5 min read

How to get copies of your solar paperwork

Not having the documents is the single most common obstacle we see, and it is nearly always solvable. Here is the order we would work through it.

Work out who the players are

Residential solar usually involves three separate businesses, and people often assume they are one. The sales company signed you up. The installer put the equipment on the roof. The lender or provider is who you pay. Sometimes two of those are the same company; often none of them are.

Each one holds different paperwork, so the first step is naming them. A recent statement names whoever you pay. The equipment labels or the monitoring app often name the installer.

Search your own records first

A surprising amount turns up without contacting anyone.

  • Search your email for the month you signed — try the installer name, "agreement", "welcome", and the name of any e-signature service.
  • Check your spam and promotions folders. Signing confirmations land there constantly.
  • Look for a text thread with the salesperson. Estimates are frequently sent as photographs.
  • Check whether anyone else in the household signed or was copied.

Ask the people who hold it

If your own records come up empty, request the file directly. Ask in writing where you can, so you have a record of asking.

Worth requesting by name

  • The signed installation or purchase agreement
  • The financing agreement and the disclosure pages that accompanied it
  • The sales proposal or savings estimate you were shown before signing
  • A current statement of account, including any payoff figure
  • Warranty documentation for the equipment and the installation

Look at the public record

If financing was involved, a notice may have been recorded against your property. County recorder offices are usually searchable online by address or owner name, and what turns up will name the party who filed it — which is useful even when nothing else is.

Do not wait until you have everything

A partial file is still worth reviewing, and what is missing is itself informative. Start with what you have. Helping you obtain the rest is part of the process.

Three ways to start

Start wherever you are right now

All three end up in the same place. Pick whichever one matches what you have in front of you.