Learn: selling
Indiana seller’s disclosure in Lake and Porter County
If you sell a home with one to four units anywhere in Indiana, state law has you complete and sign a seller’s disclosure form and give it to the buyer before you accept their offer, unless your sale is exempt. The form covers what you know about the foundation, roof, structure, mechanical systems, and water and sewer, plus a short list of other items the statute names.
It is the same state form in Lake County and Porter County. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm your situation with your agent or a real estate attorney.
Part of Learn | Selling first? Learn selling | Buyer closing costs | Licensed in Indiana and Illinois
Who it covers
Who has to fill it out
Indiana Code 32-21-5 covers the sale, exchange, installment contract, or lease with an option to buy of residential real estate with no more than four dwelling units. A single-family house, a condo, or a two-flat all fit. Section 1 also lists sales it does not cover:
- Transfers ordered by a court, such as an estate, a foreclosure sale, a bankruptcy trustee, eminent domain, specific performance, a divorce decree, or a property settlement agreement.
- Sales by a lender that took the home at a foreclosure sale or by a deed in lieu of foreclosure.
- Transfers by a fiduciary handling an estate, guardianship, conservatorship, or trust.
- Transfers made only from one co-owner to another co-owner.
- Transfers made only to a seller’s spouse, a direct-line relative, or both.
- Transfers because the owner did not pay federal, state, or local taxes.
- Transfers to or from a government entity.
- The first sale of a home nobody has lived in.
- Transfers to a living trust.
If you are not sure your sale fits one of these, ask a real estate attorney before you skip the form.
The form
What the form asks about
The Indiana Real Estate Commission writes the form, and Indiana Code 32-21-5-7 tells it what has to be on it. The state version is State Form 46234, the Seller’s Residential Real Estate Sales Disclosure. You disclose the known condition of:
- The foundation.
- The mechanical systems.
- The roof.
- The structure.
- The water and sewer systems.
- Additions that may need improvements to the sewage disposal system.
- Any other areas the commission adds to the form.
The statute also asks you to disclose, when it applies:
- Known contamination from making a controlled substance that has not been certified as cleaned up, or known meth manufacturing or meth waste dumping in the home.
- An airport within the distance the commission sets. The current form asks whether the home is within one mile of an airport.
- A nearby military installation in a state area of interest.
- That some or all of the property is in a flood plain on a FEMA Flood Insurance Rate Map, if you personally know it.
- A locally designated historic district.
- A conservation easement.
Two notices to the buyer sit on the form too. One says the buyer and owner may want professional advice or inspections. The other says the answers are the owner’s, not the agent’s. Your Realtor can hand you the form, but you fill it out yourself, from what you know. Section 8 also lets an owner use a form of their own, as long as it has everything section 7 requires.
The state updated State Form 46234 in 2026, so ask us for the current version when you list.
If the home is in a homeowners association, Indiana Code 32-21-5-8.5 adds a separate list. No later than 10 days before closing, you give the buyer a notice that the home is in an association, a copy of the recorded governing documents, a statement of any assessments and the amount, and the name and address of a board member or the association’s manager.
Timing
When it has to be signed
Under Indiana Code 32-21-5-10, you complete and sign the form and give it to the buyer before you accept an offer. Until you and the buyer have both signed the form, an accepted offer is not enforceable against the buyer before closing. If an appraiser working for the buyer or the buyer’s lender asks for a copy, the appraiser gets one.
After closing, a missing form does not by itself undo the sale. A buyer also can’t cancel a sale because the buyer never signed a form they received or acknowledged.
Unknowns and changes
If you don’t know, or something changes
You don’t have to guess. Indiana Code 32-21-5-12 lets you mark an item as unknown, or give an approximation that is reasonable, clearly labeled, and based on what you actually know.
Things can change between the form and the closing table. A storm takes shingles, or the water heater quits. At or before closing, you either disclose any material change in the home’s physical condition or certify that it is substantially the same as when you gave the buyer the form. The state form has a signature line for that at closing.
The form’s own instructions add one more step. If you learn something before closing that changes an answer, tell the buyer in writing right away.
Buyer rights
The buyer’s two business days
If the buyer gets the form, or an amended form, after the offer is accepted and it discloses a defect, Indiana Code 32-21-5-13 gives the buyer two business days to cancel. They cancel by giving you or your agent a written rescission. They are not liable for canceling and they get their deposits back.
Section 4 defines a defect as a condition that would significantly hurt the value, significantly impair the health or safety of future occupants, or, if not fixed, significantly shorten the expected normal life of the home.
That window is tied to a form that arrives after acceptance, which is one more reason to deliver yours before you accept.
Limits
What the form is not
It is not a warranty from you or your agent, and it does not replace the buyer’s inspections. That is Indiana Code 32-21-5-9.
Under Indiana Code 32-21-5-11, you are not liable for an error you did not actually know about, or one that came from a public agency or a licensed professional’s report you reasonably believed, as long as you were not negligent in getting and passing on that information. Whether that protection covers your situation is a question for a real estate attorney.
The seller’s disclosure is also not the sales disclosure form filed with the county auditor at closing. That one is a separate state form, covered on the buyer closing costs page.
Federal rule
Homes built before 1978
A second, federal disclosure applies to homes built before 1978, with a few exceptions, such as a foreclosure sale or a home a certified inspector found free of lead-based paint. Before the buyer signs the contract, the EPA lead disclosure rule has you:
- Give the buyer the pamphlet Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home.
- Disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards.
- Hand over any reports you have.
- Include a Lead Warning Statement.
The buyer gets 10 days to test for lead unless both sides agree in writing to a different period or the buyer waives it. Keep a signed copy for three years after the sale. EPA posts a sample seller disclosure form, and your Realtor can give you the lead form to sign. The rule is 40 CFR Part 745, Subpart F.
Checklist
Four steps from listing to closing
Four steps, in the order they come up on a sale in Lake or Porter County.
Step 1
Walk the house before you list
Go system by system: foundation, roof, structure, mechanical, water and sewer. Write down what you know, and when you learned it.
Step 2
Fill in the form yourself
Answer from what you know. Mark unknown when you truly don’t know. Attach pages if an answer needs room.
Step 3
Deliver it before you accept
The buyer gets the signed form before you accept an offer, and the buyer signs it too. Built before 1978? Add the lead disclosure before the contract.
Step 4
Update it through closing
Tell the buyer in writing about any change. At closing, disclose the change or certify the condition is substantially the same.
Before you list, read Learn selling, walk the pre-listing inspection checklist, and decide what to fix before you list. Once you have an offer, Offer to closing walks the rest of the way.
Lake and Porter County
Same form in both counties
The seller’s disclosure is a state form, so it doesn’t change from town to town or between Lake and Porter County. What changes is the house.
Lake County
Selling in Lake County
A Crown Point, Munster, Schererville, or St. John sale uses the same state form and the same rules.
Porter County
Selling in Porter County
A Valparaiso, Chesterton, or Portage sale uses the same state form and the same rules.
More towns: Communities | Towns guide. Short answers: Seller’s disclosure, Home inspection, and Seller net sheet on Ask Realest.
Home search and sold homes for Indiana and Illinois live on Realest.com, not on this site. Search there, then call the shop when you want to talk about selling.
Selling and moving
Selling one home and buying the next
Start with Sell with Realest and Learn selling. Wondering what your home is worth? Call (219) 801-0432 and we will go over it with you.
Moving too? Our Relocation page helps. Buying your next home? Read Learn buying, Learn financing, and the flood zone page. On the tax side, see the Indiana homestead deduction. Moving from Illinois? Start with the Illinois guide.
Living guides on Real Estate USA
Longer reads on selling, closing, and moving
Real Estate USA publishes living guides on selling, closing, taxes, and moving in Northwest Indiana. They are guides, not listings. Home search stays on Realest.com.
Seller questions
Seller’s disclosure FAQ
Can I search homes on this site?
No. Home search and sold homes for Indiana and Illinois are on Realest.com, not on this site. This site has the town pages, the Learn guides, and the shop phone, (219) 801-0432. We are licensed in Indiana and Illinois.
Do I have to fill out a seller’s disclosure form in Indiana?
If you are selling a home with one to four dwelling units, yes, unless your sale fits an exemption in Indiana Code 32-21-5-1. You complete and sign the form and give it to the buyer before you accept an offer.
Which sales are exempt from the Indiana seller’s disclosure?
The statute lists court-ordered transfers, such as an estate, a foreclosure sale, a bankruptcy, eminent domain, or a divorce decree. It also lists sales by a lender that took the home through foreclosure or a deed in lieu, fiduciary transfers, transfers only between co-owners, transfers only to a spouse or direct-line relative, tax sales, transfers to or from a government entity, the first sale of a home nobody has lived in, and transfers to a living trust.
Can a buyer back out after getting the disclosure?
If the buyer gets the form, or an amended form, after the offer is accepted and it discloses a defect, Indiana Code 32-21-5-13 gives the buyer two business days to cancel in writing and get their deposits back.
Is the seller’s disclosure a warranty?
No. Indiana Code 32-21-5-9 says the form is not a warranty by the owner or the owner’s agent, and it is not a substitute for the buyer’s inspections.
What if I don’t know the answer to a question on the form?
You can say the information is unknown. You can also give an approximation if it is reasonable, clearly marked as an approximation, and based on what you actually know. That rule is in Indiana Code 32-21-5-12.
Do I need a lead paint disclosure too?
If the home was built before 1978, the federal lead disclosure rule applies unless an exception fits, such as a foreclosure sale. Before the buyer signs the contract, you give the EPA pamphlet, disclose any known lead-based paint or lead hazards, and hand over any reports you have. The buyer gets 10 days to test unless both sides agree in writing to a different period or the buyer waives it.
I am selling and moving. Where do I start?
Start with Sell with Realest and Learn selling. Moving too? Our Relocation page helps. Read What to fix before you list before you fill out the form.
How do I reach the shop?
Walk in at 112 S. Main St., Suite B, Crown Point, IN 46307, call (219) 801-0432, email saso@realest.com, or use Contact. Hours are 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily.
Ready for a human?
Talk to the shop before you list
The answers on the form are yours, and a real estate attorney answers the legal questions. Call the shop when you want a Realtor to walk the listing steps with you. Search homes on Realest.com any time.
Realest112 S. Main St., Suite B
Crown Point, IN 46307
Phone: (219) 801-0432
Email: saso@realest.com
Hours: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily
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Hero photo: MART PRODUCTION via Pexels. Crown Point square photo: Chris Light, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0. Valparaiso street photo: hakkun, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0.
Keep reading
More from Learn
This page is one of the short Learn pages. The Learn hub has the five main guides for buying, selling, financing, towns, and Illinois.
Search homes on Realest.com | Learn | Learn selling | Sellers guide | Buyer closing costs | Homestead deduction | Flood zones | Learn buying | Financing | Relocation guide | Towns guide | Illinois guide | Communities | Buy | Ask | Contact
Disclaimer: This page is general information for sellers in Lake and Porter County. It is not legal advice. The state rules come from Indiana Code 32-21-5 and State Form 46234. The lead rules come from EPA and 40 CFR Part 745, Subpart F. Checked in October 2026. Confirm your situation with your agent or a real estate attorney.