How to Fill Out Washington Form 22D: Checkboxes, Clauses, and Disclosures

To fill out Washington Form 22D, the Optional Clauses Addendum to the NWMLS Purchase and Sale Agreement, you work through twelve numbered clauses, check the box next to each one you want to activate, complete any blanks underneath the clauses you checked, and then initial and date the bottom of the form. An unchecked clause has no effect even though its language sits on the page, and a checked clause with empty blanks creates an obligation nobody can actually satisfy. The form attaches to Form 21 and travels with the offer.

How the Checkbox System Works

Form 22D lists twelve numbered clauses, and each becomes part of the Purchase and Sale Agreement only when the box next to it is checked. Leaving a box blank means that clause does not apply. Before anyone initials, both sides should walk through each clause together and confirm which ones are active, because the most common mistake with this form is assuming a protection is in place when nobody actually checked the box.

Once the right boxes are checked and the blanks are filled in, both buyer and seller initial and date the bottom of the form.¹ Form 22D calls for initials rather than full signatures. Electronic initials carry the same legal weight as handwritten ones under Washington’s electronic signature rules, and most transactions now execute NWMLS forms through digital platforms. The completed addendum is then attached to Form 21 and submitted as part of the offer package.

Clause 1: Square Footage, Lot Size, and Encroachments

Checking Clause 1 states that neither the listing broker nor the buyer’s broker makes any representation about lot size, the square footage of improvements, or whether fences, walls, or buildings encroach on or from the property, and it advises the buyer to verify those measurements independently.¹ There are no numbers to enter. This is a liability shield, not a data field.

If you are the buyer checking this box, you are acknowledging that the advertised square footage could be wrong and agreeing not to hold the seller or brokers responsible for inaccuracies. Know where the listed figure came from — county assessor records, a prior appraisal, or builder’s plans — before you decide whether to accept the clause or order independent verification.

Clause 2: Title Insurance Options

Form 21 defaults to the seller providing an ALTA Homeowner’s Policy of Title Insurance at the seller’s expense.² Clause 2 of Form 22D exists to change that default, and you check one of two sub-options:

Standard Owner’s Policy. Less coverage than the Homeowner’s Policy. The seller still pays. This option drops some of the broader protections the Homeowner’s Policy offers, such as certain post-closing coverage for building permit violations or encroachments the buyer didn’t know about.
Extended Coverage Policy. More coverage than the Homeowner’s Policy. The seller authorizes the application, but the buyer pays the difference between the Homeowner’s Policy premium and the Extended Coverage premium, plus the cost of any survey the title company requires.

If you check Clause 2 but neither sub-option, the clause does nothing meaningful. If you leave Clause 2 unchecked entirely, the default Homeowner’s Policy from Form 21 controls. Before checking anything, compare premium quotes from the title company if cost matters, and understand that Extended Coverage may require a survey that adds time to closing.

Clauses 3 and 4: Seller Cleaning and Personal Property

Clause 3, when checked, requires the seller to clean the interiors of all structures and remove all trash, debris, and rubbish from the property before the buyer takes possession.¹ This is a broom-clean standard. It does not obligate the seller to hire professional cleaners or leave the home move-in ready. If you want a higher standard as a buyer, negotiate a professionally cleaned requirement in a separate addendum rather than relying on this clause.

Clause 4 states that unless the parties agree otherwise, the seller must remove all personal belongings by the possession date, and anything left behind becomes the buyer’s property.¹ No blanks to fill in. Sellers should take this literally: leaving items behind forfeits ownership of them entirely, including anything left by accident.

Clause 5: Utilities Disclosure

Clause 5 asks the seller to identify which utility connections serve the property. The seller checks boxes for public water, public sewer, septic tank, well, irrigation water, natural gas, telephone, electricity, cable, and internet, with blank lines for specific providers where applicable.¹ The disclosure is based on the seller’s best knowledge, so it is not a guarantee.

Recent utility bills are the easiest way to identify providers before filling in the blanks. Note that Clause 5 discloses what is connected; it does not require the seller to keep services active through closing. Utility continuity, if you want it, belongs in Form 21 or a separate negotiation.

Clause 6: Insulation Disclosure for New Construction

For newly built homes, federal rules require the seller to disclose the type, thickness, and R-value of insulation installed in each part of the house — walls, ceilings, and floors — before the buyer signs the purchase contract.³ Clause 6 provides the blanks. Pull the numbers from the building plans or contractor invoices before completing the form. If insulation hasn’t been selected yet at the time of contract signing, the builder must furnish the details in writing as soon as they become available.

If the property is not new construction, leave Clause 6 unchecked.

Clause 7: Leased Property Review Period

Clause 7 lists common categories of leased equipment — propane tanks, security systems, satellite dishes — with checkboxes and an open “other” line for anything else, such as a leased water heater or solar panel system. When activated, the seller must provide the buyer with copies of the lease agreements within a specified number of days. The default is five days if the blank isn’t filled in.¹

The buyer then has a review window, also five days by default, to approve or disapprove the lease terms. Disapproval within the window terminates the Purchase and Sale Agreement and returns the earnest money. Silence past the deadline waives the objection and the buyer assumes the lease at closing. If you want more time than the defaults allow, write specific numbers into the blanks. Sellers should pull copies of all active equipment leases before listing so they can deliver on time.

Clause 8: Homeowners’ Association Review Period

When the property is part of an HOA, Clause 8 requires the seller to provide the buyer, at the seller’s expense, with a package of association documents within a set number of days after mutual acceptance. The default is ten days. The required documents are:

Rules and regulations, including architectural guidelines.
Bylaws and CC&Rs.
General association meeting minutes from the prior two years and board of directors minutes from the prior six months.
Financial statements from the prior two years, plus the current operating budget.

The buyer then has a separate disapproval window, five days by default, to review the documents.¹ Disapproval terminates the agreement and refunds earnest money. Silence past the deadline waives the objection.

Contact the association’s management company early, because ordering the document package can take several business days and the clock starts at mutual acceptance. When reviewing, read the board minutes closely for discussion of special assessments. Pending assessments are often debated in meetings before they appear in formal financial statements.

Clauses 9 Through 12

The remaining four clauses cover smaller items:

Clause 9, Excluded Items, lists specific items the seller is taking with them that might otherwise be assumed to convey, such as a detached storage shed, a particular light fixture, or a wall-mounted television. If it is attached and the seller wants to keep it, write it in.
Clause 10, E-Mail Transmission, authorizes delivery of documents and notices by email. Nearly every transaction checks this.
Clause 11, Home Warranty, addresses whether a home warranty will be provided and who pays for it. Specifics depend on what the parties negotiate and go in the blanks.
Clause 12, Other, is an open field for additional terms that don’t fit the other eleven clauses — a deadline extension, a seller rent-back arrangement, or any other custom provision.

What to Gather Before You Start

Completing Form 22D goes faster when the right information is on the desk before you open the file. Depending on which clauses you plan to activate:

Clause 1: the source of the listed square footage, so the buyer can decide whether to verify independently.
Clause 2: premium quotes from the title company for the Standard, Homeowner’s, and Extended Coverage policies.
Clause 5: recent utility bills showing providers, and knowledge of whether the property is on a well or septic system.
Clause 6: for new construction, insulation type, thickness, and R-value for walls, ceilings, and any other insulated areas, drawn from building plans or contractor invoices.
Clause 7: copies of every active equipment lease, ready to hand over promptly.
Clause 8: contact information for the HOA management company, so you can order the document package at mutual acceptance.

For Clauses 7 and 8, pay attention to the timeline blanks. Empty blanks fall back to the defaults — five days for leased property review, ten days for HOA document delivery, five days for HOA review. In a fast-moving market those defaults may be tight. Writing in specific numbers that account for weekends and holidays prevents unnecessary deadline pressure.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

The most frequent error is attaching Form 22D to the offer without checking any boxes, or checking boxes without filling in the blanks underneath them. An activated clause with empty fields, like Clause 6 with no insulation data, creates an enforceable obligation that nobody can actually satisfy, which invites disputes at closing.

Buyers sometimes treat the review deadlines in Clauses 7 and 8 casually, assuming they can raise objections whenever they get around to reading the documents. The form is unforgiving: miss the disapproval window and you have waived the right to terminate over the leased equipment or HOA terms. Calendar every deadline the moment mutual acceptance happens.

Sellers occasionally overlook Clause 4. Leaving personal property behind after the possession date transfers ownership of those items to the buyer. A family heirloom left by accident is not legally recoverable. Clear the property completely before handing over possession.

1
Northwest Multiple Listing Service. Optional Clauses Addendum to Purchase & Sale Agreement
2
Spokane Association of Realtors. Form 21 Residential Purchase and Sale Agreement
3
eCFR. 16 CFR 460.16 – What New Home Sellers Must Tell New Home Buyers