The Idaho purchase and sale agreement (RE-21) explained for sellers

This page explains the Idaho purchase agreement in plain terms as of October 2026. It is general information, not legal or tax advice. Idaho REALTORS® revises its forms regularly, so the version in your hands may differ. Read every page and addendum before you sign, and ask an Idaho real estate attorney about your situation.

When a buyer's agent sends you an offer in Idaho, it will almost always be on the RE-21, the Residential Purchase and Sale Agreement. It is published by Idaho REALTORS®, the state trade association for REALTOR® members. It is not a government form.

That is a real difference from Utah. Utah's Real Estate Purchase Contract is approved by the Utah Real Estate Commission and the Attorney General's office, and Utah licensees must use it (see /utah/sell-by-owner/repc-explained/). Idaho's Real Estate Commission does not publish a standard purchase contract. Idaho law instead sets minimum contents for offers. Idaho Code § 54-2051(4) says a broker or sales associate must make sure every offer to purchase is in writing and contains:

• All terms and conditions of the transaction as directed by the buyer or seller.
• The actual form and amount of the earnest money received.
• The name of the responsible broker in the transaction.
• The representation confirmation statement required by § 54-2085(4).
• A provision for dividing earnest money that is kept as a forfeited payment if the sale does not close.
• All appropriate signatures and the dates they were signed.
• A legal description of the property.

Section 54-2051(5) adds that every change to an offer must be initialed and dated by the parties. The RE-21 is built to cover these items, which is one reason agents rely on it.

Selling by owner is legal in Idaho. Idaho Code § 54-2003(1) says no license is needed for a sale of real property for a person's own account, or for a disposition by its owner. For the full process, see /idaho/sell-by-owner/.

The Idaho REALTORS® forms page is blunt. It says the forms "cannot be used by anyone" who is not an active REALTOR® member of Idaho REALTORS®. Membership requires current membership in the National Association of REALTORS® and an active Idaho real estate license. The page also says the forms may not be provided to third parties for use or distribution without the association's written consent.

In practice, that means:

• If the buyer has an agent who is a REALTOR® member, that agent prepares the RE-21 and any Idaho REALTORS® addenda. You read, initial, counter and sign.
• You should not download a copy from a third-party site and fill it out yourself. Copies posted online may be outdated or unauthorized.
• If the buyer has no agent, neither of you can fill out the RE-21 yourselves. Have an Idaho real estate attorney draft the contract, or hire a licensed brokerage to prepare the paperwork. A brokerage whose agents are Idaho REALTORS® members can prepare the RE-21 as part of that service.
• If you list with a flat-fee broker who is a REALTOR® member, ask exactly which form services are included. See /idaho/sell-by-owner/mls-listing/.

Because the form is members-only, this page does not reproduce it. Section numbers and wording below come from public Idaho REALTORS® materials: its Legal Hotline "Top Questions" publications for 2022 and 2024, which quote the RE-21, and its Inspection Timeline Reference chart (Rev 12/2025). Those quotes reflect the form version in use when each question was asked. Treat them as a map, and check every point against your copy.

The table lists sections that Idaho REALTORS® public materials identify by number. Numbering can shift when the form is revised, so confirm each one on your copy.

Idaho REALTORS® describes its 2026 form changes, in a March 2026 webinar listing, as including "new language in the title inspection section" on buyer and seller rights when title issues arise. The same webinar covered a new FinCEN reporting disclosure and a federal court ruling that suspended the underlying rule. Read those parts of your copy closely, and ask the title company how they apply to your sale.

An offer is an RE-21 signed by the buyer. Idaho Code § 54-2051(1) treats a purchase and sale agreement signed by the buyer as an offer to purchase. Licensees must tender every written offer to the seller promptly, up until closing. The form sets a deadline for your response. Find it as soon as the offer arrives.

You have three choices:

• Accept the offer exactly as written by signing it.
• Counter. The usual Idaho REALTORS® counteroffer form is the RE-13. As quoted in the Hotline's 2022 answers, it accepts the purchase agreement's terms "with the following changes." Because it is a members-only form, ask the buyer's agent or a licensee you hire to prepare it with your changes, or have an attorney write your counteroffer. When you sign the RE-21 along with a counter, check the box on the signature page that makes your signature subject to the attached counteroffer.
• Reject. The Hotline has said no Idaho law requires a seller to reject an offer in writing, though a short written reply is a good record.

Don't skip that signature-page box. In one 2024 Hotline question, a seller signed the RE-21 and sent a counteroffer but left the box unchecked. The buyer argued the seller was bound by the original terms. The Hotline thought the seller's intent was probably clear, but you don't want to argue that point.

With several offers, agents use the RE-32 Multiple Counter Offer. The Hotline explains that a buyer's acceptance of an RE-32 does not create a contract. It becomes binding only when the seller signs it a second time under Final Acceptance. That extra step keeps you from ending up with two binding contracts at once. The Hotline also said the RE-32 is not meant for simply asking every buyer for their highest and best offer.

Make every change in writing. Under Idaho's statute of frauds, an agreement to sell real property is invalid unless it is in writing and signed (Idaho Code § 9-505(4)). The Hotline has also said an addendum not signed by all parties does not become part of the contract. A verbal promise to leave the hot tub or move out a week late is not part of the deal unless it is in a signed addendum.

For how to compare offers and handle buyer-agent compensation requests, see /idaho/sell-by-owner/showings-and-offers/.

The amount and form of the deposit are negotiated. Section 54-2051(4)(b) requires the offer to state the actual form and amount received.

Without a listing broker, the deposit is usually held by the buyer's brokerage or by a title or escrow company. Under Idaho Code § 54-2041, a broker must deposit entrusted money in a trust account immediately on receipt, unless the parties instruct in writing that it be deposited on a later day. The parties can instead tell the broker in writing to transfer it to a title, escrow or trust company. Once the broker has no control over it, the money is no longer entrusted to the broker. The broker must still record the time and date of the transfer.

Write down in the agreement who holds the deposit, and confirm with the title company that it arrived. In a cooperative sale, the broker who holds the funds in trust, or who transfers them to the closing agency, is the responsible broker (Idaho Code § 54-2048).

Earnest money becomes harder for the buyer to recover as deadlines pass:

• During an inspection period, a buyer who terminates on time under Section 12 gets the deposit back. In a 2022 answer, the Hotline cites Buku Properties, LLC v. Clark, where the Idaho Supreme Court read similar language as a "free look" provision.
• After a deadline passes without a notice, the buyer is deemed to have waived termination rights for that item.
• At the Section 4 deadline, any contingency not satisfied, removed or exercised is waived. In the 2024 version quoted by the Hotline, earnest money then becomes "nonrefundable except upon an instance of SELLER's default."
• You and the buyer may agree in writing to make the deposit nonrefundable early. In the version quoted in 2022, that money is then not liquidated damages, and your other remedies stay open.

If you and the buyer both claim the deposit and a broker holds it, Idaho Code § 54-2047 governs. The broker must notify each party in writing of the other's demand. The broker may disburse based on the signed agreement, or hold the money until a court orders a release. The Idaho Real Estate Commission's Guideline #14 says the Commission does not decide earnest money disputes. When a title company holds the deposit, the Guideline says it handles a dispute under its own procedures.

Don't sign an earnest money release or termination form just because you are asked to. Check which section the buyer is terminating under, and whether the deadline for it had already passed. If it had, the deposit may be yours.

The inspection section is where most RE-21 deals are renegotiated or end. Idaho REALTORS® publishes an Inspection Timeline Reference chart, revised December 2025, that describes three timeframes:

Key points from the Section 12 language as quoted in the Hotline's 2024 answers:

• Once the buyer gives written notice of disapproved items, it ends the buyer's timeframe for that inspection and is irrevocable. The buyer can't send a longer list later for the same inspection.
• You then have the number of business days written in the form to respond in writing. If left blank, it is three.
• A written rejection of the buyer's requests, in whole or in part, is irrevocable without the buyer's consent. An email can count, so think before you send one.
• If you don't respond in time, you are deemed to have declined to correct the items.
• If you decline any repairs, the buyer then has a set number of business days (three if left blank). In that time the buyer can negotiate a change, proceed or terminate. If the buyer does nothing, the buyer is deemed to proceed without those repairs.
• If the buyer gives no notice at all within the inspection period, the buyer is deemed to have completed inspections and accepted responsibility for repairs on that item. No separate form is needed.

The usual notice form is the RE-10 Inspection Contingency Notice, but the Hotline has said an RE-10 is not legally required in every transaction: a buyer can also let the inspection period run out, which waives that inspection contingency. The chart adds that notices are irrevocable once delivered and do not reset the response timeframes. It calls the third timeframe critical and says it can be extended with an addendum signed by all parties.

Secondary inspections under 12(B)(2) let the buyer reserve extra time for listed items: well water, septic inspection and pumping, survey, and up to two others. In the version the Hotline quoted, each defaults to 10 business days from acceptance if left blank. These run at the same time as the primary inspection, not after it. If an item isn't listed, the buyer must inspect it within the primary period.

Put every inspection deadline on a calendar the day you accept. Count business days the way the form defines them, and note the exact time a notice arrives.

Section 3(D), as quoted, covers the buyer's loan. In a 2022 answer, the Hotline recommends filling in every blank in the financing subsection, including the interest rate, loan term and other loan details. Those details help you judge how likely the loan is to close. The version quoted also lets the buyer apply for a different loan, as long as the new loan doesn't increase the cost or requirements to the seller.

Ask a financing buyer for a lender pre-approval letter with the offer. For a cash offer, ask for proof of funds. If the buyer must sell another home first, expect a separate addendum, the RE-52 Property Sale Contingency Addendum. Read its terms on notice and termination.

The appraisal language quoted by the Hotline applies when the lender requires an appraisal. The property must appraise at not less than the price, or the buyer can get the earnest money back. You have an option, in your sole discretion, to lower the price to the appraised value. In that case you are entitled to a copy of the appraisal. The Hotline's view is that if you do lower the price, the buyer is likely obligated to continue.

Financing and appraisal contingencies are subject to Section 4 unless listed as exceptions. A buyer who loses a job after the Section 4 deadline usually can't use the financing contingency to recover the deposit. The Hotline reached that conclusion on the 2021 version. If you agree to an addendum about financing, it should address the Section 4 deadline directly.

Section 4 is the deadline many sellers miss. All contingencies in the agreement and in any counteroffers, addenda or amendments must be satisfied, removed or exercised by a set time before the closing date. In both versions the Hotline quoted, failure to act by then is an "unconditional waiver" of the contingency.

The default has changed between versions, which shows why you need to read your own copy:

Section 4 also has a blank line for contingencies it doesn't apply to. Check whether anything is written there. If the closing date moves by written extension, the Section 4 deadline moves with it.

When days are business days, timing matters. Section 30 in the version the Hotline quoted defines a business day as Monday through Friday, 8:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. local time, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and Idaho legal holidays listed in Idaho Code § 73-108. The Hotline's example: with a Tuesday, May 10, 2022 closing and a five-business-day deadline, contingencies had to be removed before 8:00 A.M. on Tuesday, May 3.

In a 2024 answer, the Hotline notes that you must provide "marketable title" under Section 10. The form also has a title inspection section for the buyer's review of title. Idaho REALTORS® says its 2026 version changed the title inspection language. Read it closely. Liens, a lender payoff, estate or trust ownership, a divorce or boundary questions should go to the title company early.

A valid legal description is not optional. Idaho Code § 54-2051(4)(g) requires one, and the Idaho Supreme Court held in Ray v. Frasure (2009) that a street address alone did not satisfy the statute of frauds. The Hotline suggests getting the legal description from the seller or a title company. Lot, block, subdivision and county are the usual minimum.

The title or escrow company named in the agreement handles the closing. It opens escrow, receives the deposit if it is holding it, prepares settlement statements, and records the deed. The form also allocates closing costs, so check who pays for the owner's title policy and escrow fees. For typical costs, see /selling-costs/idaho-closing-costs/.

Check the possession terms on your copy: the date and time the buyer gets the keys, and what happens if you need to stay after closing. A rent-back or early move-in needs its own written terms on deposits, insurance and condition. Have an attorney review it.

A request that you pay the buyer's brokerage usually appears in the RE-21 compensation section. That was Section 20 in the version the Hotline discussed. That amount is negotiable. Agree to it only in writing. See /selling-costs/buyer-agent-commission/.

The purchase agreement does not replace your disclosure duties. Under the Idaho Property Condition Disclosure Act, you must deliver a signed and dated disclosure form within 10 days of accepting the buyer's offer (Idaho Code § 55-2509). Idaho REALTORS® members use the RE-25 Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Form for this. For sellers exempt under Idaho Code § 55-2505, members use the RE-25A, the Seller's Property Condition Disclosure Form for Exempt Property Only. Without a member's help, use the form described in the statute (§ 55-2508).

Timing interacts with the contract. If the buyer receives the disclosure after signing, the buyer may rescind within three business days of receipt. The written, signed and dated notice must identify the specific disclosure objected to, and you must return the deposits (§ 55-2515). Giving the buyer your disclosure before an offer avoids that extra exit.

If something changes before closing, such as a new leak, § 55-2513 says you "shall amend" the disclosure. The buyer's rescission right on an amendment is limited to the amended items. A new problem may also matter under the inspection terms, depending on where the buyer is in those timeframes.

For homes built before 1978, federal rules apply before the buyer is obligated under the contract. You must give the EPA pamphlet and disclose known lead-based paint and hazards (40 CFR 745.107). You must also attach a Lead Warning Statement with signed certifications to the contract (40 CFR 745.113). The buyer gets a 10-day opportunity for a lead inspection (40 CFR 745.110). The parties can agree in writing to a different period, or the buyer can waive it in writing. Confirm the lead attachment is signed before you accept.

For the full disclosure rules, see /idaho/sell-by-owner/seller-disclosures/.

In the version quoted in the Hotline's 2022 answers, Section 33 gives you two choices if the buyer defaults. You may accept the earnest money as liquidated damages, or pursue any other lawful remedy. If you take the earnest money, it is your "sole and exclusive remedy."

As quoted, that clause first pays transaction costs from the deposit. It then splits the rest "one-half to SELLER and one-half to SELLER'S Broker," up to the broker's commission. Without a listing broker, it may not be clear how that split works. Ask an attorney how your copy reads before you accept an offer.

If you default, the same section returns the buyer's deposit. You also pay costs such as title insurance, escrow, appraisal, inspection, brokerage and attorney's fees, if any. The buyer keeps other remedies. The Hotline notes that specific performance, a court order to complete the sale, is available in Idaho in the right circumstances. Accepting a better offer after you've signed is not a safe way out.

The buyer's agent represents the buyer. Under Idaho law, you are a customer, not a client, unless you sign a written agreement with that brokerage (Idaho Code §§ 54-2084 and 54-2085). Under § 54-2086, the agent still owes you honesty, good faith, reasonable skill and care, and disclosure of adverse material facts the agent knows or reasonably should know, but not advice. The RE-21 includes the representation confirmation required by § 54-2085(4). Check how it describes your side of the sale.

• Get the current form version. Ask the agent which year's RE-21 and addenda they used.
• Read every page and initial each one. Make sure all blanks are filled or crossed out, because blanks default to the form's numbers.
• Write down every deadline: response time, earnest money delivery, each inspection period, your reply window, title review, Section 4 and closing.
• Note whether each deadline is in business or calendar days, and the time of day.
• Respond to inspection notices in writing, before the deadline, with words you will stand by. Your reply is irrevocable.
• Deliver your RE-25 or statutory disclosure early, and keep proof of the date.
• For pre-1978 homes, get the lead attachment signed before you accept.
• Confirm the legal description with the title company.
• Track who holds the earnest money and get a receipt.
• Treat Section 20 compensation, rent-backs and seller credits as negotiable terms, not boilerplate.

Get help when an offer has a sale contingency, seller financing, an assignment clause, early possession or a request to waive part of Section 12. The same goes for any dispute over earnest money. An Idaho real estate attorney can review the agreement for a fee. A licensed broker can also help.