The Florida solar contract disclosure form, item by item

What is the Florida solar contract disclosure form?

It's a separate document Florida law requires on every agreement to sell or lease a distributed energy generation system, which covers rooftop solar and home batteries. Under Fla. Stat. § 520.23 it has to be printed in at least 12-point type, sit apart from the contract itself, and be acknowledged by you separately. It lists 32 things the seller has to tell you, where they apply.

The legislature added it in 2017 and amended it in 2023. It puts the terms that decide whether you'll regret the deal on one document, in type you can read, apart from a contract that may run many pages. The Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) publishes standard versions, and a seller who uses one in substantially that form is treated as compliant (§ 520.24). Thestandard lease formis six pages of blanks and check boxes. If what you were handed looks nothing like that and you can't find the items below anywhere, ask.

I sell subscription solar for a living, so read this with that in mind. Everything here comes from the statute, linked in the sources at the bottom. It isn't legal advice about your contract.

Who has to give you the form, and when?

The seller or lessor, and it's part of the agreement itself. The statute says each agreement "shall, at a minimum, include" the written statement. It can also be delivered electronically within 24 hours after the statement is executed, but only if you affirmatively acknowledge that you received it.

"System" is defined broadly: a device that generates or stores electricity, above one kilowatt or one kilowatt-hour, used mainly on site, not counting a generator meant for occasional use (§ 520.20). Section 520.26 then carves out six situations the whole part doesn't cover. The two a homeowner is most likely to hit: a purchase where you pay the full price no later than the day the system is installed or delivered, and a system on nonresidential property. Buying a house that already has solar on it is also outside it, as is a third party (a local government, for example) that only finances the system (§ 520.26).

What must the form include?

Thirty-two items, each one "if applicable." They're grouped below by what they're about, with the statute's own numbers in parentheses so you can match them against the text of § 520.23. Your form probably won't use those numbers. DBPR's standard forms use lettered sections instead (A to T on the lease form, A to S on the purchase form), so match by topic, not by number. A contract signed before July 1, 2023 was written under the older 29-item list, so its numbers shift too.

One more check while you're matching. DBPR's standard forms are dated December 27, 2017, before the 2023 amendment added three items: the DBPR contact number (4), the roof-age warning (24) and the insurance-premium warning (27). A seller still using the 2017 form may be missing all three, so look for them on yours.

Who you're dealing with

• (1) Your name, address, phone number and email.
• (2) The name, address, phone, email and valid state contractor license number of whoever is responsible for installing the system.
• (3) The same details, license number included, for the maintenance provider if it's a different company from the installer.
• (4) The DBPR customer contact center phone number.

What you're signing and what it costs

• (5) Whether you're buying or leasing, with a set statement. For a lease it reads, in substance, "You will lease (not own) the system installed on your property."
• (6) The total cost you'll pay, including interest, installation, document preparation, service and other fees.
• (7) The payment schedule. For a lease, the frequency and amount of each payment and the total estimated lease payments over the term.
• (8) Every state or federal tax incentive or rebate the seller relied on to set the price.
• (9) The assumptions behind any savings estimate, plus a statement that future utility rates are estimates only and may vary.
• (10) Every one-time or recurring fee, such as estimated removal fees, maintenance fees, internet connection fees and automated clearinghouse (bank draft) fees, and what triggers a late fee.
• (11) Whether the system is financed, with a statement telling you to read the lender's own documents.
• (12) Whether the seller is helping arrange that financing, with the same statement.

Your right to cancel

• (13) Notice of your right to rescind the agreement for at least 3 business days after it's signed. More on this below.

The system and the install

• (14) The design assumptions: make and model of the major components, system size, estimated first-year production, the expected yearly drop in production and total degradation over the system's life, and where utility compensation for excess power stood at signing. A seller who guarantees production output can describe the guarantee instead.
• (15) Any performance or production guarantees.
• (18) Approximate start and completion dates for the install.
• (21) For a purchase, what it takes to interconnect the system to the utility.
• (22) Who is responsible for getting interconnection approval.

Credits, certificates and taxes

• (16) Who owns any tax credits, rebates, incentives or renewable energy certificates tied to the system, whether they can be transferred, and whether the seller will sell or assign the certificates to someone else.
• (17) A statement that you're responsible for property taxes on property you own, and should see a tax professional about tax liability and credits.

Maintenance, warranties, your roof and insurance

• (19) Whether maintenance and repairs are included in the price.
• (20) Whether warranty or maintenance obligations can be sold to a third party. If so, a statement that your contract may be assigned, sold or transferred without your consent to someone bound by all its terms.
• (23) Any roof warranties.
• (24) A statement to consider your roof's age before installing, because replacing the roof may mean reinstalling the system.
• (25) For a lease, whether the seller insures the system against damage or loss, and when it won't.
• (26) A statement that you're responsible for insuring the system against loss or damage.
• (27) A statement that the system may affect your insurance premiums and that you should call your carrier before signing.

Liens, filings and selling your home

• (28) Whether the seller or lessor will place a lien on your home or other property.
• (29) Whether they'll file a fixture filing or a Florida UCC-1 financing statement on the system.
• (30) Any restrictions on your ability to modify the system or transfer ownership of it, including whether a third party has to review or approve that.
• (31) Whether a lease can be transferred to the buyer when you sell the home, and on what conditions.

Anything else

• (32) A blank section where the seller can add disclosures or explain ones made elsewhere on the form.

Can I cancel my solar contract in Florida?

Yes, inside a short window. Item 13 says the form has to tell you about your right to rescind the agreement for at least 3 business days after it's signed. The standard DBPR lease form puts it as a blank to fill in, "no less than three" business days, and says you cancel by notifying the lessor in writing.

If the sale happened at your home, Florida has a second, separate right in § 501.025: you can cancel a home solicitation sale until midnight of the third business day after you sign, by written notice, and a mailed notice counts from the postmark (Fla. Stat. § 501.025). Count business days, cancel in writing, and keep a dated copy.

One narrow exception to item 13: a home in a community marketed as a solar community where every home is meant to have a system, or where the developer used solar to meet the Florida Building Code. After the window closes, cancelling means negotiating, and that depends on what you signed. How to cancel a solar contract walks through each structure.

What do the lien and transfer items tell you?

The statute's items 28 to 31 answer the questions that decide whether solar becomes a problem when you sell or refinance: is anything recorded against the house, and can the next owner take the agreement over. On the standard lease form they're check boxes. The lessor WILL or WILL NOT place a lien, WILL or WILL NOT file a fixture filing or UCC-1, and you MAY or MAY NOT transfer the lease to the buyer of your home.

Look for them by section letter, not by number. On the DBPR lease form the filing boxes are in Section J, "Security Filings," and the transfer terms are in Section M, "Transferring Your Lease and Selling Your Home." On the purchase form they're Section I and Section L. If your contract was signed before July 1, 2023, the same disclosures were the statute's items 25 to 28.

Read which box is ticked, not just that the section exists. The same form has a fee line headed "UCC Notice Removal and Re-filing Fee," with a blank for what you might pay if you refinance your mortgage. That line tells you a filing is expected to get in the way of a refinance, before anything has gone wrong.

In Florida a fixture filing goes to the clerk of the circuit court in your county, while other financing statements go to the Florida Secured Transaction Registry (§ 679.5011), so a clean registry search doesn't clear the county.Where to search for a solar lien shows where to look, and do solar panels put a lien on your house explains what a filing does. If item 31 says the buyer has to qualify or be approved, readwhen the buyer won't assume your solar leasebefore you sign, not after you list.

How do I check the contractor license number on the form?

Look it up on DBPR's license search at myfloridalicense.com. Items 2 and 3 require a valid state contractor license number for the installer and for a separate maintenance provider, and § 520.20 says a seller that also installs must be licensed under chapter 489. A number on the form is a claim. The state's database is the check.

1. Open the DBPR license search.
2. Search by license number (from the form) or by name.
3. Confirm the name on the record matches the installer named on your form, and check the license type and expiry date.
4. If the result says it's a business tracking record only, that record by itself doesn't show a contractor license. Use "View Related License Information" on that page to find the licensed person behind the business.

While you're on the form, check item 4. The DBPR customer contact center number is 850-487-1395, and it's the number the statute wants printed there (DBPR). DBPR also runs a toll-free line for unlicensed activity complaints, 1-866-532-1440.

What happens if the form is missing?

The statute sets a penalty for the seller, but it doesn't say your contract is void. Under § 520.25, a seller who willfully and intentionally violates Part II commits a noncriminal violation punishable by a fine not to exceed the cost of the system. In the same situation, the owner may recover the finance charges and fees charged under the agreement, plus attorney fees and costs, or set that amount off against a claim the seller brings.

Read that carefully before repeating the version going around. The system's cost is the ceiling on a fine, and it needs a willful and intentional violation. What the statute lets you recover is finance charges, fees, attorney fees and costs (§ 520.25). Part II doesn't say whether a contract missing the form can still be enforced. That question is for a Florida attorney who has read your paperwork.

Missing forms aren't hypothetical. When WFLX reviewed four sets of solar contract documents from Treasure Coast homeowners in August 2026, two included the required disclosure and two didn't. The report says DBPR acknowledged questions about whether a missing disclosure affects enforceability but hadn't given a substantive answer by publication (WFLX).

What should I do if my contract doesn't have the form?

If you haven't signed, don't. Ask the seller in writing (email is fine) for the § 520.23 disclosure, filled in, before you sign anything. A seller who says the form doesn't apply to their agreement should be willing to say why in writing too. Any seller, us included.

If you've already signed:

• Check the date. If you're still inside the 3-business-day window, cancel in writing now and keep proof of when you sent it.
• Look for the form in your email. It can arrive electronically within 24 hours of signing, and you should have been asked to acknowledge it.
• Keep everything: the contract, financing papers, sales materials, texts and emails, and your utility bills.
• Talk to a Florida attorney about whether the missing form changes anything for your contract. Mention § 520.25 when you call: for a willful and intentional violation it lets the owner recover attorney fees and costs.
• File a complaint with the Florida Attorney General through its fraud hotline, 1-866-9-NO-SCAM (1-866-966-7226), or its online complaint form (myfloridalegal.com).
• If the license check came up empty, report it to DBPR's unlicensed activity line, 1-866-532-1440.

Does § 520.23 apply to a solar subscription?

That's a question for a Florida lawyer, and I'm not going to answer it for you. The statute is written around agreements to sell or lease a system, and § 520.20 defines "lessee" as someone who agrees to "lease or rent" one. Whether a particular subscription, power agreement or other arrangement fits those words depends on how that agreement is written.

I sell subscription solar, so I have a stake in the answer, which is one more reason not to take it from me. The practical move doesn't depend on the answer anyway: ask for the form. If the seller says it doesn't apply, get that in writing and let your lawyer read it.

Check your own contract

The solar contract checker reads a PDF of your agreement on your own device and looks for the § 520.23 disclosure, along with the cancellation window, any UCC or lien language, and the transfer terms. Nothing is uploaded. It points you at the pages to read, and it doesn't replace reading them. For the rest of the Florida picture, seesolar in Florida.