You Canceled Your Solar Contract. Here's What the Company Owes You, and When

You Canceled Your Solar Contract. Here's What the Company Owes You, and When

You sent the notice. You kept the receipt. Now there's silence. No refund, no confirmation, no one from the solar company calling back.



That silence feels like limbo, but it isn't one. When a home solicitation contract is canceled in time, the law starts a clock on the company, with specific deadlines for returning your money, releasing any claim on your property, and dealing with anything left at your home. Most homeowners never learn those deadlines exist.

Two laws, two clocks

Two sets of rules apply to a solar contract signed at your home, and their deadlines differ slightly:

• California's Home Solicitation Sales Act: Within 10 days after the contract is canceled, the seller must return any payments you made and any note or other evidence of debt (Civil Code §1689.10).
• The FTC Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429): Within 10 business days of receiving your notice, the seller must refund all payments, return any trade-in, cancel and return any note you signed, and take the steps needed to end any security interest. It must also tell you whether it intends to pick up or abandon any goods it delivered.

When the two differ, the shorter California deadline is the safer one to count from. Solar contracts are also home improvement contracts with their own required cancellation notice under the Business and Professions Code, so check the notice in your own paperwork for the timelines it states. Our guide to the cooling-off rule explains how the notice works, and our SB 784 guide covers the longer windows for contracts signed on or after January 1, 2026. SB 784 may add solar-specific requirements, so read your notice and don't assume.

The line most people miss: security interests

The cancellation notice that sellers are supposed to give you says it plainly: any payments will be returned within 10 days, and any security interest arising out of the transaction will be canceled.

That matters for solar. Many financing deals record a UCC-1 filing against the system, and some lenders treat the equipment as collateral. Canceling the contract should end that claim, but a filing sitting in the state's records doesn't remove itself.

How to get a UCC filing removed

• Look it up. California's UCC search is free. Search by your name as it appears on your driver's license, and see what's filed.
• Know the rule. Under UCC §9-513, when a financing statement covers consumer goods, the secured party must file a termination within one month after there's no obligation left, or within 20 days after it receives your signed demand, whichever comes first. A home solar system will often count as consumer goods, but your contract and the facts decide.
• Send a signed, dated written demand to the secured party named on the filing, and keep proof of delivery.
• If it doesn't act, you may be able to file the termination yourself once the 20 days pass, with the filing marked as debtor-authorized. Ask for help before doing this, because the rules are exacting.

Our solar lien guide explains what these filings do to a sale or refinance.

What happens to the panels on your roof

The statutes address goods the seller delivered, which is why they're written around things you can hand back:

• California (Civil Code §1689.11): Within 20 days after cancellation, you must tender the goods to the seller on demand, but you're not required to deliver them anywhere other than your own address. If the seller doesn't demand them within 20 days, they become yours with no obligation to pay for them. During those 20 days, except for your duty of care, the goods are at the seller's risk.
• The FTC rule: The seller must tell you within 10 business days whether it will pick the goods up or abandon them, and if it doesn't collect them within 20 days, you may keep them.
• Your leverage (Civil Code §1689.10(c)): Until the seller does what the statute requires, you may keep goods it delivered and hold a lien on them for what you're owed.

How all of this maps to a system bolted to a roof depends on your contract and the facts. Panels aren't like a vacuum cleaner in a box. Ask the company in writing whether it plans to remove the equipment and repair the roof, and don't remove anything yourself.

What to do in the weeks after you cancel

1. Prove delivery. Keep your proof that the notice was sent and received.
2. Mark two dates on a calendar: day 10 (the refund and security-interest deadline) and day 20 (the goods deadline).
3. Follow up in writing on day 11. State the date you canceled, the date the notice was received, and what hasn't happened, whether that's the refund, the confirmation, or the lien release.
4. Get it in writing that nothing further is owed under the contract and that any financing is canceled. If you had a loan, notify the lender in writing too, and use our lender lookup guide if you're not sure who holds it.
5. Check the public record. Search for UCC filings, and watch your bank, card, and loan accounts.
6. Check your credit reports 30 to 60 days later to confirm any loan isn't being reported. See what cancellation does to your credit.
7. Keep everything, following our documentation checklist.

If the company doesn't comply

A company that misses these deadlines may have violated state and federal law. You can file with the agencies in our complaint guide, including CSLB for contractor issues and the FTC for Cooling-Off Rule violations. If your contract was financed, the FTC Holder Rule may let you raise the seller's violations against the lender.

If you never got a proper written notice of cancellation to begin with, your right to cancel may still be open. Our guide to the signs it's time to cancel walks through how to check.

Questions about the refund and release deadlines

How long does the company have to refund me after I cancel?

California's statute says 10 days after cancellation. The FTC rule says 10 business days after the seller receives your notice. Count from the shorter California deadline.

What if the company ignores my cancellation?

Follow up in writing, document the missed deadlines, and consider a complaint to the agencies in our guide. A review of your contract can show whether the company violated the rules.

Do I have to give the panels back?

The statutes address goods a seller delivered, and they let you refuse to deliver them anywhere but your own address. For a system installed on your roof, the answer depends on your contract, so ask the company in writing and don't remove equipment yourself.

How do I confirm a lien was released?

Search the Secretary of State's UCC database for your name, and if a filing remains after you've demanded its termination in writing, ask for help with the next step.

Canceled your contract and not hearing back, or worried a lien is still on record?

Send us your notice, your proof of delivery, and your contract and we'll tell you whether the company is meeting its deadlines and what to do next, usually in one 15-minute call.

Call (213) 579-5156 or visit californiasolarexit.com.

Daniel Merritt is a Senior Solar Contract Analyst at California Solar Exit. This article is general information, not legal advice, and results depend on the facts of each contract.