Indiana Seller’s Disclosure Form: What You Have to Disclose

If you’re selling a house in Indiana, one of the first documents your listing broker will hand you is the Seller’s Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure: four pages of checkboxes covering everything from the furnace to the foundation. Here’s how it works under Indiana law, what you do and don’t have to disclose, and how to fill it out without creating problems for yourself later.

This is general information, not legal advice; talk to a real estate attorney about your situation. Statute references are to the 2026 Indiana Code.

Who Has to Complete It (and Who’s Exempt)

Indiana’s disclosure law, IC 32-21-5, applies to the sale, exchange, installment contract or lease-with-option-to-buy of residential real estate with no more than four dwelling units (IC 32-21-5-1). That covers most single-family homes, condos, duplexes and fourplexes. The law does not apply to these transfers (IC 32-21-5-1(b)):

• Court-ordered transfers, including estate administration, foreclosure sales, bankruptcy trustee sales, eminent domain, specific performance, divorce decrees and property settlement agreements
• Sales by a lender that took the home at a foreclosure sale or through a deed in lieu of foreclosure
• Transfers by a fiduciary administering a decedent’s estate, guardianship, conservatorship or trust
• Transfers from one co-owner solely to another co-owner
• Transfers solely to a spouse or a direct-line relative, such as a parent, child or grandchild, of at least one seller
• Transfers because the owner didn’t pay federal, state or local taxes
• Transfers to or from a government entity
• The first sale of a home that has never been lived in, which generally covers a builder’s sale of a brand-new home
• Transfers to a living trust

Notice what isn’t on that list: “as-is.” Selling as-is means you won’t make repairs; it doesn’t excuse you from disclosing what you know. Our guide to selling a house as-is in Indiana covers the rest. If you’re selling an inherited home, whether the fiduciary exemption applies can depend on whether you’re selling as the estate’s personal representative or as the new owner, so confirm with your attorney (our estate sales page explains the process).

What the Form Asks

The Indiana Real Estate Commission writes the form, but the statute sets the minimum (IC 32-21-5-7). Sellers have to disclose the known condition of:

• The foundation, mechanical systems, roof and structure
• The water and sewer systems, and any additions that may require improvements to the sewage disposal system
• Known contamination from manufacturing a controlled substance that hasn’t been certified as decontaminated, and known meth manufacturing or meth-waste dumping in a home on the property

The form also asks whether an airport is within a distance the commission sets, whether the property is near a military installation, whether it’s inside a FEMA-mapped flood plain (if you personally know it is), whether it’s in a locally designated historic district, and whether there’s a conservation easement. It opens with condition checklists for appliances, the electrical system and water and sewer, with room to explain any problem you mark.

The form uses Indiana’s legal definition of a defect: a condition that would significantly hurt the property’s value, significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants, or significantly shorten the home’s expected life if it isn’t repaired, removed or replaced (IC 32-21-5-4). It’s State Form 46234, and the Indiana Real Estate Commission adopted an updated edition (R9) in March 2026, so fill out the version your broker provides rather than an old copy from a previous sale.

Two things the form is not: it isn’t a warranty, and it isn’t a substitute for the buyer’s own inspection (IC 32-21-5-9). The answers are the owner’s representations, not the agent’s (IC 32-21-5-7). More in our seller’s disclosure glossary entry.

When It’s Due, and What Happens If Something Changes

You have to complete, sign and give the form to a prospective buyer before you accept their offer (IC 32-21-5-10(a)). Until both you and the buyer have signed it, an accepted offer isn’t enforceable against the buyer (IC 32-21-5-10(c)). That’s why it pays to have the signed form ready as soon as you list.

If a buyer receives the form, or an amended form, after their offer is accepted and it discloses a defect, the buyer can cancel within two business days by delivering a written rescission to you or your agent, and gets their deposits back (IC 32-21-5-13). Another reason to get it right up front.

Things can change between listing and closing. You don’t violate the law because something changed after you delivered the form, but at or before closing you must either disclose any material change in the home’s physical condition or certify that its condition is substantially the same as when you provided the form (IC 32-21-5-12(a)). The form’s own instructions tell sellers to notify buyers in writing right away if they learn something that changes an answer. And if you genuinely don’t know an answer, the law lets you say so, or give a clearly labeled, reasonable approximation based on what you actually know, as long as it isn’t used to get around the disclosure rules (IC 32-21-5-12(b)).

After closing, a missing form doesn’t by itself undo the sale (IC 32-21-5-10(c)), but that’s no strategy. Indiana protects sellers from errors that weren’t within their actual knowledge, or that came from a public agency or a licensed professional’s report they reasonably believed, as long as they weren’t negligent in getting and passing on that information (IC 32-21-5-11). Leaving off a problem you know about isn’t covered by that protection, and an undisclosed defect found during the buyer’s inspection contingency is a common way deals fall apart.

What You Don’t Have to Disclose

Indiana has a separate law for “psychologically affected” property (IC 32-21-6). It covers a home where someone died, or that was the site of a felony, criminal organization (gang) activity, a firearm discharge involving an on-duty police officer, or illegal drug manufacturing or distribution (IC 32-21-6-3). Sellers and agents don’t have to disclose those facts and aren’t liable for declining to discuss them (IC 32-21-6-5 and -6), but they can’t intentionally misrepresent them if a buyer asks directly (IC 32-21-6-6). That rule is about stigma, not physical condition: the disclosure form still asks about known meth-lab contamination that hasn’t been certified as cleaned up, and the Indiana State Police keeps a public list of former lab addresses until about 90 days after a cleanup certificate is approved.

Other Disclosures to Know: Lead Paint and HOAs

Lead-based paint (homes built before 1978)

Federal law adds a second disclosure for most homes built before 1978. Before the buyer signs a contract, you must disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards, hand over any records or reports you have, give the buyer the EPA pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home, and include a Lead Warning Statement with the contract. Buyers get a 10-day window to test for lead, which the parties can lengthen or shorten in writing and the buyer can waive, and sellers must keep signed copies for three years (EPA, Section 1018 of Title X). See our lead-based paint disclosure explainer.

Homeowners associations

If the home is in an HOA, Indiana requires you to give the buyer, no later than 10 days before closing, notice that the property is in an HOA community, a copy of the recorded governing documents, a statement of whether there are assessments and how much, and the name and address of a board member, HOA agent or management contact (IC 32-21-5-8.5). An HOA can charge no more than $250 for a statement of unpaid assessments. More in our guide to buying a home with an HOA.

Not the Same as the Indiana Sales Disclosure Form

Search for “Indiana sales disclosure form” and you’ll often land on a different document. The Sales Disclosure Form (State Form 46021) is a separate filing under IC 6-1.1-5.5. It reports the sale price and terms to the county so the assessor has real sales data for property values, and it’s filed with the county when the deed is recorded. It says nothing about condition, and the title company usually prepares it at closing. Buyers can also use it to apply for the homestead deduction if it’s filed by January 15 of the year the taxes are first due (IC 6-1.1-12-44); our homestead guide explains. (See our sales disclosure form glossary entry.)

Tips for Filling It Out

• Do it yourself, and take your time. The form’s instructions say to complete it yourself, answer every question truthfully, report all known conditions however you learned about them, and attach signed, dated pages if you need more room. Your agent can explain a question but shouldn’t answer it for you.
• Use “unknown” honestly. If you truly don’t know, mark unknown. Don’t use it to sidestep something you do know.
• Document past repairs. If a problem was fixed, say so and attach the invoice or warranty. A documented basement repair reads very differently from a water stain a buyer’s inspector finds on their own.
• Consider a pre-listing inspection. It shows you what a buyer’s inspector will likely find while you still have time to fix it or price around it. Our preferred inspector, HouseMaster Serving Heartland, does pre-listing inspections, and our pre-listing prep page covers the rest. Keep in mind that anything an inspection turns up becomes something you know.

Our Take

The seller’s disclosure protects you as much as the buyer: a complete, honest form sets expectations early and leaves less room for disputes after closing. When in doubt, disclose and explain. Our team can walk you through the form as part of our home selling process, and a real estate attorney can answer legal questions about your situation. Thinking about listing? Get a free home valuation or book a call with our team.

Frequently Asked Questions

Sources: Indiana General Assembly, Indiana Code (official) · IC 32-21-5-1, applicability and exemptions · IC 32-21-5-7, form contents · IC 32-21-5-8.5, HOA disclosures · IC 32-21-5-10, delivery before an offer is accepted · IC 32-21-5-11, seller liability · IC 32-21-5-12, changes before closing · IC 32-21-5-13, buyer's right to cancel · IC 32-21-6-3 and 32-21-6-6, psychologically affected property · Indiana Real Estate Commission, LSA Document #25-627 (State Form 46234, R9) · EPA, lead-based paint real estate disclosure · Indiana State Police, clandestine lab addresses · Indiana DLGF memo on the Sales Disclosure Form (May 2021) · IC 6-1.1-12-44, sales disclosure form as a deduction application · Hancock County, Sales Disclosure (State Form 46021)

Related Resources

• The Home Selling Process
• Pre-Listing Prep
• Seller's Disclosure (Glossary)
• Probate and Estate Home Sales