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Signed at your home in the last few days? Federal law gives you 3 business days to cancel most at-home sales. Get the free letter

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The complete national guide

How to cancel a solar contract, step by step

Your federal rights, how state law changes them, and every realistic way out of a solar lease, loan or PPA, in plain English.

Last verified October 9, 2026

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The short answer: Start with timing. If you signed at home in the last few business days, mail a written cancellation now; the FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives three business days for covered sales, and some states give more. If that window has passed, the path runs through your paperwork: whether you received a proper cancellation notice, whether your loan carries the FTC Holder Rule notice, whether a UCC-1 filing is recorded against your home, and what your state’s consumer protection and solar laws require.

Key takeaways

  • Federal law gives three business days to cancel most sales made at your home.
  • Some states give more time, and some keep the right open when notice is missing.
  • The Holder Rule can carry claims against an installer to the lender.
  • Never stop making payments on your own.
  • A free intake matches your file to your state's rules.

On this page

Step 1: Figure out where you are on the timeline

Signed in the last few business days: cancel in writing now. Under the federal rule, business days are every day except Sundays and federal holidays, so Saturdays count. Mail your notice to the address on your cancellation form and keep proof.

Past the window: the analysis moves to how the sale was made and what you were given. A missing or defective cancellation notice, misrepresented savings or financing, or a state solar disclosure violation can each open a different path.

Step 2: Gather the right documents

  • The full contract and every page you signed electronically, with the signature record.
  • Any Notice of Cancellation form you received, or a note that you never got one.
  • Loan, lease or PPA statements showing payments, increases and fees.
  • The proposal or savings estimate you were shown.
  • Twelve months of utility bills, from before and after installation.
  • Your county property records, to check for a UCC-1 fixture filing.
  • Texts, emails and the salesperson's name.

Step 3: Identify your contract type

A solar loan is a debt to a finance company, which usually isn’t the installer. A lease lets you use equipment someone else owns. A power purchase agreement charges you per kilowatt-hour the panels produce. Each fails differently, and each has different exit paths.

Loans raise questions about dealer fees, payment jumps and the Holder Rule. Leases and PPAs raise questions about escalators, transfers and buyouts.

Home with rooftop solar

Step 4: Check three federal protections

The Cooling-Off Rule covers your first three business days. The Holder Rule notice, if it’s in your credit contract, preserves claims against the seller against whoever holds your loan. The Truth in Lending Act requires accurate APR and finance charge disclosures, and some loans secured by your home carry a federal right of rescission under 15 U.S.C. 1635. Whether each applies to your documents is a question for an attorney.

Step 5: Check your state's rules

State law often adds the most leverage. Texas gives five business days for residential solar contracts signed since September 1, 2025. California gives seniors 65 and older five business days. Kansas voids solar contracts missing its required disclosures, and Ohio keeps the right to cancel open until the seller provides the required notices. Find your state’s rules.

Not sure which path fits?

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Step 6: Choose your exit path

Written cancellation

Inside the window, or where notice was never properly given.

Holder Rule claim

When the installer is gone and the loan contains the notice.

Consumer protection claim

When savings, financing or tax credits were misrepresented.

Negotiated exit

A buyout or settlement, best with documented leverage.

Transfer at sale

A qualified buyer may assume a lease or PPA.

Warranty or performance claim

When the system fails or underproduces.

Step 7: Report what happened

  • The Federal Trade Commission, at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
  • The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, at the CFPB complaint portal, for loan problems.
  • Your state Attorney General's consumer protection office.
  • Your state's contractor or solar licensing agency, where one exists.
A complaint creates a record but doesn’t cancel your contract or pause legal deadlines.

Mistakes that make it harder to get out

  • Stopping payments on your own.
  • Signing a battery add-on, refinance or new deal with the same company before a review.
  • Letting the cancellation window lapse.
  • Waiting until a buyer's title company finds the UCC-1.
  • Removing the panels yourself.
  • Throwing out paperwork or deleting texts.

Common questions

Solar cancellation FAQs

Often the analysis continues. Missing notices, misrepresentation, state solar laws and the Holder Rule each run on their own timelines.

Under the federal Cooling-Off Rule, yes. Business days exclude only Sundays and federal holidays.

A proper cancellation or negotiated exit isn’t a default. Stopping payments on your own is what usually causes credit damage.

Not to mail a cancellation inside the window. After that, attorney review usually makes a meaningful difference.

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Solar Cancellation HQ is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice. This page is general information, and reading it or submitting a form does not create an attorney-client relationship. Not every contract qualifies, and no outcome is guaranteed. We never advise anyone to stop making payments on a solar loan, lease or PPA. Laws and utility rules change, so verify before acting. Last verified October 9, 2026.