What time do Washington real estate deadlines end?

Under NWMLS Form 21, periods counted in days expire at 9:00 p.m. on the last day, not midnight. Periods of 5 days or less skip Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and longer periods that end on one roll to the next business day.

How long is the inspection period in Washington?

NWMLS Form 35 sets a 10-day inspection period after mutual acceptance if the blank is left empty. After a repair request, the seller has 3 days to respond and the buyer 3 days to reply, and those rounds do not repeat.

Does the Washington financing contingency expire after 21 days?

Not under the default. If neither option is checked in NWMLS Form 22A, the seller may, after 21 days, deliver a Notice to Perform and terminate 3 days later if the buyer hasn’t waived the contingency. Automatic waiver at 21 days applies only if the parties choose that option.

How long does a Washington buyer have to rescind after the seller disclosure?

Under RCW 64.06.030, the seller must deliver the disclosure statement (NWMLS Form 17) within 5 business days of mutual acceptance unless the buyer waives it or the sale is exempt, and the buyer may rescind for any reason within 3 business days (or another agreed period) after receiving it. If it is never delivered, the right lasts until closing.

Washington Real Estate Closing Timeline

How a Washington purchase moves from mutual acceptance to closing under the NWMLS forms.

Last updated October 13, 2026 · Based on the NWMLS Forms 21, 22A and 35, Rev. 2/26

Most Washington home sales are written on forms owned by the Northwest Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS), which brokers outside NWMLS territory generally use as well: the residential purchase and sale agreement (Form 21), the financing addendum (Form 22A) and the inspection addendum (Form 35). This guide follows their February 2026 revision.

The forms print a default for most periods, and they come with two rules that change how every deadline is counted: deadlines end at 9:00 p.m., and any period of 5 days or less skips weekends and legal holidays.

The default Washington timeline

NWMLS default periods, counted from mutual acceptance. Short periods (5 days or less) skip weekends and holidays; the Closing Date is negotiated.
When	Milestone	What happens
Day 0	Mutual acceptance	The signed acceptance is received by the other party, their broker or the broker’s office.
2 days	Earnest money	Delivered to the buyer’s brokerage or the closing agent named in the agreement.
5 business days	Seller disclosure (Form 17)	Required by statute. The buyer then has 3 business days after receiving it to rescind.
5 days	Loan application	Missing it waives the financing contingency.
10 days	Inspection period ends	Buyer approves, terminates, asks for more time for additional inspections if an inspector recommends further evaluation, or proposes repairs.
+3 / +3 days	Repair response and reply	Seller responds within 3 days; buyer replies within 3 days. No reply waives the contingency.
Day 21	Financing: Notice to Perform	Under the default option, the seller may now ask the buyer to waive financing, then terminate 3 days later.
Closing Date	Closing	Documents recorded and proceeds available to the seller. Possession at 9:00 p.m. on the possession date.

1. Mutual acceptance and earnest money

An offer or counteroffer must be accepted by 9:00 p.m. on its expiration date — two days after delivery if none is filled in — and acceptance takes effect when a signed copy is received by the other party, their broker or the broker’s licensed office. That is mutual acceptance, and every period counts from the following day.

Earnest money is due by the delivery date in the agreement, 2 days after mutual acceptance if left blank, to the buyer’s brokerage or the closing agent. Because it is a period of 5 days or less, those 2 days skip weekends and holidays.

2. The seller disclosure statement

Washington law, not the purchase agreement, sets this clock. The seller must deliver the disclosure statement (NWMLS Form 17) within 5 business days of mutual acceptance unless the buyer waives it. The buyer may then rescind for any reason within 3 business days after receiving it. If the seller never delivers it, the buyer can rescind up until closing, and an amended disclosure restarts a 3-business-day right unless the seller corrects the problem at least 3 business days before closing.

3. Inspection (Form 35)

The inspection period is 10 days by default. Before it ends, the buyer gives notice approving and waiving the contingency, terminating, asking for additional inspections if an inspector recommends further evaluation (which extends the period by 5 days after the notice by default), or proposing repairs. If the buyer gives no notice, the contingency is waived.

After a repair request, the seller has 3 days to agree, agree in part, reject or counter, and the buyer has 3 days to reply — counted from the seller’s response, or the end of the seller’s window if the seller says nothing. These rounds don’t repeat, and a buyer who doesn’t reply has waived the contingency. Agreed repairs are finished at least 3 days before closing.

One trap: the buyer shouldn’t give the seller the inspection report unless the seller asks for it in writing. Handing it over unrequested waives the inspection contingency.

4. Financing and appraisal (Form 22A)

The buyer applies for the loan within 5 days (skipping weekends and holidays). Missing that deadline, changing the loan type without the seller’s consent, or changing lenders without consent after the application deadline (or away from a lender named in the addendum), waives the financing contingency.

The contingency ends in one of two ways, chosen in the addendum:

Notice to Perform (the default): after 21 days, the seller may deliver a Notice to Perform asking the buyer to waive the contingency. If the buyer hasn’t waived it 3 days later, the seller may terminate, and the earnest money goes back to the buyer. The contingency doesn’t expire on its own.
Automatic waiver: the contingency is waived at 21 days unless the buyer has given notice of termination by then.

If the appraisal comes in low, the buyer may give notice within 3 days of receiving it. The seller then has 10 days to offer a reconsideration of value, reduce the price, or reject. The buyer has 3 days to respond — and here silence has the opposite effect from the inspection: a buyer who does nothing at this step terminates the agreement, with the earnest money refunded.

5. Title and HOA documents

Form 21 prints no title objection period. The title company sends the preliminary commitment to the parties, and if title can’t be made insurable by the Closing Date, the buyer’s remedy is termination and a refund of the earnest money.

For common interest communities under Washington’s newer community association law (RCW 64.90), the association must furnish a resale certificate within 10 days of the owner’s request, and the buyer may cancel within 5 business days after first receiving it, unless it was provided more than 5 business days before the buyer signed. Older condominiums and homeowners’ associations follow different rules until RCW 64.90 becomes the governing law for nearly all communities on January 1, 2028, so confirm which law applies to the community.

6. Closing

The closing agent named in the agreement closes the sale on the Closing Date. In the NWMLS forms, “closing” means the documents are recorded and the sale proceeds are available to the seller — not the signing, which usually happens earlier. If the Closing Date falls on a weekend, a legal holiday or a day the county recording office is closed, it moves to the next day that isn’t.

Closing agents in Washington are escrow agents licensed by the Department of Financial Institutions, or businesses exempt from that license, such as title insurers and title insurance agents and Washington attorneys acting in their law practice. Limited practice officers, licensed under a Washington Supreme Court rule, may prepare closing documents such as deeds and deeds of trust but can’t give legal advice. Possession transfers at 9:00 p.m. on the possession date, which defaults to the day of closing.

How Washington counts days

Periods start the day after the triggering event and expire at 9:00 p.m. on the last day.
Periods of 5 days or less skip Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays.
Longer periods are calendar days; if one ends on a weekend or legal holiday, it extends to the next day that isn’t.
Washington’s legal holidays include Juneteenth and Native American Heritage Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving.
Statutory periods such as the disclosure rescission right are stated in business days. Time is of the essence.

Washington deadlines that trip agents up

Counting a 3-day window in calendar days. Anything 5 days or less skips weekends and holidays.
Calendaring deadlines to midnight instead of 9:00 p.m.
Assuming the financing contingency is waived at day 21. Under the default it isn’t until the seller serves a Notice to Perform.
Forgetting that silence waives the inspection contingency but terminates the deal after a low appraisal.
Sending the inspection report to the seller without a written request.
Treating the Form 17 rescission right as running from mutual acceptance. It runs from the buyer’s receipt.

Frequently asked questions

What time do Washington real estate deadlines end?: Under NWMLS Form 21, periods counted in days expire at 9:00 p.m. on the last day, not midnight. Periods of 5 days or less skip Saturdays, Sundays and legal holidays, and longer periods that end on one roll to the next business day.
How long is the inspection period in Washington?: NWMLS Form 35 sets a 10-day inspection period after mutual acceptance if the blank is left empty. After a repair request, the seller has 3 days to respond and the buyer 3 days to reply, and those rounds do not repeat.
Does the Washington financing contingency expire after 21 days?: Not under the default. If neither option is checked in NWMLS Form 22A, the seller may, after 21 days, deliver a Notice to Perform and terminate 3 days later if the buyer hasn’t waived the contingency. Automatic waiver at 21 days applies only if the parties choose that option.
How long does a Washington buyer have to rescind after the seller disclosure?: Under RCW 64.06.030, the seller must deliver the disclosure statement (NWMLS Form 17) within 5 business days of mutual acceptance unless the buyer waives it or the sale is exempt, and the buyer may rescind for any reason within 3 business days (or another agreed period) after receiving it. If it is never delivered, the right lasts until closing.