I've reviewed a lot of FEOC certificates over the past few months. Most share the same problem: they look official, but they don't actually document what needs to be documented.
Certificates are like a home inspection; you need to check the whole building to know if you have a problem.
The certificate in this case study is a good example. It was like a home inspector only checking the front door but saying nothing about the foundation, the wiring, or the roof. Even though it was signed and dated, the lack of information was telling. In this case: one component category documented. The frame, glass, junction box and the majority of the module's FEOC-relevant value: unaddressed. The certificate existed. It didn't establish compliance.
What Is a FEOC Certificate, and What Does IRS Guidance Actually Require?
Under the Inflation Reduction Act and the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), for all projects beginning construction in 2026 and beyond, earning tax credits under Sections 45Y, 48E, and 45X are conditioned on the manufactured components not receiving material assistance from a Prohibited Foreign Entity (PFE). A FEOC certificate is the supplier's documented attestation that this condition is met.
IRS Notice 2026-15 establishes the standard. A compliant FEOC certificate must:
- Identify the supplier by legal name, country of incorporation, and taxpayer identification number (EIN or foreign equivalent)
- Be signed by an authorized representative under declaration of penalty of perjury
- Address each manufactured product component (MPC) at the SKU level, with manufacturer name, country of incorporation, and tax identification for each
- Provide a line-by-line attestation against each of the relevant bases for PFE status at the supplier level
- Include sub-tier documentation wherever the supplier's manufacturing structure cannot otherwise satisfy a reason-to-know standard
A blanket statement that a supplier is not a Prohibited Foreign Entity does not satisfy this standard. IRS Notice 2026-15 contemplates each relevant criterion being addressed individually.
The Situation: A Simple Question with High Stakes
A national distributed generation (DG) solar installer engaged Empact Technologies for FEOC compliance and Prevailing Wage & Apprenticeship (PWA) support across its project portfolio. The client operates at high volume and relies on a range of module suppliers and subcontractors.
The client had previously purchased solar modules from a Tier 1, top-10 global manufacturer. At the time of purchase, FEOC restrictions had not yet taken effect and the transaction presented no compliance risk. As those materials moved into active projects, FEOC thresholds became applicable and the certificates on file required review.
The client forwarded a supplier FEOC certificate to Empact's compliance team with a single question: Does this supplier's FEOC certificate meet IRS guidance?
The answer had direct implications for the tax credit exposure across the client's portfolio. A certificate that cannot confirm clean Material Assistance Cost Ratio (MACR) status leaves the threshold calculation incomplete. When modules from multiple suppliers are combined in a single project, one deficient certificate can put your project's credits at risk.
What Empact Found: Four Foundational Deficiencies
Our team reviewed the certificate against IRS Notice 2026-15 and Empact's internal certification standards. In a document barely exceeding one page, we identified more than a dozen areas of concern. The most significant deficiencies were foundational, not technical edge cases.
Missing Documentation Requirements
The certificate contained no taxpayer identification number and no declaration under penalty of perjury from an authorized signer. Without these, the certificate does not meet the documentation standard required under IRS Notice 2026-15 and is unlikely to withstand IRS scrutiny.
Incomplete Component Coverage
The certificate addressed only a single component category. The frame, glass, junction box and other MPCs, representing the majority of the module's FEOC-relevant value, were entirely unaddressed. A certificate that does not account for all components cannot confirm that the Material Assistance Cost Ratio (MACR) stays below the threshold required for FEOC compliance.
No Traceability
The supplier's manufacturing structure involved multiple tiers. The module manufacturer sources components from its own suppliers, each with their own country of incorporation and ownership structure. A compliant certificate must trace that full chain, providing manufacturer information, country of incorporation and tax identification for each upstream supplier where the reason-to-know standard applies. None of this was provided.
Blanket Assertion in Place of Line-by-Line Attestation
The certificate contained a general statement of non-PFE status. IRS Notice 2026-15 contemplates that Effective Control and Material Assistance each be addressed individually and explicitly at the supplier level. A collective assertion is unlikely to satisfy this standard.
Why This Matters Beyond the Certificate Itself
A certificate that cannot confirm MACR compliance does not create an isolated documentation gap. It leaves Effective Control and Material Assistance exposure unresolved, and both criteria remain undefended.
Supplier relationships warrant scrutiny beyond the certificate itself. Arrangements that include warranty-based data access rights, contractual control provisions, or mezzanine financing with conversion features can independently constitute effective control over project assets, regardless of what a certificate asserts. A deficient certificate can implicate an entire compliance position.
The MACR monitoring window runs six years from a project's placed-in-service date (IRS Notice 2026-15; OBBBA Sec. 7002). A certificate accepted today without adequate review remains part of the compliance record throughout that window. A deficient certificate does not just create audit exposure. It surfaces at tax equity review, before the deal closes.
The Empact FEOC Supplier Certificate Requirements
Empact's standard FEOC certification framework requires the following from all suppliers before a certificate is accepted as compliant:
| Requirement | What Is Required |
|---|---|
| Legal identification | Legal entity name, country of incorporation, taxpayer identification number (EIN or equivalent) |
| Authorized attestation | Signed declaration under penalty of perjury from an authorized representative |
| Component-level coverage | SKU-level listing of all MPCs with manufacturer name, country of incorporation and tax ID for each |
| Supplier-level criterion attestation | Line-by-line attestation against Effective Control and Material Assistance, confirming the supplier is neither a Specified Foreign Entity (SFE) nor a Foreign Influenced Entity (FIE) |
| Sub-tier documentation | Where multi-tier manufacturing structure exists, manufacturer and origin documentation for each sub-supplier where reason-to-know standard requires it |
| Online due diligence | Entity screening against relevant databases to verify no supplier or sub-supplier appears on OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control), BIS (Bureau of Industry and Security), or other applicable restricted party lists |
The Outcome: A Defensible Record Before a Decision Is Required
The formal compliance assessment gave the client something it didn't have before: a documented, IRS-grounded record of exactly where the certificate failed and what a compliant submission requires. That record protects the project portfolio across the six-year MACR audit window and establishes the standard against which each future supplier certificate will be evaluated. It also gives the client what it needs to satisfy tax equity due diligence and close on time, without a deficient certificate becoming a last-minute deal issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
The most common failures are missing taxpayer identification, absence of a declaration under penalty of perjury, incomplete component coverage, and use of a blanket non-PFE assertion in place of a line-by-line attestation. Any one of these deficiencies can render a certificate non-compliant under IRS Notice 2026-15.
The Material Assistance Cost Ratio (MACR) monitoring window runs six years from a project's placed-in-service date. During this period, the project's FEOC compliance record, including all supplier certificates, remains subject to IRS audit and potential recapture.
Not always. Supplier relationships that include warranty-based data access rights, contractual control provisions or convertible financing arrangements may constitute prohibited effective control regardless of what a certificate states. FEOC diligence must extend to the structure of the supplier relationship, not only the certificate.
Empact's formal FEOC compliance assessment is a documented review of supplier certificates against IRS Notice 2026-15 and Empact's internal certification standards. It identifies specific deficiencies at the component, attestation and entity level, cross-references each against the applicable regulatory standard, and produces a written assessment the project team can act on, whether that means requiring a remediated certificate, qualifying an alternative supplier, or documenting the basis for accepting the certificate as submitted.
FEOC certificates are still a relatively new requirement, and suppliers are still figuring out what they actually need to produce. That gap is real, and it creates exposure for developers and investors who accept certificates at face value. If you have questions about a specific certificate or want to understand what a compliant submission looks like, I'm happy to talk through it.
Brian Hansen
Senior Director, Supply Chain Compliance, Empact Technologies
info@empacttechnologies.com|linkedin.com/in/brianpaulhansen
Brian Hansen is Senior Director of Supply Chain Compliance at Empact Technologies. He brings extensive experience in clean energy supply chain management, including prior leadership at Clean Energy Associates, where he served as Head of Supply Chain Management. At Empact, Brian leads supplier certificate reviews and compliance assessments for projects claiming IRA tax credits under Sections 45Y, 48E and 45X.
About Empact Technologies
Empact Technologies is the compliance and risk management partner that clean energy developers and investors rely on to protect their tax credits, from initial financing through the full tax credit lifecycle. Empact provides FEOC, Prevailing Wage & Apprenticeship (PWA), Domestic Content and Beginning of Construction (BOC) compliance services, backed by NexusIQ, Empact's AI-native compliance platform. Empact currently serves 50+ clients across 19+ GW of solar, wind, storage and RNG projects, with more than $3B in tax credit value supported. empacttechnologies.com
Related reading: For a full breakdown of the three FEOC compliance tests, see our FEOC Compliance Guide.
Primary sources: IRS Notice 2026-15; One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Sec. 7002 (enacted July 4, 2025); Department of Energy Final Interpretive Guidance on the Definition of Foreign Entity of Concern.