Florida Solar Contract Law: The Disclosures You Must Get

Florida law requires almost every residential solar sale or lease to come with a written disclosure statement — printed in at least 12-point type, separate from the contract, separately acknowledged, and containing up to 32 specific items. One of them is your right to cancel for at least three business days after signing. In the proposals we review, that separate document is often missing.

The law is Part II of Chapter 520 of the Florida Statutes, "Distributed Energy Generation System Sales." It was created in 2017 and expanded in 2023, and it is the most useful consumer-protection tool in Florida solar that almost nobody uses. It does not cap your price or set your rate. What it does is force the seller to write down, in one place, the things that later become disputes: who holds the license, what the system will actually produce, which incentives were "relied upon" to build your price, whether a lien goes on your house, and what happens to the deal when you sell.

If you have a Florida proposal in hand, this is the fastest way to find out whether the company you are about to sign with is following the law.

Florida's solar contract rules at a glance

What is Florida's solar disclosure law?

In 2017 the Legislature passed CS/SB 90 (Chapter 2017-118), effective July 1, 2017. It is best known for the solar property-tax exclusion, but the same act created a new Part II of Chapter 520 governing how solar is sold. In 2023, CS/HB 1185 (Chapter 2023-130, effective July 1, 2023) amended the disclosure section, adding three items and renumbering the rest to reach the current 32.

The statute uses the term "distributed energy generation system," defined in §520.20(3) as "a device or system that is used to generate or store electricity; that has an electric delivery capacity, individually or in connection with other similar devices or systems, of greater than one kilowatt or one kilowatt-hour; and that is used primarily for on-site consumption." In plain terms: your rooftop array, your home battery, or both. The only carve-out in the definition is for "an electric generator intended for occasional use" — a portable generator, not a solar system.

A "seller" is a business that regularly sells or leases these systems, and §520.20(6) adds a sentence worth remembering: "A seller that is also an installer must be licensed under chapter 489."

Which solar contracts does it cover — and which are exempt?

The law reaches agreements to sell or lease, and §520.20(1) adds that an "agreement" includes retail installment contracts — which Part II defines narrowly, as deals where "the title to, or a lien upon," the system "is retained or taken by the seller from the buyer as security." A purchase financed through a third-party lender is still covered, but by the simpler route: it is an agreement to sell you the system.

A third-party power purchase agreement is a different animal. Under a PPA you are buying electricity from a system somebody else owns, rather than buying or leasing the system yourself. Part II does not mention PPAs anywhere, and §520.23(5) offers exactly two statements — you are purchasing, or you are leasing — with no third option. Whether a PPA is covered is unsettled, and worth asking a Florida attorney about rather than assuming either way.

Six exemptions are listed in §520.26. Four matter to homeowners:

• A sale paid in full by installation. The part does not apply to a sale "pursuant to an agreement that requires full payment of the system from the buyer to the seller no later than the date the system is installed by the seller or is delivered from the seller to the buyer or a third party for installation." A straight cash deal with payment due at install is outside the law — worth knowing before you conclude a seller broke it.
• Non-residential property. The exemption covers any system installed on "nonresidential real property," which is broader than commercial buildings.
• Solar sold with the house. If the system comes as part of the sale or transfer of the real property, the part does not apply. Neither does it apply to "a third party, including a local government, that enters into an agreement for the financing" — so the entity financing your system sits outside this part even when the sale itself is covered.
• A person other than the seller who installs. Section 520.26(6) exempts "a person, other than the seller or lessor, who installs a distributed energy generation system on residential property" — which is precisely why the license number in the disclosure matters, since the company selling and the company installing are frequently not the same business.

Everything else — the financed purchase, the lease, the battery add-on over 1 kWh — is covered.

What must the disclosure statement say?

Section 520.23 requires "a written statement printed in at least 12-point type that is separate from the agreement, is separately acknowledged by the buyer or lessee, and includes the following information and disclosures, if applicable." Then it lists 32 items. Those last two words do real work: some items apply only to leases, only to purchases, or only if the seller gave you a savings estimate, so a fully compliant statement will not always contain all 32. Reading them as a list is useless; here is what they actually do, grouped.

Who is doing the work

Items (1) through (4) require your own contact information, then "the name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, and valid state contractor license number" of whoever installs the system — and separately of the maintenance provider, if that is a different company. Item (4) requires the customer contact center phone number for the Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR), the state agency that licenses contractors.

That license number is the single most useful line in the document. Sales companies and installers are frequently different businesses, and the entity whose logo is on your proposal is often not the one holding the license. Run the number yourself — our guide to verifying a Florida solar company walks the DBPR and Sunbiz lookups.

Whether you are buying or leasing

Item (5) requires a statement "in substantially the following form" — either "You are entering into an agreement to lease a distributed energy generation system. You will lease (not own) the system installed on your property," or "You are entering into an agreement to purchase a distributed energy generation system. You will own (not lease) the system installed on your property."

The Legislature wrote out both sentences because this is the thing homeowners most often get wrong about their own deal. If your disclosure says "lease," you do not own the system, you are not the one claiming any tax benefit, and the equipment on your roof belongs to someone else. See lease vs. loan vs. cash for what that changes over 25 years.

The money

Item (6) requires "the total cost to be paid by the buyer or lessee, including any interest, installation fees, document preparation fees, service fees, or other fees." Item (7) requires the payment schedule — what is owed at signing, at the start of installation, at completion, and at the end — and for a lease, "the frequency and amount of each payment due under the lease and the total estimated lease payments over the term of the lease."

Item (8) is the one to read twice: "Each state or federal tax incentive or rebate, if any, relied upon by the seller in determining the price of the distributed energy generation system." For a 2026 purchase in Florida, the honest answer is none — the 30% federal residential credit ended for expenditures after December 31, 2025, and Florida has no state solar rebate or credit. If a seller listed one anyway, the disclosure now says so in writing. See Florida solar incentives in 2026 for what actually remains, and why a 2026 quote showing a 30% credit is a red flag.

Item (9) requires "a description of the assumptions used to calculate any savings estimates provided to the buyer or lessee" and, if such estimates are provided, a statement "in substantially the following form": "It is important to understand that future electric utility rates are estimates only. Your future electric utility rates may vary." Note the standard — substantially this, not word for word. Item (10) requires every one-time and recurring fee, "including, but not limited to, estimated system removal fees, maintenance fees, Internet connection fees, and automated clearinghouse fees," and the circumstances that trigger late fees. Items (11) and (12) require the seller to say whether the system is financed and whether the seller arranged that financing, with a statement telling you the disclosure "does not contain the terms of your financing agreement."

That last point matters more than it reads. The disclosure covers the solar contract, not the loan. A dealer fee buried in the loan's APR will not show up here — see solar loan dealer fees for how to find it.

The system and what it will produce

Item (14) requires "the make and model of the major components, system size, estimated first-year energy production, and estimated annual energy production decreases, including the overall percentage degradation over the estimated life" of the system — plus "the status of utility compensation for excess energy generated by the system at the time of contract signing." That last clause means your net-metering terms have to be stated in writing at signing, which is exactly the number that changes a savings model. Item (15) covers any performance or production guarantee.

Item (14) has an escape hatch: a seller who provides a production warranty "may provide a description of such warranty or guarantee in lieu of a description of the system design and components." If you want the make and model of your panels and inverter locked in, get them in the contract itself — otherwise a production guarantee can substitute, and equipment can be swapped later. That is a change we see after signing, covered in what quietly changes between signing and install.

Items (16) and (17) cover who owns the tax credits, rebates, incentives and renewable energy certificates, including "whether the seller will assign or sell any associated renewable energy certificates to a third party," and require a statement that you are responsible for property taxes on property you own. Items (18) through (22) cover the approximate installation start and completion dates, whether maintenance and repairs are included in the price, the interconnection requirements (on a purchase), and who is responsible for obtaining interconnection approval.

Item (20) is the one to read closely. If the seller may sell or transfer its warranty or maintenance obligations, the disclosure must say so in substantially this form: "Your contract may be assigned, sold, or transferred without your consent to a third party who will be bound to all the terms of the contract. If a transfer occurs, you will be notified if this will change the address or phone number to use for system maintenance or repair requests." The company you signed with may not be the company you call in year three.

The risks nobody volunteers

The 2023 amendment added just three items — the DBPR contact number at (4), the roof-age warning at (24), and the insurance-premium warning at (27) — and renumbered the rest. Those three, together with the lien, UCC-1 and transfer disclosures that have been in the statute since 2017, are the most revealing part of the list, because each exists in response to a complaint pattern:

• Roof (items 23–24). Any roof warranties, plus this statement: "You should consider the age and remaining life of your roof prior to installing a distributed energy generation system. Replacement of your roof may require reinstallment of the distributed energy generation system." If your roof is near end of life, read when to re-roof first before you sign.
• Insurance (items 25–27). Whether the seller insures a leased system against damage or loss, a statement that you are responsible for insuring the system, and a warning that solar "may impact your future insurance premiums" and that you should contact your carrier before signing. In Florida that is not boilerplate — see homeowners insurance and solar panels in a hurricane.
• Liens (items 28–29). Whether the seller or lessor "will place a lien on the buyer's or lessee's home or other property," and whether they will file "a fixture filing or a State of Florida Uniform Commercial Code Financing Statement Form (UCC-1)" on the system. A UCC-1 fixture filing is a public notice that a lender or lessor has a claim on the equipment attached to your house. It can surface later at closing, when a title company finds it.
• Transfer (items 30–31). Any restrictions on your ability to modify or transfer ownership, including whether a third party must approve, and whether a lease "may be transferred to a purchaser upon sale of the home," with the conditions. This is the clause that decides how hard your house is to sell — see what happens to your solar when you sell.
• Item (32) is a blank section for the seller to add anything else relevant.

The statement may be delivered electronically within 24 hours after the written statement is executed, if you affirmatively acknowledge receipt. An electronic version satisfies the formatting rules if its format and character sizes are "reasonably similar" to the printed requirements or if the information "is otherwise displayed in a reasonably conspicuous manner" — so a differently formatted PDF is not automatically a violation.

How long do you have to cancel a Florida solar contract?

Three separate rules can apply, and they are easy to confuse.

The solar statute. Item (13) of §520.23 requires the disclosure to notify you "of the right to rescind the agreement for a period of at least 3 business days after the agreement is signed." Note "at least" — a seller may give you longer, and some do. There is a carve-out: this subsection does not apply to a system in a solar community "in which the entire community has been marketed as a solar community and all of the homes in the community are intended to have" a system, or where the developer used solar to meet the Florida Building Code.

Genuinely unsolicited home sales. Under §501.025, "the buyer has the right to cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after the day on which the buyer signs an agreement or offer to purchase." Section 501.021 defines a home solicitation sale as one where the seller personally solicits you somewhere other than the seller's fixed business location and the deal is signed somewhere other than that location — the classic knock on the door. Cancellation must be in writing, and notice by mail "shall be effective upon postmarking."

Two exceptions matter enormously in solar, and they remove most of the market. The definition "does not include a sale, lease, or rental made at any fair or similar commercial exhibit or a sale, lease, or rental that results from a request for specific goods or services by the purchaser or lessee." So if you asked for the quote — an online form, a phone inquiry, a scheduled consultation — or you signed at a home show or a retail kiosk, §501.025 likely does not apply to you, and §520.23(13) is the rule that governs your deal.

Home improvement finance contracts. Section 520.72 lets either party rescind "until midnight of the third business day following the execution of the contract by giving notice to the other party by either certified mail or registered mail." But it reaches your deal only if it is a "home improvement contract" as Chapter 520 defines that term, and the definition is narrow: §520.61(12) requires that "a security interest in the real property is retained," and §520.61(13) requires the price to be paid in installments "over a period of time greater than 90 days." A solar loan that is unsecured, or secured only by a UCC-1 fixture filing on the equipment, generally will not qualify. Ask a Florida attorney whether it applies to your paperwork.

Count business days carefully — and note that in Florida a business day includes Saturday. Section 501.021(2) defines it as "any calendar day except Sunday or a federal holiday," and §520.61(3) uses the same rule, excluding only Sundays and listed public holidays. Part II of Chapter 520 does not define the term at all. So sign on a Thursday and your third business day is Monday, not Tuesday. Read your contract's own definition, and when the two disagree, use the earlier date.

Send written notice rather than phoning a rep. Cancelling verbally to the salesperson who sold you the system is a common way to lose the window — put it in writing, keep proof of the postmark, and send it by certified mail, which satisfies both statutes that specify a method. Also send it however your contract tells you to, since §520.23(13) prescribes no method and your agreement may name a portal, an email address or a mailing address. Our guide on cancelling a solar contract covers what happens after the window closes, including permit-stage leverage — see also reviewing your contract while the permit is pending.

What happens if the seller skips the disclosure?

Section 520.25 sets two consequences, both requiring a violation that is "willful and intentional," and they run in different directions:

• Subsection (1): the seller "commits a noncriminal violation, as defined in s. 775.08(3), punishable by a fine not to exceed the cost of the distributed energy generation system." That is a penalty — it does not go to you.
• Subsection (2): the owner "may recover from the person committing such violation, or may set off or counterclaim in any action against the owner by such person, an amount equal to any finance charges and fees charged to the owner under the agreement, plus attorney fees and costs incurred by the owner to assert his or her rights under this part."

The second one is the practical remedy. If a seller sues you and the disclosure requirements were willfully ignored, the finance charges and fees you paid — plus your attorney fees — can be set off against their claim. That is leverage. It is not, however, a statement that a missing disclosure voids your contract; the statute contains no voiding or unenforceability language at all. What it does is give you a real argument and a fee-shifting provision, which is why sending the paperwork to an attorney is worth doing before you conclude you have no options.

Section 520.24 directs DBPR to "adopt rules to implement and enforce the provisions of this part," and directed it to publish, by January 1, 2018, "standard disclosure forms that may be used to comply." Disclosures "in substantially the form published by the department shall be regarded as complying," so if your seller used a state form that is a safe harbor for them. A seller using nothing at all has no excuse either way.

Check your own Florida solar contract in 10 minutes

1. Find the separate document. Not a page inside the contract — a separate statement, at least 12-point type, with its own signature or acknowledgment. If your packet does not contain one and your deal is financed or leased, ask the seller for it in writing before you sign anything else.
2. Read line (5) out loud. Does it say you will own, or you will lease? Confirm it matches what the salesperson told you. This takes ten seconds and settles the most expensive misunderstanding in the industry.
3. Check the license number in line (2) against DBPR's license search, and confirm the licensed installer is the company you think you are hiring. A "solar contractor" is defined at §489.105(3)(o), but do not assume a different licence class means trouble: the same paragraph says a contractor "certified or registered pursuant to this chapter, is not required to become a certified or registered solar contractor" to do work within the scope of what that licence already permits. An electrical or roofing contractor may legitimately appear here.
4. Check line (8) — incentives "relied upon." On a 2026 Florida purchase this should be empty or none. A 30% federal credit, a "Florida rebate" or a "state incentive" listed here means your price was built on something that does not exist.
5. Check line (14) for the export terms — "the status of utility compensation for excess energy generated by the system at the time of contract signing" — and make sure it matches your actual utility's rule, not a generic "1-to-1 net metering" claim.
6. Check lines (28) and (29) for a lien or UCC-1 fixture filing on your home, lines (30)–(31) for transfer restrictions, and line (20) for whether your contract can be assigned without your consent.
7. Find the rescission language and write the deadline on the front page. Count business days from signing, remembering that Saturday counts.

Florida solar contract law FAQ

Does the disclosure law apply to a solar lease?

Yes. Chapter 520 Part II applies by its terms to agreements "to sell or lease" a distributed energy generation system, and §520.23(5) requires a lease to say so in substantially these words: "You will lease (not own) the system installed on your property." A purchase financed through a lender is covered too, as an agreement to sell.

Does it apply to a power purchase agreement?

Unclear, and do not let anyone tell you otherwise with confidence. Part II is written around buying or leasing the system itself, and a PPA is a contract to buy the electricity a system produces while somebody else owns the hardware. The statute never mentions PPAs, and §520.23(5)'s two required statements offer no third option. If your deal is a PPA, ask a Florida attorney where you stand rather than assuming the disclosure protections attach.

Does it apply to a home battery?

Yes, if it is over one kilowatt or one kilowatt-hour and is used primarily for on-site consumption. The statutory definition covers a device or system used "to generate or store electricity." Practically every home battery sold in Florida qualifies.

My installer never gave me a separate disclosure statement. Is my contract void?

Not automatically — the statute does not say that. What §520.25 provides, for a willful and intentional violation, is a fine of up to the system's cost payable as a penalty, and separately the owner's right to recover finance charges, fees, attorney fees and costs. Whether that applies to your deal depends on facts a lawyer needs to look at, including whether your sale falls under one of the §520.26 exemptions — a cash sale paid in full at installation, for example, is exempt.

Do I get three days to cancel any Florida solar contract?

Usually, but not automatically. The most reliable source is §520.23(13), which requires your agreement to give you at least three business days. Section 501.025's home-solicitation right is narrower than people assume: it does not apply if the sale "results from a request for specific goods or services by the purchaser," which covers most homeowners who asked for a quote. And §520.72 applies only to a "home improvement contract" with a retained security interest in the real property and installments over 90 days. The main exception in the solar statute itself is a home in a community marketed and built as a solar community.

Who enforces this law?

Section 520.24 directs DBPR to "adopt rules to implement and enforce the provisions of this part," and its contractor-licensing authority under Chapter 489 is the practical pressure point for an unlicensed or misrepresented installer. But the money remedy in §520.25(2) runs to the owner, not to a state agency — which means a homeowner who never raises it never collects it.

Is this the same as the federal three-day right to cancel?

No. The federal Truth in Lending right of rescission (15 U.S.C. §1635; 12 C.F.R. §1026.23) applies to certain credit transactions secured by your principal dwelling and is separate from Florida's rules. If your solar loan is secured by your home, ask your lender directly which federal rescission rights apply to your loan — and do not let the answer replace the state deadlines above.

Have a Florida solar contract reviewed before the window closes

If you have signed in the last few days, or you are being pushed to sign now, send the paperwork over. We check whether the Chapter 520 disclosure is present and complete, whether the incentives "relied upon" are real, whether the export terms match your actual utility, and whether a lien or UCC-1 is going on your house — and we do it in about fifteen minutes. Start a free quote review, or read how the review works. Solarfying is an independent solar broker; if you proceed with an installer we introduce, that installer may pay us a referral fee. Homeowners never pay for the review.

Statutory text quoted from the 2026 Florida Statutes: §§520.20, 520.21, 520.23, 520.24, 520.25, 520.26, 520.61, 520.72, 489.105, 501.021 and 501.025; session laws Chapter 2017-118 (effective July 1, 2017) and Chapter 2023-130 (effective July 1, 2023). This article is general information about Florida law, not legal advice, and it is not a substitute for having a Florida attorney review your specific contract. Statutes change; confirm the current text at leg.state.fl.us before relying on it.