Should I Sign a Solar Contract Before the Site Visit?

Only if the contract lets you cancel, or approve a new price, without penalty after the site visit. Cancellation windows run from signing, not from the visit: for covered sales, three business days under the federal rule and in Florida, five in Texas. If the visit could land after your window closes, get a written site-survey contingency before you sign.

Texas residential solar contracts signed on or after September 1, 2025 carry a five-business-day right to cancel. Since September 1, 2026, Texas solar retailers and salespeople must register with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR). TDLR's temporary suspension of enforcement of its contract-disclosure rule ran until November 1, 2026. In California, interconnection applications for contracts signed on or after December 15, 2026 must include Version 4 of the state's solar consumer guide. Separately, the 30% federal homeowner credit ended for systems completed after December 31, 2025.

What does a solar site visit check?

A site visit is meant to check whether the design in your proposal fits your actual house. The Clean Energy States Alliance's guide suggests asking whether an on-site visit will be performed to assess whether your house is a viable site. In general, someone inspects and measures the roof, checks shading, and looks at your electrical panel and meter. The installer may use what it finds to finalize the panel layout, equipment and, in some contracts, the price.

A site survey may cover items like these (general guidance; ask your installer):

• Roof condition, age and framing, and whether it can carry panels for the life of the system.
• Roof planes and obstructions such as vents, chimneys and skylights, which limit where panels go.
• Shade from trees, neighboring buildings and parts of your own roof.
• Your main electrical panel and meter, and whether an upgrade is needed.
• Where an inverter, disconnect or battery would be mounted.

What can change after the site visit?

Depending on your contract, the system size, panel layout, equipment list, production estimate, timeline and price may change after the visit. Fewer panels may fit than a remote design assumed, shade may cut expected output, or the roof or electrical panel may need work before installation.

If your roof is near the end of its life, read when to re-roof before going solar. If trees are the issue, see how much shade costs your solar production. Our post on things that change between signing and install lists other changes to watch for later in the project.

Does the cancellation window start at signing or after the site visit?

At signing. Every rule covered here counts from the contract, not the site visit. So if the visit happens after your third business day, or fifth in Texas, anything it turns up arrives after the legal window has closed. After that, look first to the contract's own terms. The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) says to ask what situations would release you from the contract, and that a site visit finding unexpected roof shade could cancel it.

Here is when each clock starts:

• Federal rule: the FTC Cooling-Off Rule runs to midnight of the third business day after the date of the transaction.
• Texas: the fifth business day after the date you sign, per TDLR.
• Florida: the third business day after the day you sign, under s. 501.025.
• California: midnight of the third business day after you receive a signed, dated copy of the contract, per the CPUC guide.

The federal rule and Florida law both define a business day as any calendar day except Sunday or a federal holiday. Confirm how your contract counts business days and the exact last day to cancel. Texas contracts must state the last calendar date of the cancellation period.

So should I sign a solar contract before the site visit?

It depends on what the contract says happens after the visit. Signing first is reasonable when you can cancel without penalty, or must approve any change in writing, after the survey. It is risky when your only exit is the legal window and the visit comes later.

• Reasonable to sign: the contract has a site-survey contingency that lets you cancel with a full deposit refund if size, equipment or price changes, and that right lasts past the visit.
• Reasonable to sign: the site visit is scheduled inside your cancellation window, so you see the final design while you can still cancel.
• Wait: the visit is weeks away, the window closes first, and the contract lets the installer change price or design without your signed approval.
• Wait: it is a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA) and the design isn't final. These are long commitments: the CPUC says typical lease and PPA contract periods are 20 to 25 years.
• Wait: you suspect the roof needs replacing. That changes the project and its cost.
• Wait: you haven't seen the full contract. In California, the law requires the salesperson to show you the contract terms before you sign.

What should I get in writing about price changes?

Get a clause that says when the price can change after the site visit, what can trigger it, and what you can do if it does. The strongest version requires your signed approval for any change and lets you cancel with a full refund if you decline.

• Signed change orders. The price, system size and main equipment can't change without a written change order you sign.
• A walk-away right. If you reject a change, you can cancel without a fee and get every deposit back by a stated date.
• Named triggers. The contract lists what can change the price, such as roof repairs, a panel upgrade or fewer panels, and who pays for each.
• A new production estimate if the layout changes.
• The payment schedule. Florida's s. 520.23 statement must show amounts owed at signing, at the start and completion of installation, and any final payments. Know what you owe before the visit.
• Financing terms. Ask how the loan amount and payment change if the price does. In Texas, if the lender is affiliated with or referred by the retailer, the agreement must require the lender to cancel the loan when the solar agreement is canceled.
• Lease or PPA payments. Get the monthly payment, any escalator, and whether a PPA payment is estimated or actual. The CPUC says escalators are typically 1 to 3 percent a year and advises caution above that. See the 25-year math on lease escalators.
• Tax assumptions. Florida's statement must list each state or federal incentive the seller relied on in setting the price. A homeowner who buys a system with cash or a loan and has it installed in 2026 or later gets no section 25D credit. On a lease or PPA, the system's owner may claim the commercial section 48E credit and may pass some value into the price. For solar, that credit ends for property placed in service after December 31, 2027 unless construction began by July 4, 2026 (IRS Notice 2025-42), and eligibility also depends on foreign-entity equipment rules. That is not a homeowner credit.

To check each figure on a quote, use our guide to reading a solar proposal line by line.

What do state rules require in a solar contract?

California, Texas and Florida each require specific solar disclosures at signing, on top of their cancellation rights. Elsewhere, the federal Cooling-Off Rule covers many in-home sales, and the FTC says some state laws give you more rights than its rule. Check your own state's rules before signing.

California

The CPUC guide says solar contracts must include contractor information and license numbers, a project description, and the price plus any finance charge or down payment. They must also give approximate start and end dates and notice of a 3-day right to cancel, with limited exceptions. The provider must give you a completed Contractors State License Board (CSLB) Solar Energy System Disclosure Document. It shows total system cost, monthly costs, interest rates or escalators, a standardized bill savings estimate and its assumptions.

As of 2025, California solar providers may use a maximum electricity rate escalation of 10% in any savings calculation. If the salesperson speaks a language other than English, you get the contract in that language. Providers interconnecting homes in PG&E, SCE, SDG&E, BVES, PacifiCorp and Liberty areas must collect your initials and signature on the guide. If a provider refuses to cancel, the CPUC says to report it to the CSLB at 800-321-CSLB (2752).

Texas

TDLR regulates residential solar sales and leases. Its rules summary says the agreement must state that a licensed electrical contractor will install the system, and name that contractor and license number, or give a list to choose from. The retailer or contractor must obtain required permits, and interconnection approval from the electric utility serving your home where the Utilities Code sections TDLR cites apply, or, if you're its customer, from an electric cooperative or city utility. The contract must print the last calendar date to cancel and an address or email for the notice.

The TDLR disclosure form must come with the contract, signed by you and the seller. It asks for the total customer payment obligation, dealer fees and seller's points, and lease or PPA payment details. It also covers transfer if you sell the home, liens, arbitration clauses and any opt-out, the buyback or charge rate, and who pays to remove and reinstall panels for roof work. Buyers 65 or older must confirm they received a paper copy. The form says it doesn't replace the contract. TDLR takes questions and complaints at 800-803-9202. For Texas rebates and tax rules, see our Texas solar incentives guide.

Florida

Under s. 520.23, each solar sale or lease needs a separate statement in at least 12-point type that you acknowledge separately. It lists total cost with all fees, the payment schedule, lease payments, incentives the price relied on, savings assumptions, recurring fees, and whether the seller will place a lien or file a fixture filing or UCC-1 financing statement. It also gives the installer's name, contact details and state contractor license number.

The statement must also give the make and model of major components, system size, estimated first-year production and degradation, and the status of utility pay for excess energy at signing. A seller that warrants or guarantees production may describe that instead of the design and components. If the site visit changes any of these, ask for a revised statement. The statement can be delivered electronically within 24 hours of signing if you acknowledge receiving it.

Florida's home-solicitation cancellation right in s. 501.025 applies to sales solicited and agreed away from the seller's fixed business location. Under s. 501.021, that includes some unsolicited phone sales. It excludes sales at fairs or commercial exhibits, and sales that result from your request for specific goods or services. The s. 520.23 rescission notice is a separate requirement.

Other states

The FTC Cooling-Off Rule covers certain sales made at your home, workplace or a seller's temporary location, including sales after you invite a salesperson to make a presentation in your home. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau says door-to-door solar sales contracts may be subject to the rule. Its definitions exclude sales conducted and completed entirely by mail or phone with no other contact between you and the seller before the goods are delivered or the work is performed, sales after prior negotiations on a visit to the seller's fixed retail location, sales of real property, and deals where you already have a rescission right under the federal Consumer Credit Protection Act. Whether a given solar deal fits an exclusion is worth confirming with your state attorney general's office.

How do I cancel a solar contract inside the window?

Send written notice before the deadline, by a method your contract and state rule allow, and keep proof. Under the federal rule you don't need a reason. The FTC suggests sending the cancellation form or letter by certified mail.

• Federal rule: sign and date one copy of the cancellation form and mail it, postmarked before the deadline. If you got no form, write a letter. The seller must return payments within 10 business days of receiving your notice and cancel any security interest.
• Financing under the federal rule: the seller may not transfer your note to a finance company before midnight of the fifth business day after signing.
• Florida (home solicitation sale): give written notice in person, by telegram or by mail to the address in the agreement. Any wording that shows you don't intend to be bound works. Mailed notice takes effect when postmarked.
• Texas: use the address or email in the contract, or any reasonable method if none is listed.
• California: email, mail, fax or deliver notice to the provider.

What should I check before I sign?

Check the deadline, the visit date and the paperwork. The ten items below draw on the federal rule and the California, Texas and Florida rules, plus site-visit terms to ask about.

1. Write down the last day to cancel. Texas contracts must print it.
2. Compare it with the site visit date. If the visit falls later, ask for a site-survey contingency in writing.
3. Get a fully completed contract copy at signing, in the language of the sales pitch.
4. Under the federal rule, look for two copies of a cancellation form headed "Notice of Cancellation" or "Notice of Right to Cancel."
5. Make sure nothing waives your right to cancel. The federal rule bars such waivers in door-to-door contracts.
6. Confirm you got your state's solar disclosure: the CSLB document, the TDLR form or the Florida s. 520.23 statement.
7. Find the installer's name and license number in the contract.
8. Check whether the seller will place a lien or file a fixture filing on your home or system.
9. For a lease or PPA, ask about early termination fees, transfer fees and what happens if you sell. The CPUC says you'd pay the remaining value or transfer the contract.
10. Ask who pays to remove and reinstall panels if the roof needs work later.

Want a second look at a solar contract before you sign?

Request installer quotes through our quote form, which asks for your phone number with your consent, or book a ten-minute call to talk through a contract's site-visit and cancellation terms. Solnology is an independent solar broker. If you move forward with a solar project, we share the relevant details with the installation partner quoting your project. If a deal closes, the installer may pay us; you pay us nothing.

Sources: FTC Cooling-Off Rule, 16 CFR 429.0 and 429.1, and FTC consumer guidance (September 2025); CPUC California Solar Consumer Protection Guide; Texas TDLR residential solar disclosure form (August 2026) and TDLR's residential solar retailers effective-dates page; Florida Statutes 501.021, 501.025 and 520.23 (2026); IRS Residential Clean Energy Credit page; IRS Notice 2025-42; Congressional Research Service report IN12611; CFPB, Issue Spotlight: Solar Financing (August 2024); Clean Energy States Alliance, A Homeowner's Guide to Solar Financing (November 2018). Rules and program terms change, so confirm current terms with your state agency, utility or program before you sign. This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Sources checked October and November 2026.