How to Complete the California Real Estate Transfer Disclosure Statement (TDS)

The California Transfer Disclosure Statement, or TDS, is a seller-completed form required by Civil Code Section 1102 that itemizes the physical condition, features, and known defects of a residential property before a sale closes.¹ The form has four numbered sections: the seller completes the first two, and each real estate agent involved completes one. Skipping it or filling it out carelessly can delay closing or expose the seller to a lawsuit after the fact.

Who Has to Provide a TDS

The requirement applies to any transfer of single-family residential property by sale, exchange, lease with an option to purchase, or ground lease with improvements.¹ The seller is the person primarily responsible for the form. Any waiver is void as against public policy, so a buyer cannot agree to skip it and a seller cannot offer a discount in exchange for dropping the disclosure.

Real estate agents carry a separate obligation. Under Civil Code Section 2079, the listing agent and the selling agent must each perform a reasonably competent visual inspection of the accessible areas of the property and disclose anything that would materially affect its value or desirability.² Their findings go into dedicated agent sections of the TDS.

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

The California Department of Real Estate publishes the official layout in its disclosure reference guide, and most sellers receive a pre-printed version through their listing agent or title company.³ Complete the sections in order.

Section I: Coordination With Other Disclosure Forms

This short opening section lists other disclosure documents already provided or expected in the transaction, such as inspection reports or a Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement. If a companion document already covers the same subject matter, that coverage satisfies the TDS requirement for the same topic, which prevents duplication.³

Section II: Seller’s Information

This is the core of the form. It opens with a statement that the information is a disclosure, not a warranty, and that prospective buyers may rely on it when deciding whether and on what terms to buy. The seller first indicates whether they currently occupy the property, since a non-occupant seller has less firsthand knowledge and the form is designed around that distinction.

Section II is split into three parts:

Part A is a checklist of features and systems present on the property: appliances, central and window climate systems, water and gas infrastructure (public sewer, septic, city or well water, utility or bottled gas), safety features (smoke and fire alarms, burglar alarms, quick-release window security bars on bedrooms), outdoor features, roof type and approximate age, and items such as 220-volt wiring and automatic garage door openers. Pools, spas, and hot tubs get special attention: the form asks whether a child-resistant barrier or locking safety cover is in place.³
Part B asks yes-or-no whether the seller knows of significant defects or malfunctions in interior walls, ceilings, floors, exterior walls, insulation, the roof, windows, doors, the foundation, slabs, driveways, sidewalks, fences, electrical, plumbing, sewer or septic systems, and other structural components. Every “yes” requires a written explanation describing the defect.³
Part C is a series of awareness questions that catch problems beyond the physical checklist: environmental hazards (asbestos, formaldehyde, radon, lead-based paint, fuel or chemical storage tanks, contaminated soil or water), features shared with neighbors, encroachments or easements, room additions or structural changes made without permits, additions not in compliance with building codes, fill, settling or soil movement, flooding or drainage problems, major fire or earthquake damage, neighborhood noise or nuisances, and any pending lawsuits or insurance claims involving the property. Anything not captured by the printed questions goes in the blank space provided.³

Address every line. A blank box is not a “no”; it reads as a skipped disclosure, which is the kind of omission that produces disputes later. When in doubt between “no” and “not applicable,” write out an explanation.

Sections III and IV: Agent Inspection Disclosures

The listing agent completes Section III based on a reasonably competent visual inspection of the accessible areas and a review of the seller’s answers in Section II. The agent either notes that no additional items need disclosure or lists specific concerns.³ The inspection covers what is visible during a normal walkthrough; agents are not expected to move furniture, open walls, or climb the roof.

Section IV has the same format and is completed by the buyer’s agent, if a different broker obtained the offer. Both agents sign and date their sections. Until every applicable section is complete and delivered, the buyer’s rescission clock does not start.⁴

The Good-Faith Standard and Liability Protection

Every disclosure must be made in good faith, which the statute defines as “honesty in fact in the conduct of the transaction.”⁵ The seller is not expected to hire an engineer or conduct invasive testing. The form is limited to what the seller actually knows. “I didn’t know” only works if the seller genuinely did not. A leaky basement patched three times is something the seller knows about, even if the patch is currently holding.

The statute provides a safety net for honest mistakes. Neither the seller nor any agent is liable for an error or omission that was outside their personal knowledge, was based on information timely provided by public agencies or licensed professionals, and was transmitted with ordinary care.⁶ A seller who relies on a licensed contractor’s foundation report is protected even if the report is later shown to be wrong, provided the seller did not know independently that it was inaccurate.

If the property’s condition changes after delivery, the seller is not automatically in violation. Section 1102.5 says information rendered inaccurate by events occurring after delivery does not violate the disclosure requirements. Still, amend the TDS when a material change occurs before closing; the buyer is entitled to accurate information at the time of transfer.

Delivery and the Buyer’s Rescission Window

The seller must deliver the completed TDS to the prospective buyer as soon as practicable before the transfer of title.⁴ Most listing agents prepare the form before the property goes on the market so buyers can review it during the offer stage. For a lease with option to purchase or a ground lease, delivery must occur before the contract is executed.

If the TDS, or a material amendment to it, reaches the buyer after they have already made an offer, the buyer gets a statutory window to walk away:

Three days if delivery is in person.
Five days if delivery is by mail or by electronic means under the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act.

The buyer terminates by delivering written notice to the seller or the seller’s agent within that window.⁴ The countdown does not begin until Sections I and II are complete, along with Section III when the seller has a listing agent. An incomplete TDS missing the agent’s inspection section does not trigger the clock. A buyer who terminates within the window is entitled to the return of their earnest money deposit.

Transfers That Are Exempt

Certain residential transfers skip the TDS entirely. Civil Code Section 1102.2 lists the exempt transactions:⁷

Court-ordered transfers, including probate sales, bankruptcy sales, sales by eminent domain, sales under a writ of execution, and transfers resulting from a decree for specific performance.
Foreclosure-related transfers, including sales to a lender by a borrower in default, trustee’s sales after default, and sales by a lender that acquired the property through foreclosure or a deed in lieu.
Fiduciary transfers by a trustee, guardian, conservator, or executor administering an estate. This exemption does not cover a natural person who is a trustee of a revocable trust and either formerly owned the property or occupied it within the past year; those trustees know the property and must disclose.
Sales from one co-owner to another co-owner.
Sales to a spouse or a blood relative of the seller, and transfers between spouses arising from divorce or legal separation.
Sales or exchanges to or from any governmental entity.
Transfers preceded by a public report under the Subdivided Lands Act.
Transfers under the tax-defaulted property sale provisions of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

The common thread is that these transferors either lack personal knowledge of the property’s condition or operate under other legal protections that replace the TDS. If a transaction does not fall squarely within one of these categories, the TDS is required.

What the TDS Does Not Cover

The TDS is one piece of a larger disclosure package. A few obligations sit outside it and are easy to confuse with it.

The Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement is a separate form required under Civil Code Section 1103. It covers whether the property sits in a FEMA special flood hazard area, a high or very high fire hazard severity zone, an earthquake fault zone, a seismic hazard zone, a dam failure inundation area, or a wildland fire area.⁸ Many sellers hire a third-party natural hazard disclosure company to prepare it, since the information comes from government maps rather than the seller’s personal experience. The completed NHD can be referenced in Section I of the TDS as a companion document.

For any home built before 1978, federal law requires the seller to provide the buyer with three things before the buyer becomes contractually obligated: the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home,” disclosure of any known lead-based paint or lead hazards, and any available lead inspection reports.⁹ The buyer also gets a 10-day period to test for lead unless the parties agree in writing to a different timeframe, and the purchase contract must include a lead warning statement signed by the buyer. The TDS does not satisfy this federal requirement; it needs its own form.

The TDS also is not a substitute for a professional home inspection. It reflects only what the seller knows at the moment they fill it out. A seller who has never entered the crawl space cannot disclose a cracked foundation they have never seen, and a form completed in March cannot account for a leak that starts in May. The agent inspections in Sections III and IV add a layer, but agents are not structural engineers. When Part B or Part C flags a concern, a licensed specialist is the right next step.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1102 – Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 2079 – Duty to Prospective Purchaser of Real Property
3
California Department of Real Estate. Disclosures in Real Property Transactions – RE 6
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California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1102.3 – Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property
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California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1102.7 – Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property
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California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1102.4 – Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property
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California Legislative Information. California Code CIV 1102.2 – Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property
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California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1103.2 – Natural Hazard Disclosure Statement
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property