The California Seller Counter Offer form, known as C.A.R. Form SCO, is a one-page document that lets a home seller change specific terms of a buyer’s purchase offer without rewriting the whole contract. Your agent pulls it from the California Association of Realtors’ zipForm® platform, fills in the terms you want to modify, and sends it to the buyer’s side. One thing to understand before you sign it: the moment you do, the buyer’s original offer is dead. You cannot revive it later if the counter falls apart.
What Goes on the Form
The top of the form identifies the property, the date of the buyer’s Purchase Agreement (or the prior Buyer Counter Offer if you’re already several rounds in), and whether this is Seller Counter Offer No. 1, No. 2, and so on. The substantive work sits in three places: Paragraph 1 (the terms), Paragraph 2 (the expiration), and Paragraph 4 (your signature).
Paragraph 1: The Terms You’re Changing
Paragraph 1 says every term in the buyer’s offer is accepted except the changes you list. That means anything you leave alone carries over untouched. If the buyer proposed a 30-day escrow and that works for you, don’t write anything about escrow length. List only what you want to modify.
Subsections 1A and 1B hold specific financial and timeline changes. Subsection 1C (“Other Terms”) is a blank field for whatever the printed blanks don’t cover. Subsection 1D lists any addenda you’re attaching.
Common items sellers change here:
- Purchase price — state the exact dollar amount.
- Contingency periods. The C.A.R. Residential Purchase Agreement defaults to 17 days for the physical inspection contingency and 21 days for the loan contingency. Sellers in competitive markets often shorten these, for example to 10 days for inspections.1California Association of Realtors. Contingencies and Cancellation Quick Guide
- Deposit amount — request a higher earnest money deposit, or add a second deposit due after contingencies are removed.
- Close of escrow date — specify the exact date if you need more or less time.
- Fixtures and personal property — if the buyer’s offer assumed the refrigerator or a mounted TV comes with the house and you plan to keep it, list each excluded item.
If you’re offering a credit toward the buyer’s closing costs, watch the phrasing when a lender is involved. Lenders will accept the credit only if it reads as generic closing cost assistance. Wording like “Seller will pay $X toward buyer’s non-recurring closing costs” is safe. Tying the credit to inspection findings, a carpet allowance, or termite damage can trigger loan delays or a denial.
Paragraph 2: The Expiration
Paragraph 2 sets how long the buyer has to accept. The pre-printed default is 5:00 PM on the third day after you sign in Paragraph 4.2California Association of REALTORS. Seller Counter Offer You can write in a different date and time to override it. If other buyers are interested, a 24- or 48-hour window pressures the buyer to move. If the buyer doesn’t sign and return the form before it expires, the counter dies and any deposit the buyer submitted is returned.
For the counter to become binding, two things have to happen before the expiration: the buyer signs in Paragraph 5, and a signed copy is personally received by you or your authorized agent.2California Association of REALTORS. Seller Counter Offer A signed form sitting on the buyer’s desk doesn’t count. Delivery back to your side is what creates the contract, and timestamps from email or an e-signature platform prove when that happened.
Paragraph 4: Sign and Date
You sign and date in Paragraph 4. If more than one seller is on title, every seller signs, and the expiration clock in Paragraph 2 runs from the last signature date. Make sure the date you write is the actual date you sign, since a wrong date shifts the deadline.
Delivering It to the Buyer
After you sign, your agent transmits the form to the buyer or the buyer’s agent, usually through an e-signature platform or email so there’s a timestamped record. The buyer then has three choices: accept the counter as written, let it expire, or send back a Buyer Counter Offer (Form BCO) with more changes. Rounds are numbered sequentially and can continue until both sides agree or one side walks.
When the buyer signs and delivers back an accepted counter, the deal moves into escrow. Your agent should confirm receipt and open escrow promptly on the agreed terms. Slow handoffs cause problems if the buyer’s lender is trying to lock a rate.
Why Signing Ends the Buyer’s Original Offer
California Civil Code Section 1585 requires an acceptance to be unconditional to form a binding contract; a qualified acceptance is a new proposal.3California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1585 By changing any term, you reject the buyer’s offer and replace it with your own. The original cannot be pulled back off the shelf if the counter fails. Sellers weighing several offers should keep that in mind before firing off a standard SCO to any one of them.
Pulling Back a Counter Offer Before the Buyer Accepts
You can revoke a counter offer up to the moment the buyer’s signed acceptance is delivered to your side. California Civil Code Section 1586 states that “a proposal may be revoked at any time before its acceptance is communicated to the proposer.”4California Legislative Information. California Code Civil Code 1586 The statute doesn’t require written form, but C.A.R. publishes Form WOO (Withdrawal of Offer) for exactly this purpose, and using it creates a paper trail.
Speed decides who wins a close call. If the buyer signs and delivers the accepted counter before your revocation reaches them, you have a binding contract. Have your agent phone the buyer’s agent to withdraw verbally, then follow up immediately with a signed WOO by email. That way the timing is documented on both sides.
If You Have Multiple Offers, Use the SMCO Instead
The standard SCO commits you to one buyer at a time, because signing it kills that buyer’s original offer. When several buyers are in play, the Seller Multiple Counter Offer (Form SMCO) is the right tool. It lets you counter multiple buyers at once without forming a contract with any of them until you actively select one by signing a separate selection box after that buyer signs their acceptance.5California Association of Realtors. Seller Multiple Counter Offer The SMCO’s default expiration is 5:00 PM on the fourth day after the seller’s initial signature, one day longer than the SCO’s three-day default. If you’re juggling offers, ask your agent about SMCO before signing a standard SCO.
Disclosures Still Apply
Countering an offer does not reduce your disclosure obligations. Civil Code Section 1102 requires sellers of single-family residential property to provide a Transfer Disclosure Statement, and that duty cannot be waived, including in an as-is sale.6California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1102 The statute makes any waiver void as against public policy.7California Legislative Information. California Civil Code 1102 – Disclosures Upon Transfer of Residential Property If you learned about a defect between the buyer’s offer and your counter, disclose it. If your counter changes something about condition, such as removing a repair the buyer requested, confirm your existing disclosures still match what you know, and attach an updated disclosure as an addendum through Paragraph 1D.