STC photo requirements are not mysterious, but they are unforgiving. A photo either proves what it is supposed to prove, or it does not, and no explanation afterwards makes a blurry serial legible. Because most rejections are evidence failures, the photo set is where an installation business wins or loses weeks of cash.
This article is about practice rather than the rule list. For the full resource, see our STC photo requirements reference; for a stage-by-stage shot list use the solar installation photo checklist. Here we focus on why photos fail and how to design a crew routine that stops it.
What a photo has to prove
Every photo should answer one question for a reviewer who has never been to the property:
- Where? The address, supported by location metadata and recognisable site features.
- When? The installation date, supported by timestamp data.
- What? The exact product, shown by a legible label or serial number.
- How? The installation method, showing it follows the relevant standard.
If a photo does not answer one of those, it is decoration. Crews waste more time on pretty wide shots than on the unglamorous label close-ups that carry the claim.
The five most common photo failures
1. Metadata stripped. Photos sent through some messaging apps, edited, or screenshotted lose their location and time data. The fix is to upload the original file straight from the phone.
2. Location services off. Phones that were not set up properly produce images with no geotag at all. Check the setting at the start of every shift, not once.
3. Unreadable serials. The number is there, but glare, angle or distance makes it impossible to read. Photograph labels square-on, filling the frame, and take a second shot if there is any shine.
4. Missing items. The panel serials are fine but the inverter label is not there, or the array photo does not show all panels. Work from a checklist.
5. Photos of the wrong thing. A well-lit shot of a box that is not the one on the claim. Cross-check each image against the claim when you upload it.
Why end-of-day photos fail
A photo set built at the end of a job is a photo set built from memory. The scaffold has gone, the roof is no longer visible from the ground, the cable has been dressed and the label is behind a cover. You cannot reshoot what you can no longer see. The better method is to photograph in the same order as the work.
| Stage | Capture before moving on |
|---|---|
| Site arrival | Property, street number, meter box |
| Roof prep | Roof condition, mounting points |
| Array | Full array, panel labels, serials |
| Inverter | Position, label, serial, isolators |
| Switchboard | Wiring, protection, labelling |
| Finish | Completed system, signage, commissioning |
The battery difference
Batteries carry stricter evidence rules. From 1 March 2026, installers must take geotagged and timestamped photos of critical labelling, including the circular green reflective “ES” label at the meter box, for every battery installation. The photos need not be lodged with the claim but must be provided on request, and missing photos can delay or reject a claim. See battery installation photo requirements.
A crew routine that works
- At the start of the shift, confirm location services are on and the camera is set to the highest quality.
- Assign one person per job as photo owner. Shared responsibility becomes nobody’s responsibility.
- Photograph at each stage, per the table above.
- Upload originals to the job record the same day, not to a personal cloud folder.
- The office checks the set against the claim before lodging, or a pre-check desk does it for you.
What a pre-check saves
A claim with a bad photo takes weeks to fix, because it has to be flagged, explained, reshot or substituted and relodged. A pre-check desk looks at the same photos before lodgement, when the crew is still on the roof or just home, and a retake is easy. We run that check on every claim; it is the reason first-time lodgement works. If you prefer to do it in-house, assign someone who is not the crew lead and give them a written list.
Cost of one missed photo
Take a 6.6 kW zone 3 job worth 45 STCs, around $1,700 at $38. If the claim sits in a rejection loop for three weeks, the cost is the interest on that money plus the office time. If it fails an audit later, it can be cancelled. A missed photo is a small mistake with an outsized price.
Photo quality: a quick test
Before a crew member leaves site, they should be able to answer yes to each of these for every serial and label photo:
- Can I read every character without zooming past the original resolution?
- Is the label square-on, with no glare or finger in the frame?
- Does the file still carry its location and time data?
- Would a stranger know which job this belongs to?
If any answer is no, shoot again. Reshooting costs seconds on site and days after.
Phones, apps and file handling
Most photo problems are handling problems rather than camera problems. Some job-management apps compress images on upload and drop the metadata. Some messaging apps do the same. Before you roll out any app across a crew, test it: take a photo with location on, upload it through the app, download the result and check the properties. If the location and time data survive, the tool is safe. If not, keep the original on the phone until it has been delivered some other way.
Also decide where originals live. A shared drive organised by job number beats thirty phones, and it means a departing crew member does not take your evidence with them.
Training new crew
New starters learn the photo routine by watching, which means they copy whatever the crew lead does, good or bad. Put the shot list on a laminated card in the van and make the driveway review a ritual. After a month you will be able to see the difference in your rejection rate.
What to do next
Read the how audits work guide and top STC claim rejection reasons. Use the answer on photos needed for solar STCs as a quick reference and the STC trading pillar for the wider process. When you want a desk to check every claim, start trading.
For quick reference, see the answers on solar installation photo requirements and CER audits for solar installers.