How do I get out of a solar contract in New Mexico?

Short answer

New Mexico’s solar law is about disclosure, not a special exit. The Distributed Generation Disclosure Act requires a separate, signed disclosure statement — no more than four pages — with every solar sale, lease, or financing agreement. The cancellation right itself comes from the sales-at-home rule, NMSA §57-12-21: cancel any time before midnight of the third business day. New Mexico is also where an Attorney General’s case turned a UCC-1 filing and a 2.9% yearly escalator into a fraud lawsuit against Vivint Solar.

The Distributed Generation Disclosure Act (2017)

New Mexico’s solar law is the Distributed Generation Disclosure Act, enacted in 2017. It requires that any agreement to purchase, lease, or finance a distributed generation system (in plain terms, rooftop solar) — or to buy its power — include a disclosure statement as a document separate from the agreement itself: no more than four pages long, in type no smaller than 10 points, signed separately by the buyer.

The statement’s required contents are aimed at exactly the places New Mexico deals went wrong: the assumptions behind any savings estimate, restrictions on transferring the agreement, and what happens when the home is sold. The Attorney General issued form disclosure statements under the Act, so there is a state-published version of what your file should contain. If your file has no separate, signed statement, that absence is a finding with a statute behind it.

The cancellation right: midnight of the third business day

The Disclosure Act itself creates no separate solar cancellation window — it is a disclosure law. The cancellation right comes from New Mexico’s sales-at-home rule, NMSA §57-12-21: a buyer may cancel at any time before midnight of the third business day after the transaction, using the notice of cancellation the law requires in the agreement, and refunds are due within 10 business days.

Stated plainly because it is so often misstated: in New Mexico the exit clock is three business days and it comes from the general sales-at-home rule, not from the solar Act. The solar Act’s contribution is the disclosure statement — which is also where a mis-sold deal tends to show itself.

The Vivint case: a “no lien” contract and a UCC-1 on every project

In March 2018, the Attorney General sued Vivint Solar in state court — 17 counts, including fraud, racketeering, and violations of the Unfair Practices Act. Two allegations from that complaint are worth knowing before you open your own file. First, the pricing: Vivint’s PPA carried a 2.9% annual escalator, which compounds to more than 72% over the 20-year term — while, the complaint alleged, the incumbent utility PNM’s own rates were well below Vivint’s.

Second, the lien: the Vivint PPA stated, “We will not place a lien on Your Property,” while — the Attorney General alleged — the company filed a UCC-1 fixture filing with every solar project it installed. A contract sentence and a public filing, saying opposite things: that is precisely the kind of contradiction a paperwork review exists to catch, and it is alleged conduct by the Attorney General, in a case brought under New Mexico law.

NM Solar Group: the local collapse

New Mexico also has its own installer failure, and it was not a national chain. NM Solar Group, an Albuquerque installer, shut down abruptly in August 2023. The Attorney General sued it days later, and the company filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on August 28, 2023 (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Mexico, case 23-10728), after taking deposits from homeowners it could no longer serve.

A shutdown like that strands service and warranty promises, but it does not cancel a separate loan or lease — those continue with their servicers, who are often the only party left answering the phone. The solar company bankruptcy guide explains how to confirm who holds your deal now. And the recognizable New Mexico pitch behind many of these files — that your PNM bill would disappear — is a promise to test against your actual bills, month by month.

Documents to gather

The Distributed Generation Disclosure Act statement — separate, no more than four pages, separately signed
Your full agreement, including the escalator clause if it is a PPA
The notice-of-cancellation form the agreement should carry
PNM bills from before and after the system, if PNM is your utility
Loan, lease, or PPA statements, oldest to newest
The proposal and savings estimate you were sold from

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 file has no separate disclosure statement — what does the Distributed Generation Disclosure Act say about that?
My contract said no lien, but a UCC-1 fixture filing was recorded — what are my options?
I was an NM Solar Group customer — what claims or deadlines apply to me now?

Questions people also ask

Does New Mexico give me extra days to cancel because it is solar?

No separate solar cancellation window was enacted — the Distributed Generation Disclosure Act is a disclosure law. The cancellation right comes from NMSA §57-12-21, for sales made at the home: cancel before midnight of the third business day after the transaction, with refunds due within 10 business days. Your agreement should carry the cancellation notice in bold type with a detachable form.

What is the Distributed Generation Disclosure Act?

New Mexico’s 2017 solar disclosure law. Any agreement to sell, lease, or finance a rooftop system — or to sell its power — must include a separate written statement of no more than four pages, in type no smaller than 10 points, that the buyer signs separately from the agreement. It covers subjects like savings-estimate assumptions, transfer restrictions, and what happens when the home is sold. The Attorney General published form statements under the Act.

What was the Vivint Solar case in New Mexico?

In March 2018 the Attorney General sued Vivint Solar — 17 counts including fraud and racketeering — alleging, among other things, that its PPA’s 2.9% yearly escalator compounds to about 72% more over 20 years, and that although the PPA said “We will not place a lien on Your Property,” the company filed a UCC-1 fixture filing on every project. Those are the Attorney General’s allegations; the case is why New Mexico paperwork deserves a close read.

I bought from NM Solar Group. What happened to it?

NM Solar Group, an Albuquerque installer, shut down abruptly in August 2023. The Attorney General sued it that month, and the company filed Chapter 7 bankruptcy on August 28, 2023 (case 23-10728, District of New Mexico), leaving homeowners who had paid deposits as creditors. A shutdown does not cancel a separate loan or lease — those continue with their servicer. The bankruptcy guide on this site explains how to find who holds yours.

How the workbooks help

Your Actions is built from your New Mexico paperwork — starting with whether the separate disclosure statement the Disclosure Act requires was in your file and signed — and The In-Depth Version documents every finding in full, including the escalator math in your agreement.

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