How to get a solar UCC-1 filing
removed from your records.

What a UCC-1 fixture filing is, and how it differs from a lien

A UCC-1 is a financing statement under the Uniform Commercial Code, the set of state laws that govern loans secured by personal property. A fixture filing is a UCC-1 for equipment attached to real estate, like rooftop panels. It is recorded in the same office that records mortgages for your property. In Massachusetts, for example, that is the registry of deeds where the property sits.

People call it a “solar lien,” and title companies often treat it like one. But it is usually different from a mortgage. GoodLeap, one of the largest solar lenders, says its UCC-1 is a lien on the solar equipment only and not a lien against your home. The CFPB’s 2024 solar financing report noted a consumer group’s finding that a UCC lien is technically not on the property but can muddy the title.

If you have a lease or PPA, the filing usually tells the world the company owns the panels. It normally stays until the agreement ends or the system is bought out.

Step 1: Find the filing in your county records

Before you demand anything, get a copy of what was filed. You will need its details for every letter you send.

1. Go to your county recorder. Depending on your state, the office may be called the recorder, register of deeds, registry of deeds, or county clerk. Many have an online index.
2. Search your name and your property. Try every owner’s name, your address, and your parcel number. Look for entries labeled UCC, UCC-1, financing statement, or fixture filing.
3. Check the state index too. Some lenders also file with the Secretary of State, which keeps a separate UCC index. A filing in both places may need to be cleared in both places.
4. Write down the details. Note the file or instrument number, the filing date, the name of the secured party, and any later amendments, assignments, or continuations. Solar loans are often sold, so the name on the filing may not match the company you pay.

If you cannot tell who holds your loan now, use our solar loan servicer lookup.

Step 2: After payoff, demand a termination statement

Paying off the loan does not erase the filing by itself. The lender, or whoever is now the secured party of record, has to file a termination statement. Under UCC Section 9-513, as adopted in states such as New York, the deadlines work like this:

• Consumer goods. If the filing covers consumer goods, the secured party must file the termination within one month after nothing is owed, or within 20 days after it receives your signed written demand, whichever comes first.
• Other collateral. For other collateral, the duty is triggered by your demand. Within 20 days after receiving it, the secured party must file the termination or send it to you.

Either way, a written demand starts a 20-day clock, so send one as soon as your payoff clears. Once a proper termination is filed, the financing statement stops being effective.

What to send. Mail a short letter, signed by you, to the address for payoff or lien questions, by certified mail with a return receipt. Say:

• Your name, property address, and loan number.
• The filing number and date from the county record.
• That the loan was paid in full on a stated date, with a copy of the payoff letter or final statement.
• That you demand a termination statement under Section 9-513 of your state’s Uniform Commercial Code, filed with the county and anywhere else the financing statement was filed.
• That you want written confirmation and a copy of the recorded termination.

Keep the letter, the receipt, and your payoff proof together. After 20 days, search the county index again to confirm the termination appears.

If the company ignores your demand

The UCC has teeth here. Under Section 9-625 as adopted in New York, a debtor or consumer obligor may recover $500 per case, plus any actual damages, when the secured party fails to cause a termination statement to be filed as Section 9-513 requires. Actual damages might include a lost sale or a higher rate on a delayed refinance, if you can show the filing caused them.

Practical steps, in order:

1. Send a second letter that cites the date of your first demand and the 20-day deadline.
2. If the loan was transferred, send the same demand to both the original lender and the current servicer.
3. File a complaint with the CFPB and your state attorney general. Our complaint guide and complaint letter builder can help.
4. If a closing is at stake, talk to a real estate or consumer attorney. Your title company may also know who at the lender actually processes releases.

If you are selling or refinancing

When a closing is coming, the goal is usually not permanent removal but whatever your title company and the new lender will accept. The common paths are paying the loan off from the sale proceeds, a temporary release that the solar lender refiles after closing, or a subordination agreement that puts the solar filing behind the new mortgage. GoodLeap, for example, says it may temporarily lift its county filing for a limited period if it can refile at the mortgage closing.

We cover the timelines, notice periods, and what to ask in solar UCC-1 filing holding up your sale or refinance. Start early. Lenders often need weeks, and the county needs time to record.

If you canceled the contract or the loan never funded

Sometimes a filing goes on record even though the deal died. You canceled within the cooling-off window, the installer never finished, or the loan was never funded. If no secured debt exists, the same Section 9-513 duties apply. The termination requirement covers a filing where no obligation remains, and also one where the debtor did not authorize the initial filing.

What to do:

• Gather proof that the deal ended: your cancellation letter and proof of mailing, the company’s confirmation, or a statement showing a zero balance or no account.
• Send the same written demand described above, and say plainly that no obligation exists because the contract was canceled on a stated date.
• If the company says you still owe money, ask for an itemized statement in writing. Do not ignore a bill you dispute. Respond in writing and keep copies.

Canceling recently? Read how to cancel solar before installation and use our cancellation letter builder.

If the filing was made in error

Errors happen: the wrong parcel, the wrong owner, a filing against a house you never financed, or a filing for a lease you never signed. A financing statement is effective only if it was authorized, and a person who files a record it was not entitled to file can owe the debtor $500 under Section 9-625, in addition to actual damages.

1. Ask the filer to fix it. Write to the secured party named on the filing. Explain the error, attach proof such as your deed or the correct parcel number, and ask for a termination or a corrected amendment.
2. Consider an information statement. Under Section 9-518, a person named in a record they believe is inaccurate or wrongfully filed may file an information statement explaining why. It must identify the filing, say it is an information statement, give the reason, and, for an inaccuracy, say how the record should be changed. It puts your side on the record, but it does not make the filing ineffective.
3. Get help if it blocks a closing. If the filer will not respond, an attorney can advise on a court order or other options under your state’s law.

If you believe someone signed for you or the salesperson added a product you never agreed to, read misled by a solar salesperson.

Does a UCC filing expire on its own?

Often, yes, but do not plan around it. Under UCC Section 9-515, as adopted in Ohio, a financing statement is generally effective for five years from filing. The secured party can extend it another five years by filing a continuation statement in the six months before it lapses, and can repeat that. A mortgage that also works as a fixture filing lasts until the mortgage is released.

So a filing on a 20- or 25-year solar loan will usually be continued while you still owe money. And an old filing that lapsed may still show up in a title search. If you see a filing more than five years old with no continuation, ask your title company whether it can be disregarded.

What to keep in your file

• A copy of the filing and any amendments, assignments, or continuations.
• Your loan agreement, especially the section on security and collateral.
• Your payoff letter, final statement, or cancellation confirmation.
• Every demand letter, with certified mail receipts.
• Notes of every call: date, name, and what you were told.
• The recorded termination once it appears.

Our document checklist covers the rest of your solar paperwork.

Related guides

• Solar UCC-1 filing holding up your sale or refinance?
• How to get out of a solar loan
• Find who services your solar loan, lease, or PPA
• Solar document checklist