MNRE Revises Series Approval Guidelines To Streamline BIS Registration For Solar PV Modules In India

The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy’s Standards & Quality Control Division has issued revised guidelines on December 19, 2025, aimed at simplifying and standardizing the series approval process for Solar Photovoltaic modules in India. The updated rules are intended to help manufacturers and testing laboratories clearly define and organize product families for performance testing, which is a compulsory requirement for obtaining Bureau of Indian Standards registration under the Quality Control Order of 2025.

Under the new guidelines, a product family is defined as a group of solar modules that share the same basic design, construction features, and essential components. Instead of testing every individual module rating separately, laboratories are now required to test a limited number of representative samples from each family. For series approval, testing must include at least two modules each from the lower-end, median, and higher-end power classes within the family. In cases where a median power class is not available, the next higher power class will be considered as the median. This approach allows manufacturers to secure test reports covering the full range of wattages within a product family while reducing overall testing costs and time.

The guidelines also lay down specific conditions related to module efficiency. For a product family to receive a BIS license, both the lowest and highest power modules tested must meet the minimum efficiency requirements specified under the QCO. If the median power module belongs to the same family as defined under IEC 62915 and the highest and lowest power modules meet efficiency norms, the median module may not need a separate efficiency test. This exemption applies only if the median module has the same physical area as the other tested samples. For modules with a lower number of cells, manufacturers are allowed to self-declare efficiency by marking it on the laminate. However, testing laboratories must still calculate and report the efficiency based on the module’s area and rated power.

Clear and strict marking requirements have also been emphasized in the revised document. All solar modules must carry permanent and legible markings laminated inside the glass. These markings must include the manufacturer’s name or trademark, model number, serial number, nominal wattage with a tolerance of up to plus or minus three percent, the year of manufacture, the country of origin, and the module’s efficiency at Standard Test Conditions. For thin-film modules, this information does not need to be laminated inside the glass, but it must still be displayed clearly and permanently at an appropriate location on the module.

The guidelines also clarify the treatment of small-capacity modules. Modules with capacities ranging from 0.2 watts to 20 watts used in solar luminaries are currently excluded from the series approval guidelines for BIS registration. Modules up to 5 watts used in solar lanterns will continue to be tested under IS 16476 Part I, while BIS works on developing standards for modules in the 5-watt to 20-watt range.

In addition, the document outlines procedures for changes after approval. Any modification in the Bill of Materials or manufacturing process will require retesting in line with IS/IEC 62915: 2023. The revised guidelines apply to crystalline, thin-film, and bifacial solar modules and officially replace the earlier guidelines issued on August 13, 2025. Testing laboratories have been instructed not to accept modules for testing unless all marking and documentation requirements are fully met, reinforcing compliance and quality assurance across the solar manufacturing sector.