How do I get out of a solar contract in California?

Short answer

California puts the key facts on the cover page. Every solar contract must open with the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document (Business & Professions Code §7169) — total cost, payments, and your cancellation right, in bold 16-point type. One warning before anything else: if your deal is PACE financing, it is not a solar loan at all — it is repaid through your property taxes and sits as a first-position tax lien. The two need different handling.

The Disclosure Document on the front of your contract

California Business & Professions Code §7169 requires the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document to be printed on the front or cover page of every solar energy system contract, in bold 16-point type. The document was developed by the Contractors State License Board (CSLB) with the California Public Utilities Commission, and it states the total cost and payments (including financing), information about filing a complaint, and the buyer’s cancellation right under §7159. The contract and the disclosure document must be in the same language as the oral sales presentation.

For a California homeowner, this is the most useful page in the file: it is the state’s own summary of your deal, placed where the Legislature required it to be. If your contract opens with something else — or the document is missing — keep the contract exactly as it is. That fact matters, and it is checkable in about ten seconds.

Your cancellation window under §7159

The Disclosure Document states the cancellation right under Business & Professions Code §7159: three business days — five business days if you are 65 or older. The CSLB publishes the disclosure form in versions matched to those rights, which is one more reason the cover page of your own contract is the document to read first: it prints the window that applies to your deal.

Count from signing, act in writing, and keep proof of when the notice was sent. In California as everywhere else, the cancellation window is the deadline homeowners most often discover after it has closed — after which the contract’s own terms, and the accuracy of the sale, are what remain.

The CPUC Solar Consumer Protection Guide

If your home is in the territory of Pacific Gas and Electric, Southern California Edison, or San Diego Gas & Electric — the utilities that connect most California rooftop solar to the grid — the provider was required to collect your initials and signature on the CPUC’s Solar Consumer Protection Guide in connection with your system.

The signature pages are part of your file for a reason: they record that the state’s own plain-language warnings — about savings claims, contracts, and cancellation — were put in front of you. Whether those pages exist in your paperwork, and what they say next to what the salesperson said, is a document comparison, not an argument.

PACE is a different animal: a tax lien, not a loan

Some California solar was financed through PACE — Property Assessed Clean Energy — programs such as HERO and Ygrene. PACE is not repaid to a lender in monthly installments like a solar loan. It is repaid as an assessment on your property tax bill, secured by a first-position tax lien on the home — ahead of the mortgage — which is why PACE can block or complicate a sale or refinance in ways a solar loan does not. Your property tax bill is where a PACE obligation shows itself.

PACE is also where regulators have already acted. In October 2022, the Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General sued the PACE provider Ygrene, alleging forged signatures, liens recorded without consumers’ consent, and false claims that PACE financing would not interfere with selling or refinancing a home. The settlement included $3 million dedicated to relief for affected consumers, as reported. If your deal is PACE, it needs PACE-specific handling from the first page — starting with identifying it correctly.

When the California seller is gone

California was home to sellers at the center of the national failures — SunPower was headquartered here — and installer shutdowns across the state have left homeowners asking whether a dead company means a dead loan. It does not: the loan or lease belongs to its lender or owner and continues with a servicer. What closure strands is warranties, monitoring, and service. The solar company bankruptcy guide walks through finding who services your deal now.

Documents to gather

The Disclosure Document itself — the cover page of your contract
Your full signed contract, in the language the sale was conducted in
The CPUC Solar Consumer Protection Guide pages, with your initials and signature, if they are in your file
Your property tax bill — the place a PACE assessment appears
Loan, lease, or PPA papers naming the lender or owner
The proposal and savings estimate you were sold from
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Questions to ask a licensed attorney

We are not a law firm, and this page is general information, not legal advice. These are the questions your paperwork raises that a licensed attorney in your state can answer for your situation:

My contract has no Disclosure Document on the front — what does that mean under California law?
Is my financing actually PACE, and what does the first-position tax lien mean for my home?
I never received my contract until after the cancellation window had passed — what are my options?

Questions people also ask

Can I exit my solar panel loan due to company closure without penalty?

Not on the closure alone. Your loan is with the lender named in your papers, not with the installer that closed, and the loan continues with its servicer. Closure can strand warranties, monitoring, and service, which is a real loss, but the payment obligation follows the loan documents. The bankruptcy guide on this site explains how to find who services yours now.

What is the Solar Energy System Disclosure Document?

The summary California law (Business & Professions Code §7169) requires on the front or cover page of every solar contract, in bold 16-point type. It states the total cost and payments including financing, where to complain, and your cancellation right. It was developed by the Contractors State License Board with the California Public Utilities Commission. If your contract opens with something else, keep the contract exactly as it is — that fact matters.

How many days do I have to cancel a solar contract in California?

Under Business & Professions Code §7159, three business days — five business days if you are 65 or older. The Disclosure Document on the front of your contract states the cancellation right that applies to your deal. Count from signing, act in writing, and keep proof of when you sent it: these windows are the most commonly missed deadlines in the whole file.

Is PACE financing the same as a solar loan?

No. PACE is repaid as an assessment on your property tax bill and is secured by a first-position tax lien on the home — ahead of your mortgage — which is why it can block or complicate a sale or refinance. The Federal Trade Commission and the California Attorney General sued the PACE provider Ygrene in October 2022 over alleged forged signatures and liens recorded without consent; the settlement included $3 million dedicated to consumer relief, as reported. Your tax bill shows whether you have PACE.

How the workbooks help

Your Actions starts a California case with the cover page itself — the Disclosure Document — and checks the cost, payment, and cancellation facts printed there against the rest of your contract, including whether your deal is a loan, a lease, or PACE. The In-Depth Version documents every finding in full.

The Package — Your Actions + The In-Depth Version. Both books always included. Each book is delivered by email within 3–5 business days of purchase; delivery occurs after the 3-day cancellation window closes.

Read a sample workbook (PDF) More homeowner questions