Cancel a solar contract before installation: your options
Inside the window, cancel in writing. Outside it, the contract’s own termination clause decides.
Written by HyreSolar Research Desk Primary-source research; not legal or financial advice
The short answer
To cancel a solar contract before installation, your options are the federal three-day cooling-off right, a longer state window if your state has one, or the contract’s own termination clause once those windows have passed.
If you signed at home, the FTC Cooling-Off Rule gives you until midnight of the third business day, and Saturday counts as a business day.
After a valid cancellation the seller must refund your payments within ten business days and cancel any security interest. Send the notice in writing, keep proof, and do not let work start while you decide.
Check your contract first
- The Notice of Cancellation form
It should be attached in duplicate with the deadline filled in. Use it: sign, date and send one copy to the address on it.
- The deadline date the seller wrote
It may be no earlier than the third business day. Count it yourself: Sunday and federal holidays are excluded, Saturday is not.
- A termination or cancellation-fee clause
After the window, this sets what you owe: often design, permit or deposit costs actually incurred. Read it before you call.
- The financing documents
A loan secured by your home is governed by Truth in Lending rescission, which also runs three business days but starts from the later of signing or delivery of the disclosures.
Your options, by timing
| When | Option | What you may owe |
|---|---|---|
| Within 3 business days (federal) | Cancel under 16 CFR 429; no reason needed | Nothing; refund within 10 business days |
| Within a longer state window | Cancel under state law, e.g. California’s fifth business day for a senior citizen | Per the statute, usually nothing |
| After the windows, before install | Terminate under the contract’s clause, or negotiate | Costs the clause allows; often negotiable |
| Any time, if misled | Complain to the state attorney general and FTC | Depends on the outcome |
Step by step
- 1Count your business days today
Signed Thursday evening? Friday is day one, Saturday day two, Monday day three: the right expires at midnight Monday.
- 2Send the signed notice
Mail it (the postmark counts under the federal rule) and also email it, keeping copies and proof of sending.
- 3Tell the lender
If a loan was opened, send the lender a copy the same day. Under the rule the seller may not sell your note to a finance company before midnight of the fifth business day.
- 4Refuse site work until the window has passed
Say so in writing.
- 5If refused, escalate
State attorney general, contractor licensing board, and ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
When to get help
If the seller says you are past the window but no notice was ever handed to you, or demands a large fee before any work, get advice from your state attorney general’s consumer office or a consumer attorney. State-by-state windows we have verified are in solar sales regulation by state.
When you are ready
Ready to explore solar for your home?
If you have done your research and want to speak with a solar professional, HyreSolar can help you explore available options.
Free, with no obligation: a person at HyreSolar reads your request and gets back to you about it. Matching with solar professionals is not live yet, so this is not a quote, and nothing is shared with anyone until you agree.
Keep learningQuestions
Do I get three days to cancel if I invited the salesperson?
Can I cancel a solar contract by email?
Can the installer charge me for cancelling after three days?
Sources and retrieval dates
- 16 CFR Part 429, FTC Cooling-Off Rule , three business days, notice and refund duties Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- 16 CFR § 429.0, definitions and exclusions , business day, the $25 threshold, the TILA carve-out Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- 15 U.S.C. § 1635, Truth in Lending Act right of rescission , credit secured by the principal dwelling; three-year outer limit in (f) Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- 12 CFR § 1026.23, Regulation Z right of rescission Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- California Civil Code § 1689.6, home solicitation contracts , third business day, fifth for a senior citizen Retrieved 22 October 2026.
- FTC, ReportFraud Retrieved 22 October 2026.
This page explains how solar contracts and consumer rules usually work and links the documents it relies on.
It is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice; your own contract and your state’s law decide your case.
For a dispute, speak to a lawyer licensed in your state or your state attorney general’s consumer office. HyreSolar does not install, finance, lease or sell solar.