Delaware Seller's Disclosure: The Form That Comes Before the Listing
Part of our Delaware Retirement and Second Home Guides
By Christine Davis, Active Adults Realty, Lewes. Recorded and published November 2, 2026. Law and forms checked November 2, 2026.
Prefer to read? The full guide is written out below.
Please read first: General information only. Active Adults Realty is not a law firm, a tax advisor or a financial advisor. Everything below is the general rule as the State of Delaware publishes it. Your own attorney tells you how it applies to your sale.
What is the Delaware Seller's Disclosure, and why does Delaware require it?
Delaware's Buyer Property Protection Act (Delaware Code, Title 6, Chapter 25, Subchapter VII) says a seller transferring residential real property has to disclose in writing the material defects of the property that are known when it is offered for sale or that become known before final settlement. The paper that carries it is the Seller's Disclosure of Real Property Condition Report, a State of Delaware form approved by the Delaware Real Estate Commission. It is the same law and the same form in New Castle, Kent and Sussex County.
When is the seller's disclosure due in Delaware?
Two deadlines, both earlier than most people expect.
- The seller's: Section 2572(b) says the disclosure is made in writing before the seller signs the listing agreement, and updated for any material change before final settlement.
- The buyer's: Section 2573 says a copy goes to the prospective buyer or the buyer's agent before the buyer makes an offer, and the signed form becomes part of the agreement of sale.
It is not a closing document. It is an opening document.
What does the form ask?
Known material defects, in the statute's own words, and latent defects, which the Commission's form describes as defects that cannot be discovered by a visual, nonintrusive walkthrough. The current form, effective August 1, 2026, also carries notices on government resources, the costs of owning, smart home devices, square footage, tax data, deed restrictions and homeowners associations, the land including flood zones and wetlands, and plumbing including well and water testing. Section 2574 says the completed report is a good faith effort and not a warranty by the seller or any agent. It is also not a substitute for an inspection.
What is the radon part?
Section 2572A requires that a buyer be told the property may present a potential radon exposure, and that the seller hand over any radon test or inspection information already in their possession. The brochure the Delaware Division of Public Health produced with the Real Estate Commission says nearly one out of every 12 homes in Delaware has a radon level of 4 pCi/L or greater, the level the U.S. EPA says to fix, and that the chance of an elevated level is greater in the northern half of the state and slightly lower in the southern half. Lower is not none. The same brochure lists what a buyer can do: ask whether the home has been tested and see the results, test before settlement, and make testing a condition of the purchase with a radon contingency.
Who does not have to fill out the seller's disclosure?
Section 2577 lists exempt transfers, among them court ordered transfers, a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a sheriff's sale for default, transfers by a fiduciary administering an estate, guardianship or trust, transfers between co-owners, transfers to a spouse or to a lineal descendant or ancestor, and transfers to or from a government entity. See § 2577 for the full list. Two carry a catch, per the Commission's August 1, 2026 form:
- An estate is exempt only when the executor or administrator is the seller. Heirs who sell in their own names complete the form.
- A lender that took a house by deed in lieu or sheriff sale is exempt on that transfer and completes the form when it resells.
What if I genuinely do not know the answer?
The standard is what is known. You are not asked to become an engineer. What you cannot do is know something and leave it off, and anything you learn before settlement goes on the form when you learn it. The law also has a section on when a buyer has a cause of action (Section 2575). We do not interpret it; take that question to your own attorney.
What is the short list?
If you are selling
- Get the current state form before your listing appointment.
- Fill it out yourself, in your own words.
- Say what you know, and say plainly where you do not.
- Pull receipts, permits and service records into one folder.
- Reread it the week before settlement.
If you are buying
- Ask for the completed disclosure before you write your offer.
- Read the latent defect answers twice.
- Treat it as the map for your inspection, not a substitute.
- Write your radon contingency into the offer.
How can Active Adults Realty help with the seller's disclosure?
We bring the current form to the listing appointment instead of mailing it afterward, read a completed disclosure line by line with a buyer before the offer goes in, get the radon contingency written in properly, and work alongside your settlement attorney rather than in place of them, in all three counties. Tell us whether you are selling or buying and which county you are in. Please do not post an address in the comments of the video; send it to us directly.
Active Adults Realty
1504 Savannah Road, Lewes, DE 19958
Call or text 302-549-5164
Office: 302-424-1890
Contact us
Sources: Delaware Code, Title 6, Chapter 25, Subchapter VII (Buyer Property Protection Act), §§ 2572, 2572A, 2573, 2574, 2575, 2577 (delcode.delaware.gov), read November 2, 2026. Delaware Real Estate Commission, Seller's Disclosure of Real Property Condition Report, and Seller's Disclosure and Radon Disclosure Exemption, both effective August 1, 2026. Delaware Division of Public Health with the Delaware Real Estate Commission, Radon: Rights, Risks and Remedy for the Home Buyer (dhss.delaware.gov).
Active Adults Realty is not a law firm, a tax advisor or a financial advisor. Active Adults Realty is an Equal Housing Opportunity brokerage.