A property disclosure form is the document a home seller fills out to tell the buyer, in writing, about known defects and conditions of the house before the sale closes. Nearly every state requires one for most residential sales. You answer a series of yes/no/unknown questions about the structure, systems, environmental hazards, and history of the property, sign it, and deliver it to the buyer early enough that it can still influence their decision to buy.
Where to Get the Right Form
Each state has its own version, and using the wrong one — or a generic template pulled off a legal-forms site — can create problems at closing. The most reliable source is your state’s real estate commission or department of commerce website, where most states post a downloadable, fillable PDF of the current version. If you’re working with a listing agent, they should have it on hand. If you’re selling on your own, go directly to the state agency rather than a third-party site that may host an outdated form.
What the Form Asks You About
Every state’s form is a little different, but most organize questions into the same handful of categories. Knowing them in advance lets you pull together records and receipts before you sit down to fill anything in.
- General information. Address, age of the home, type of construction, whether you’ve actually lived there, and how long you’ve owned it.
- Structural components. Foundation, basement or crawl space, walls, roof, chimney, floors, patio, deck, driveway. Expect questions about leaks, cracks, settling, and water intrusion.
- Mechanical systems. Heating, air conditioning, plumbing, electrical, hot water heater, sump pump, and any built-in appliances included in the sale, with questions about whether each is in working order.
- Water and sewer. Public utility or private well and septic, and known problems with either. Septic tanks usually get their own questions about the last pumping or inspection.
- Environmental hazards. Known lead-based paint, asbestos, radon, mold, underground storage tanks, or contaminated soil.
- Other conditions. Drainage problems, easement or boundary disputes, HOA obligations, pest infestations, unpermitted improvements, and insurance claims filed on the property.
Some state forms also ask about flood zone status, nearby nuisances such as airports or landfills, school district, and whether the property has ever been used to manufacture illegal drugs. Answers are generally “yes,” “no,” or “unknown,” with room to explain any “yes.”
How to Answer the Questions
The governing standard is actual knowledge. You’re disclosing what you personally know about the property right now, not what a professional inspector might find and not rumors from a prior owner that you never confirmed. You don’t have to hire an inspector or crawl into spaces you’ve never entered. You do have to be honest about what you’ve directly observed and about anything a contractor, inspector, or previous owner has documented for you.
Answer every question. Skipping items is one of the most common seller mistakes and one of the easiest ways to create liability after closing. If the question doesn’t apply — a septic question when you’re on public sewer, for example — mark it “not applicable” rather than leaving it blank. A blank looks like concealment even when it isn’t.
Disclose Past Problems, Even Fixed Ones
Most forms ask about “past or present” defects. A basement that flooded three years ago and was waterproofed since still needs to be disclosed, along with what you did about it. Buyers react better to a disclosed-and-repaired problem than to discovering a concealed one. Attach repair invoices, contractor receipts, or warranty documents where you have them; they show the issue was handled and give the buyer something concrete to work with.
Don’t Guess
If you genuinely don’t know the answer to something, write “unknown” and say why. Something like “I have not had the septic system inspected during my ownership” is a fine answer. Guessing “no” on a question you’re uncertain about does not reduce your risk; a wrong answer on a signed form can look like intentional concealment later.
Unpermitted Work
If you or a previous owner added a room, finished a basement, or made structural changes without pulling the required permits, disclose it. Unpermitted work can affect the buyer’s insurance, their ability to do future renovations, and their eventual resale. Most forms ask about this directly, and this is one of the categories where sellers get sued most often after closing.
Update the Form If Something Changes
Your disclosure is accurate as of the date you sign it. If the furnace fails, a leak appears, or an inspection turns up a new problem between signing and closing, you need to amend the form. Failing to update it carries the same risk as omitting the information originally.
Lead-Based Paint: A Separate Federal Disclosure
If your home was built before 1978, federal law requires a separate disclosure on top of your state form. Under the Residential Lead-Based Paint Hazard Reduction Act, you must disclose any known lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards, provide the buyer with any lead inspection reports you have, and give them a copy of the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.”1US EPA. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule (Section 1018 of Title X)
The purchase contract must include a specific Lead Warning Statement, and the buyer must be given at least a 10-day window to arrange a lead inspection before becoming obligated under the contract. The buyer can waive that window, but you have to offer it. Both parties sign the disclosure to confirm these steps happened, and you must keep a copy of the signed disclosure for at least three years.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property
The federal lead disclosure is a standalone document. Even if your state form asks about lead paint, you still need to complete the federal one. Violations can carry civil penalties per infraction under the Toxic Substances Control Act, and in egregious cases criminal penalties of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.
When You’re Exempt
Not every sale triggers the disclosure. The specific list varies, but most states exempt the same basic categories:
- Transfers by fiduciaries who have not lived in the property, such as an executor settling an estate or a trustee distributing trust property.
- Transfers between existing co-owners, where one owner is buying out another.
- Transfers between spouses or between direct-line relatives such as parent to child or grandparent to grandchild.
- Foreclosures and deeds in lieu, where a bank or servicer never occupied the home.
- Court-ordered transfers connected to a divorce, bankruptcy, or similar proceeding.
Being exempt from the state form does not exempt you from the federal lead paint disclosure. If your pre-1978 home is changing hands, the lead disclosure still applies, with only narrow exceptions for certain zero-bedroom units, housing designated for the elderly, and properties where lead-based paint has been fully abated and certified.
“As-Is” Doesn’t Cancel the Requirement
Selling a property “as-is” does not eliminate the disclosure form. “As-is” means you’re not making repairs before closing; it says nothing about your duty to tell the buyer what you know is wrong. State disclosure laws apply either way.
Where “as-is” helps you is on defects you honestly didn’t know about. If your disclosure was complete and truthful and the buyer’s inspector missed something, the “as-is” clause strengthens your position on that unknown defect. If you knew the basement floods every spring and checked “no” on water intrusion, no “as-is” clause will save you. Courts consistently separate unknown conditions, which an “as-is” clause can shift to the buyer, from active concealment or misrepresentation, which it cannot.
Delivering the Form to the Buyer
Timing matters. Most states require you to deliver the completed and signed disclosure before the buyer signs a binding purchase agreement, or at least early enough that they can walk away without penalty if the disclosures reveal a dealbreaker. Some states give the buyer a rescission window, often three to five business days, after receiving the disclosure, during which they can cancel for any reason tied to what’s on the form.
You can deliver the form through your agent’s transaction management platform, as a PDF by email, or as a hard copy at a showing. However you send it, get a signed acknowledgment of receipt back from the buyer and put it in the closing file. Without that acknowledgment, a buyer can later claim they never saw the disclosure, and in many states, failure to deliver it gives the buyer grounds to rescind even after closing.
What Happens If You Don’t Disclose
Skipping the form, leaving material items off, or answering falsely opens you up to several possible consequences. Before closing, the buyer who discovers the problem may be able to cancel the purchase agreement outright. After closing, the buyer’s recourse shifts to a lawsuit for damages: the cost of repairing the concealed defect, the reduction in the home’s value, or both.
How much trouble you’re in depends on what you actually knew. Honest oversight is treated very differently from intentional concealment or outright misrepresentation, which in some states can trigger punitive damages or even triple damages. The buyer typically has to show that you knew about the defect, failed to disclose it, and that they couldn’t reasonably have found it through their own inspection.
Buyers usually have a few years to sue from the date they discovered the undisclosed problem, not from the closing date, so slow-developing issues like foundation settling or recurring water intrusion can surface long after the sale and still be actionable. The straightforward path is to disclose everything you know, explain what you did about it, and let the buyer weigh each issue for themselves.