Freedom Forever · California · updated 2026-09-05

Freedom Forever went bankrupt. Here's what to do if they installed your solar in California.

Freedom Forever filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on April 15, 2026, and announced on July 31 that the case is converting to Chapter 7, which means the company is being wound down rather than reorganized. It installed roughly 190,000 systems in more than 35 states. If yours is one of them, the panels still work, the loan is still due, and the people who promised to service the system are gone. This page is the calm version of what that means.

This week

1. Find out if it's producing. Look at your inverter or your old app for a lifetime energy number, then run the free check. Ninety seconds. If the number is fine, most of the panic goes away.
2. Get your own monitoring access. If your app went dark, it was probably tied to the installer's account. The brand guides walk through getting your own Enphase or SolarEdge access so no future company can take it away.
3. Find your paperwork before it disappears. The contract, the system design or layout sheet, the permit, and the utility interconnection approval. If the Freedom Forever customer portal still opens, download everything today. Save the serial numbers of the inverter and a few panels.
4. Register your warranties directly. Most installers never registered the homeowner with the manufacturer. Do it now with the serial numbers. It's free and it's the thing that makes a future repair claim work.
5. Confirm who holds your loan. Keep paying it. Check your most recent statement for the servicer's name and put it with the paperwork. If you believe you were misled at the time of sale, that is a question for a consumer attorney, not for us, and the California Attorney General's Public Inquiry Unit and the Contractors State License Board both take complaints.

California specifics

California was a major Freedom Forever market from the Inland Empire to the Central Valley and Sacramento. Two California-specific notes: the CSLB runs a Solar Energy System Restitution Program that has paid some consumers when a licensed solar contractor failed, and California's Solar Consumer Protection Guide, which your installer was required to give you, lists your cancellation and complaint rights.

California requires a Contractors State License Board (CSLB) license, usually C-10 electrical or C-46 solar, for any solar work. Look the company up on the CSLB site and check the bond and workers' comp are current.

PG&E, SCE and SDG&E each keep the interconnection record, as do the municipal utilities such as SMUD in Sacramento and LADWP in Los Angeles, which run their own solar programs on their own terms. Your net metering tariff (NEM 1, NEM 2 or the newer solar billing plan) is tied to the account and survives the installer, which matters because the older tariffs are worth real money and transfer to a buyer of the house for the remainder of their term. Permit records are with your city or county building department; most large ones have online lookup.

Questions California owners keep asking

Do I still have to pay the loan?

Yes. The loan was made by a lender, not by Freedom Forever, and it's being serviced by whoever holds it now. The installer's bankruptcy doesn't touch it. Stopping payment damages your credit and can put a lien on the house.

Is the 25-year warranty gone?

Two different warranties got sold to you as one. The manufacturer's warranty on the equipment survives and is usually 10 to 25 years depending on the part. The installer's workmanship warranty, which covered the labor and the roof, is the one that's now a claim in a bankruptcy court.

Can I file a claim in the bankruptcy?

In a Chapter 7 case, creditors, including customers with warranty claims, can file a proof of claim by the deadline the court sets. Recoveries for unsecured claims in cases like this are typically small or nothing, but filing is free and preserves your place. We'll add the deadline and the form here when the court publishes them. This isn't legal advice.

Someone called offering to "take over" my system or "cancel my loan."

Be careful. The bankruptcy created a wave of lead-generation sites and cold calls aimed at exactly this fear. Nobody can cancel a loan with a phone call. Anyone who wants money up front to "transfer" your warranty is selling something you can do yourself for free.

What if the roof leaks?

Roof penetrations were covered by the workmanship warranty, which is gone. A leak at a mount is a roofer's job first, and a licensed solar tech may need to lift panels. Your homeowner's insurance may or may not cover it depending on cause. Photograph everything before anyone touches it.

Who is actually still here

A few companies will service a Freedom Forever system in California for a fee. Palmetto offers free basic monitoring for any system in its app with paid service tiers above it. Solar Insure's SolarDetect program adds hardware and a monthly plan. Independent licensed solar contractors will do a diagnostic visit for a quoted price. We don't take money from any of them. If your check comes back "likely a problem," we'll offer to send your result to one vetted local company, with your permission and their name shown first.