How to Fill Out the Pennsylvania Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Form

To complete the Pennsylvania lead-based paint disclosure form, the seller or landlord writes out what they know about lead hazards in the property, lists any lead inspection or abatement records (and attaches copies), initials each applicable statement, and signs the form. The buyer or tenant then initials their acknowledgments and signs, and every agent involved signs their own section. All of this has to happen before the purchase contract or lease is signed, and the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” goes along with it.¹

When the Form Is Required

The disclosure applies to the sale or lease of any residential dwelling built before 1978, which the federal rule calls “target housing.” That covers almost all pre-1978 houses, apartments, duplexes, and condominiums in Pennsylvania.² A few situations are carved out: zero-bedroom units like efficiencies and lofts, housing designated for the elderly or persons with disabilities (both exceptions disappear if a child under six lives or is expected to live there), leases of 100 days or fewer with no renewal option, and foreclosure sales.¹ Everything else in the pre-1978 category needs the form.

Filling Out the Seller or Landlord Section

Start with your knowledge of lead-based paint or lead-based paint hazards in the property. The current EPA form asks for more than a yes-or-no response. If you know about peeling paint in a specific room, or a prior test that found lead on window trim or exterior siding, describe it in writing. If you genuinely have no knowledge of any lead hazards, mark that statement instead.³

Then list any records or reports you have about lead in the property: past inspections, risk assessments, or abatement records. If no such documents exist, say that on the form rather than leaving the section blank, because an empty line reads as an unanswered question rather than a disclosure. When records do exist, you have to give the buyer or tenant copies along with the form itself.¹

Use initials, not checkmarks, next to each applicable statement. The updated EPA form specifically calls for initials, and the distinction matters if the form is ever challenged.³ Sign and date the bottom of the section.

Filling Out the Buyer or Tenant Section

The buyer or tenant initials lines acknowledging receipt of the disclosure, any lead records you’ve handed over, and the EPA pamphlet. In a sale, this section also handles the 10-day inspection decision: the buyer either confirms the opportunity to inspect or waives it in writing. Signature and date go at the bottom.

Filling Out the Agent Section

Every real estate agent in the transaction has a separate acknowledgment. Each agent initials a statement confirming they informed their client of the disclosure obligations and understand their own duty to see that the rule is followed. If no agent represents one side, write “N/A” in that field. Agents carry independent liability under the regulation. An agent who told the seller about the obligation but was never informed of known hazards is protected; an agent who never raised the topic at all is not.⁴

What to Hand Over With the Form

Federal law requires the EPA pamphlet “Protect Your Family From Lead in Your Home” to go to the buyer or tenant before the contract or lease is signed.¹ The EPA publishes the 2026 edition in English and Spanish, with additional translations into Arabic, Chinese (Simplified and Traditional), French, Korean, Polish, Russian, Somali, Tagalog, and Vietnamese expected as they become available.⁵ If the lease or purchase contract is in a language other than English, the lead warning statement inside the contract should be in the same language as the rest of the document. Any lead records you listed on the form go in the same packet.

The Buyer’s 10-Day Inspection Window

In a sale, the buyer gets 10 days to hire a certified inspector to test for lead-based paint or run a risk assessment. The seller and buyer can agree in writing to lengthen or shorten the window, but the seller cannot cut it off on their own.¹ The buyer can also waive the inspection outright by saying so in writing on the disclosure form or in the sales contract.⁶ This window does not apply to leases.

Timing and Electronic Signatures

The completed form, pamphlet, and any lead records must reach the buyer or tenant before they become obligated under the purchase contract or lease. Delivery after signing exposes the seller or landlord to liability.² Most Pennsylvania agents include the form in the initial offer or lease packet so the timing question never comes up.

Electronic delivery and electronic signatures are valid under the federal E-SIGN Act, so emailing a PDF and signing through a platform like DocuSign or Dotloop is fine. The recipient can still ask for a paper copy. Either way, keep the fully signed version.

How Long to Keep the Signed Form

Federal regulations require the seller or landlord to keep a copy of the signed disclosure for at least three years from the completion date of the sale or the start of the lease.⁷ Three years is the minimum. For a continuing tenancy, the regulation measures from the completion date of the lease, so landlords should keep the form through the full tenancy plus three years.

What Happens If You Skip the Disclosure

The EPA can impose a civil penalty of up to $22,263 per violation, with the figure adjusting periodically for inflation.⁸ Each failure to disclose counts as a separate violation.

A buyer or tenant who finds out that the seller or landlord knowingly failed to disclose lead hazards can sue for triple the actual damages. The statute makes all responsible parties jointly and severally liable, so the buyer can collect the full amount from the seller, the landlord, or the agent.⁹ Knowing and willful violations can draw federal criminal charges, with a maximum of one year of imprisonment and a $100,000 fine.¹⁰

Where to Get the Form

The EPA hosts downloadable sample disclosure forms for both sales and leases. The seller’s version is on the EPA’s seller disclosure page, and the lessor’s version is on a separate page for landlords.¹¹¹² Both are PDFs you can print and fill out by hand or complete digitally. The Pennsylvania Association of Realtors also builds equivalent disclosure language into its standard transaction forms, so if you’re working with a licensed agent, the disclosure is probably already in the contract package they use.

1
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Real Estate Disclosures about Potential Lead Hazards
2
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property
3
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Lead-Based Paint Disclosure Rule – Section 1018 of Title X
4
eCFR. 24 CFR Part 35 Subpart A – Disclosure of Known Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards Upon Sale or Lease of Residential Property
5
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Protect Your Family from Lead in Your Home – English
6
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Guidance on The Homebuyer’s Option To Test For Lead-Based Paint and Lead-Based Paint Hazards
7
GovInfo. 24 CFR 35.88 – Disclosure Requirements for Sellers and Lessors
8
eCFR. 40 CFR 19.4 – Statutory Civil Monetary Penalties, as Adjusted for Inflation
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 4852d – Disclosure of Information Concerning Lead Upon Transfer of Residential Property
10
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA’s Lead-based Paint Enforcement Helps Protect Children and Vulnerable Communities
11
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Seller’s Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards
12
United States Environmental Protection Agency. Lessor’s Disclosure of Information on Lead-Based Paint and/or Lead-Based Paint Hazards