Transaction Coordination

Documents to Request From the Seller: A Checklist

The documents to request from a home seller after the contract is signed: disclosures, HOA documents, payoff information, survey, permits, warranties and FIRPTA, with when each is needed and a simple way to collect them.

Ijharul Islam October 21, 2026 9 min read

The documents to request from the seller are the ones the buyer, lender and title company need before closing: the seller's property disclosure, the lead-based paint disclosure for pre-1978 homes, HOA documents, mortgage payoff details, any survey, permits and warranties, and the seller's FIRPTA status. Request them on day one, with a due date from the contract.

More on this topic: Contract to close: process and checklists, every guide in one place.

Some of these are required by federal law, many by state law, and the rest are simply what keeps a closing on schedule. The checklist below says which is which, who usually has each document and when it's needed. Then we cover how to get documents from the seller without chasing, with a request email you can copy.

Key takeaways

Ask for everything on day one, in one request with a due date per item, rather than one document at a time.
Disclosures have contract or legal deadlines: the seller's property disclosure and, for homes built before 1978, the federal lead-based paint disclosure.
HOA documents often come from the association or its manager, not the seller, and can take days; order them early.
The seller's lender must send a payoff statement within seven business days of a written request, so request it well before closing.
Title or escrow usually collects the seller's ID, FIRPTA certification and 1099-S information directly; don't collect what they will.

What documents does a seller need to provide?

Here's the seller document checklist, grouped by why it's needed. Not every item applies to every home, and your state may require more. Mark what doesn't apply rather than deleting it.

Document	Required by	Usually comes from	When it's needed
Seller's property disclosure	State law in most states (form and scope vary)	Seller, on the state or association form	Before or soon after acceptance, per the contract
Lead-based paint disclosure and any reports (homes built before 1978)	Federal law (EPA and HUD)	Seller and listing agent	Before the buyer is bound by the contract
HOA or condo documents (declarations, bylaws, rules, budget, resale certificate)	State law and the contract	The association or its management company, ordered by the seller or title	By the contract's association documents deadline
Mortgage payoff information (lender name, loan number, authorization)	Needed for closing	Seller; title or escrow orders the payoff statement	As early as possible; the statement itself near closing
Existing survey or improvement location certificate	The contract, if it calls for one	Seller's records or prior title policy	Before the survey or title objection deadline
Prior owner's title policy and deed	Helpful, not usually required	Seller's records	Early, to speed up the title search
Permits and final inspections for work done	Often asked for by buyers; some local rules	Seller or the local building department	Before the inspection deadline
Warranties, manuals and service records (roof, HVAC, appliances, solar)	The contract, if items convey	Seller	Before closing; originals at closing
Leases, solar lease or power purchase agreement	The contract and lender	Seller	Early: transfers can need the provider's approval
Well, septic, radon or other local reports	State or local rules in some areas	Seller or a licensed inspector	Per the contract or local rule
Utility providers and average bills	Courtesy	Seller	Before closing
FIRPTA certification of non-foreign status	Federal tax law	Seller, usually through title or escrow	Before closing
Seller ID and 1099-S information	Title and federal tax reporting	Seller, directly to title or escrow	Before or at closing

If the home is sold with a tenant in place, ask for the current lease and the monthly rent early. Rent for the month of closing is usually split between buyer and seller, and the free rent proration calculator works out the daily rate and the partial-month amount three common ways.

Need the buyer side as well? The transaction coordinator checklist covers both sides from intake to close-out.

Which seller documents are required by law?

Three come from federal rules and apply nationwide; the rest are set by your state or by the contract.

Lead-based paint disclosure. For most housing built before 1978, the EPA says sellers must disclose known lead-based paint and hazards, provide any available reports, give buyers the EPA pamphlet, include a lead warning statement in the contract and give buyers a 10-day opportunity to test (buyers can waive it). Agents must make sure this happens.
FIRPTA. If the seller is a foreign person, the buyer is the withholding agent and generally must withhold 15% of the amount realized, per the IRS, with some exceptions. A seller who isn't foreign usually signs a certification of non-foreign status, which title or escrow typically prepares.
Form 1099-S reporting. The person responsible for the closing, usually the settlement agent, reports the sale to the IRS. They collect the seller's taxpayer information, so you don't need to.

Property disclosures, HOA resale documents and their deadlines are state law. Some states require a detailed disclosure form, others very little; many states set what an association must provide on resale and how fast. Texas, for example, gives a property owners' association until the 10th business day after a written request to deliver the resale information (Texas Property Code § 207.003). Use your state's forms and check your contract's deadlines.

How do you get documents from the seller?

The fastest way to get documents from a seller is one clear request, sent the day the contract is signed, with a due date for each item, an easy way to upload from a phone, and reminders that go out on a schedule. Most delays come from vague requests and follow-ups that depend on someone remembering.

Request on day one. Work out what this file needs from the contract and the property (age, HOA, well and septic, solar) and send one list.
Give each item a due date taken from the contract's deadlines, not “as soon as possible”.
Make uploading easy. A link that works on a phone without creating an account gets more replies than “email me a PDF”.
Order what third parties hold. The HOA or management company, the payoff lender and the building department each take time. Ask the seller to authorize the request or have title order it.
Follow up on a schedule. A reminder on the due date and another two days later works better than ad-hoc messages.
Escalate through the listing agent when a document that drives a deadline is still missing. If you're on the buyer side, every request goes through the listing agent or their TC.
Check what arrives. Signed, dated, every page, the right property. Then mark it received so everyone knows it's in.

What should the request email say?

Keep it short, list each document with its due date, and say what to do if something doesn't apply. More templates are in transaction coordinator email templates.

Subject: Documents for the sale of [address], due [date]

Hi [Seller first name],
Congratulations on accepting an offer! To keep your closing on [date], please send the following:
• Seller's property disclosure, signed (due [date])
• HOA management company contact, so we can order the resale documents (due [date])
• Your mortgage lender's name and loan number (due [date])
• Any survey, permits and warranties you have (due [date])

Upload here from your phone or computer: [link]. If something doesn't apply to your home, just reply and tell me.
Thank you,
[Your name], on behalf of [Listing agent]

How long does the seller have to provide documents?

As long as the contract and state law allow, and no longer. Most purchase contracts set a deadline for the seller's disclosure and for association documents, often counted from acceptance, and the buyer's review or objection period usually starts when the documents are delivered. A late document can therefore push the buyer's deadline, or give the buyer a right to cancel, depending on the form. See the deadlines in a purchase contract.

Payoff statements have their own federal clock: under Regulation Z, the seller's mortgage servicer must send an accurate payoff statement within a reasonable time, and no later than seven business days after a written request from the borrower or someone acting for them. Once the payoff figure is in, the free seller net sheet calculator turns it into an updated, itemized estimate of the seller's net proceeds.

What if the seller doesn't provide the documents?

Remind once in writing with the contract deadline, copying the listing agent.
Offer to order third-party documents yourself (with the seller's authorization) or through title.
If a contract deadline is about to pass, tell the agents in writing; they decide whether to extend, and any extension should be a signed amendment.
Note every request and reminder on the file. If the deal ends up in a dispute, the record matters.

What happens next is a contract question, and it differs between forms. See what happens if you miss a contingency deadline.

Collect seller documents in Closingbird

Each Closingbird file lists its required documents from day one, and you can mark any that don't apply. Click Request documents, pick the seller (or the HOA manager, lender or anyone else), tick up to 15 documents, set a due date and send. They get a private upload link with no login, from email or text, and can upload PDFs, phone photos, Word or Excel files. Closingbird sends up to three reminders for you, and each upload lands against the right required document. See document requests.

Frequently asked questions

What documents should a seller provide to a buyer?

Usually the seller's property disclosure, the lead-based paint disclosure for homes built before 1978, HOA documents where there's an association, any survey, permits and warranties, and anything the contract specifically requires. Title or escrow collects payoff, ID and tax information.

Who orders HOA documents, the seller or the TC?

It depends on the state and the contract. Often the seller or title orders them from the association or its management company, sometimes for a fee. A TC can request them on the seller's behalf once the seller authorizes it.

Does the seller have to provide a survey?

Only if the contract or local practice says so. Many contracts make the survey the buyer's choice and cost; an existing survey from the seller can still save time.

When should a TC request documents from the seller?

On the day the contract is fully signed, with due dates from the contract, because disclosure and association document deadlines often start at acceptance.

What is a FIRPTA certification?

A statement, signed under penalty of perjury, that the seller isn't a foreign person for US tax purposes. It generally lets the buyer avoid FIRPTA withholding. Title or escrow usually prepares it.

Run it in Closingbird

Send a seller one no-login upload link for every document they owe, and let the reminders run themselves. Start a free trial (14-day free trial, no credit card required) or see pricing.

Sources

Checked in October 2026. Rules and prices change, and many vary by state, so confirm with the source, your state's real estate commission or your broker before you rely on them.

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