TCPA compliance for solar leads

Reviewed October 9, 2026, against 47 CFR 64.1200 and 16 CFR Part 310 as published on eCFR (both titles up to date as of October 6, 2026), the FCC’s consumer guide to robocalls and texts, and the FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule guide. This page is general information for solar lead generators and buyers, not legal advice. Rules change; check the linked sources before you rely on them.

Why TCPA compliance for solar leads matters

Solar leads are bought to be followed up quickly. Installers and solar sales organizations call and text homeowners to book site visits, and many use dialing software, automated texts or prerecorded messages to do it. The FCC’s rules under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, at 47 CFR 64.1200, decide when those calls and texts need the homeowner’s consent, and the statute lets consumers sue over violations. That is why solar buyers look at the consent record before they accept a lead, and why a lead without one is hard to sell.

Solar adds a second layer: a lead may pass from a publisherPublisherA company or individual that generates leads, usually through websites, ads or content, and sells them to brokers or buyers. Glossary to a seller, a broker and then an installer, and each party relies on the consent captured on the first form. For the general rules, see TCPA consent; for how consent works when leads are sold by ping/postPing/postA real-time selling method in which a lead is pinged to buyers with partial data, buyers bid, and the winning bidder receives the full lead by post. Glossary, see TCPA and ping/post.

Summit applies its company-wide practice to solar: TCPATCPAThe Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the federal law that governs telemarketing calls and texts, autodialers, prerecorded voice messages and the Do Not Call Registry. Glossary consent is captured on every lead, with consent certificates.

Consent on solar quote forms

Under 47 CFR 64.1200, a telemarketing call or text made with an automatic telephone dialing system or an artificial or prerecorded voice to a mobile number needs the prior express written consent of the person called. The rule defines that consent as a written agreement signed by the person, where an electronic signature counts, that clearly authorizes the seller to deliver those messages to a number the person provides. It must disclose that the person is authorizing such calls and that they do not have to agree as a condition of buying anything.

The FCC’s consumer guide to robocalls and texts says the same consent can be given through electronic means, including website forms. For a solar quote form, buyers commonly check that:

• The consent language sits next to the submit button in readable type, not inside the terms of use.
• It says the homeowner agrees to be contacted about solar quotes by phone and text, including by automated technology or prerecorded messages.
• It names the companies that may call, or links to a current list of them.
• It states that consent is not a condition of any purchase.
• No box is pre-checked, and the homeowner takes a clear action to submit.
• The form records the language shown, the timestamp, the IP address and the page URL for each lead.

The FCC’s one-to-one consent rule, which would have limited consent to one seller at a time, is not in the current text of 47 CFR 64.1200. See one-to-one consent for its history and prior express written consent for the definition in detail.

Revoking consent and opt-outs

Solar follow-up often runs over weeks, with several calls and texts while the homeowner compares bids. Opt-outs therefore come up more than in faster verticals. Under 47 CFR 64.1200:

• A homeowner may revoke consent, including prior express written consent, by any reasonable method that clearly says they do not want further calls or texts.
• Replying "stop", "quit", "end", "revoke", "opt out", "cancel" or "unsubscribe" to a text, or using a website or phone number the caller designates for opt-outs, counts as a reasonable means to revoke.
• A revocation request must be honored within a reasonable time, not more than ten business days from receipt.
• A caller may not require one exclusive way to revoke.

When a lead has been sold to several buyers, each one that receives an opt-out has to act on it. Pass opt-outs back along the chain where your agreements require it, and keep the date each was honored.

Do Not Call, calling hours and AI voice calls

Telephone solicitations are subject to the national Do Not Call registry and to company-specific do-not-call lists. Under 47 CFR 64.1200:

• No telephone solicitation may be made to a residential subscriber before 8 a.m. or after 9 p.m., local time at the called party’s location.
• The safe harbor for calls to registered numbers relies on using a version of the national registry obtained no more than 31 days before the call, and on keeping records of that process.

The FTC’s Telemarketing Sales Rule sets the same 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. window for outbound calls at 16 CFR 310.4. Solar leads are often sold across many states and time zones, so the homeowner’s location sets the clock, not the call center’s. The telemarketing calling hours by state page lists stricter state windows.

Solar sales teams increasingly test AI voice tools. The FCC’s consumer guide states that AI-generated voice calls are illegal unless the consumer has agreed to receive them or the caller is exempt, and that prerecorded voice messages must give the caller’s name, number and business name at the start. Treat an AI voice call as a prerecorded or artificial voice call when you review the consent behind it.

Prior express written consent on a quote form is a separate question from Do Not Call scrubbing. See Do Not Call list for businesses and the Telemarketing Sales Rule page for both.

State telemarketing laws and solar

Several states have their own telemarketing laws that add to the federal rules, for example on calling hours, the number of calls allowed in a period, or consent for automated calls and texts. They apply based on where the homeowner is. Because solar leads move across state lines, the strictest rule that applies to a given lead sets the standard for that lead. See state TCPA laws for the summary, state Do Not Call lists for registries kept by states, and the Florida Telephone Solicitation Act page for one of the most active state laws.

Solar sales also face state consumer protection and contractor rules that are not telemarketing rules, such as disclosures in solar contracts. Those sit outside the TCPA; solar ad claims to avoid links the official FTC and state pages.

Record keeping for solar leads

The Telemarketing Sales Rule at 16 CFR 310.5 requires sellers and telemarketers to keep records relating to their telemarketing for 5 years from the date the record is produced, unless the rule says otherwise, including copies of advertising and scripts and a record of each telemarketing call. The FTC’s guide Complying with the Telemarketing Sales Rule explains who must comply. Solar lead generators and buyers commonly keep, for each lead:

• The consent certificate: the language shown, the timestamp, the IP address and the page URL
• The version of the form and the ad the homeowner responded to
• Every party that received the lead, with dates
• Do Not Call scrub results and the registry version used
• Opt-out and revocation requests, and the date each was honored

See TCPA record keeping for how to organize these files.

How solar consent compares with other lead types

Consent given for one lead type does not cover another. See TCPA compliance for home service leads, TCPA compliance for insurance leads and TCPA rules for SMS leads.

Common compliance mistakes with solar leads

• Consent that does not mention texts or automated calls, when the buyer will text or use dialing software.
• A seller list that does not match who actually calls. Solar leads often pass through several hands; the consent has to cover the company that calls.
• Opt-outs that stop at one buyer while others keep calling.
• AI voice or prerecorded follow-up without consent that covers an artificial or prerecorded voice.
• Calling on the call center’s clock instead of the homeowner’s.
• Lost records. A consent claim cannot be defended without the certificate and the form version.

Frequently asked questions

Related guides

• Solar leads: What buyers check and how solar leads are delivered.
• Sell solar leads: For lead generators with their own solar forms.
• TCPA compliance for home service leads: Consent for other home improvement leads.
• State TCPA laws: State telemarketing rules on top of the TCPA.
• TCPA compliance hub: Every TCPA guide on this site.

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