you buy.
• Until January 1, 2030, unless extended. From that date, uncertified plug-in kits can’t be sold in the state.

Keep an eye on our state law pages and plug-in solar news for the first certified kits and any change to the sunset.

How we checked this

We read the chaptered text of SB 868 (Chapter 985, Statutes of 2026) as published with the bill’s status on Digital Democracy, which reproduces the Legislature’s text, and the Assembly Utilities and Energy Committee’s analysis of the April 7 version. The bill’s official page is on California Legislative Information. Market details (certified products, PG&E’s process, the sunset’s origin) come from the news reports cited and are labeled as such. Checked October 9, 2026.