What Is California's Transfer Disclosure Statement, and What Must Sellers Disclose?

California's Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS) is a required form, under Civil Code Section 1102, that sellers of single-family residential property must give buyers before the sale closes, listing known defects and conditions that could affect the home's value or a buyer's health and safety. The seller fills it out personally, by hand, covering property features, known defects in major systems like the roof, foundation, and plumbing, and a set of yes-or-no questions on things like additions, past flooding, or neighborhood nuisances. If a buyer receives the TDS after signing their offer, they get a short window—three days if delivered in person, five if mailed—to cancel the contract based on what's disclosed, and several categories of transfer, including court-ordered sales, foreclosures, and transfers between family members, are exempt from the requirement altogether.

What Exactly Is the Transfer Disclosure Statement?

The TDS is a standardized disclosure form required under California Civil Code Section 1102 for most sales of single-family residential property, including sales, exchanges, real property sales contracts, and leases with an option to purchase. It's designed to put known information about the property's condition in the buyer's hands before they're locked into the deal, rather than leaving them to discover problems only after closing. The form is not a substitute for the buyer's own inspections, and it's not a guarantee or warranty of condition—it only covers what the seller actually knows, which is why accurate inspections still matter even when the TDS looks clean.

What Does a Seller Have to Disclose on the TDS?

The form is organized into sections that build on each other. One section covers basic property characteristics—whether the seller occupies the home, and which appliances and systems, such as the range, dishwasher, or heating and cooling, are included in the sale. Another section covers known malfunctions or defects in major structural components: the foundation, roof, plumbing, sewer or septic system, electrical systems, windows, walls, and floors. A further set of specific yes-or-no questions asks about things like room additions or alterations made without permits, major damage from fire, earthquake, flooding, or landslides, homeowners association authority over the property, government notices of violations, and fill dirt on the lot. Sellers who answer yes to any of these are expected to briefly explain. Previously repaired problems still have to be disclosed, even if the seller believes the repair resolved the issue completely.

When Does the Seller Need to Deliver the TDS, and What Happens If It's Late?

California law doesn't set one fixed calendar deadline for delivering the TDS, but it must be provided to the buyer in a timely fashion, and in practice most sellers complete it either before listing the property or shortly after accepting an offer. The seller has to fill it out personally—their agent can walk them through the questions but can't complete the form or give instructions on how to answer. If the TDS is delivered after the buyer has already signed the purchase agreement, the buyer gets a statutory right to cancel: three days from personal delivery, or five days if it was delivered by mail. Leaving sections blank or delivering the form very late can give buyers grounds to challenge the transaction, and known issues that surface after closing without having been disclosed can expose the seller to a legal dispute.

Which Transactions Are Exempt From the TDS Requirement?

Not every transfer of California real estate requires a TDS. Civil Code Section 1102.2 exempts a specific list of transaction types, including sales made under a court order—such as probate sales, foreclosure sales, bankruptcy trustee transfers, eminent domain actions, and sales ordered through specific performance; foreclosure-related transfers, including a defaulting owner's transfer to their lender and a lender's resale of property it acquired through foreclosure or a deed in lieu of foreclosure; transfers by a fiduciary administering a trust, guardianship, conservatorship, or decedent's estate; transfers between co-owners; transfers to a spouse or to a blood relative; transfers between spouses as part of a divorce or legal separation; and transfers to or from a government entity. These exemptions exist because the circumstances behind the transfer—a forced sale, a family transfer, an estate administration—don't fit the ordinary buyer-seller disclosure relationship the TDS was built for.

Does an Exemption Mean a Buyer Gets No Information at All?

An exemption from the TDS doesn't necessarily mean a buyer is purchasing blind. Other disclosure obligations under California law, such as natural hazard disclosures and the seller's general duty to disclose known material facts, can still apply depending on the transaction. Buyers in an exempt transaction—say, a probate sale or a purchase from a trust—should lean more heavily on their own inspections and due diligence precisely because the seller may have limited firsthand knowledge of the property's history, or because the usual disclosure form simply isn't required in that situation.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every home sale in California require a TDS?
No. Most sales of single-family residential property require it, but Civil Code Section 1102.2 exempts certain transactions, including court-ordered sales, foreclosures, trust and estate transfers, and transfers between family members or co-owners.

Can a seller just leave parts of the TDS blank?
They shouldn't. Leaving sections incomplete can give buyers grounds to challenge the disclosure, and known issues that aren't disclosed can create legal exposure for the seller even if the omission wasn't intentional.

What can a buyer do if they receive the TDS after they've already signed the offer?
They get a right to cancel the contract based on what's disclosed—three days if the form was delivered in person, or five days if it was mailed.

If a transaction is exempt from the TDS, does the seller have to disclose anything?
Possibly. Other disclosure laws, like natural hazard disclosure requirements, may still apply, and sellers generally still have a duty to disclose known material facts even outside the TDS framework.

Updated for October 2026.