District of Columbia
The moment a GCAAR Form 1301 Sales Contract is signed, Ratifyly reads it, confirms the required paperwork is present and signed — the Residential Real Property Seller Disclosure, the brokerage-relationship disclosure, and lead-paint on pre-1978 homes — and flags anything missing before it becomes a problem. Because DC deals so often cross into Maryland or Virginia, it also checks that the right jurisdiction's disclosure package is attached, not just DC's. Then it tracks every deadline the contract runs on — inspection, financing, appraisal, title, and settlement, plus the buyer's 5-day termination window if a disclosure lands late — and keeps the brokerage, the agent, and the client on one live view of the same transaction.
The contracts we read
Most DC residential deals run on the GCAAR (Greater Capital Area Association of REALTORS) Sales Contract — Form #1301, formerly the Regional Sales Contract, shared with the Maryland suburbs — paired with the DC Jurisdictional Addendum and the required disclosure and lead-paint forms. DC is a settlement (title-company) jurisdiction rather than a mandatory attorney-close state, and because so many deals here straddle DC, Maryland, and Virginia, the paperwork is frequently tri-jurisdictional. Ratifyly reads the document itself, whatever its source — GCAAR, an attorney draft, or a brokerage form — so nothing depends on a single board's template.
But Ratifyly isn't limited to those. Because it reads the document itself— not a fixed template — it handles whatever version an agent actually uses: the statewide association form, a regional or local board form, an attorney-drafted contract, or a brokerage's own paperwork. And it reads the whole packet, not just the contract — disclosures, addenda, the closing disclosure, title commitment, inspection reports, wire instructions, and more — so nothing in the file goes unreviewed.
Required paperwork we check
- Residential Real Property Seller Disclosure Statement — mandatory for 1-4 unit residential property; must be delivered before or at contract signing and cannot be waived by an as-is sale (D.C. Code §§42-1301 to 42-1305)
- Late-delivery termination right — if the disclosure arrives after the buyer signs, the buyer may terminate within 5 calendar days of receiving it, with deposit returned (D.C. Code §42-1304)
- Brokerage relationship disclosure — agents must disclose their representation status to the parties (D.C. Code §42-1703, formerly cited under §47-2853.196)
- Federal + DC lead-based paint disclosure and the EPA pamphlet on homes built before 1978 (42 U.S.C. §4852d; 40 CFR Part 745)
- When a deal is tri-jurisdictional, the correct state's disclosure package (VA Residential Property Disclosure or the Maryland disclosure/disclaimer) must travel with the DC forms
Deadlines we track
- Home inspection contingency — negotiated window to inspect and respond, often a repair or void election
- Financing / loan contingency — buyer's window to secure a commitment before the deal firms up
- Appraisal contingency — appraisal ordered and reviewed against the contract price
- Seller disclosure delivery — at or before signing; a late delivery opens the buyer's 5-day termination window
- Title examination and clearance ahead of settlement
- Settlement (closing) date — the date the transaction is scheduled to fund and record
This page summarizes commonly used District of Columbiaforms and requirements for reference only — it is not legal advice, and forms and statutes change. Always follow your brokerage's current compliance guidance, the controlling District of Columbia statutes, and the forms your transaction actually uses.
See Ratifyly read a District of Columbia contract.
Send us your District of Columbia purchase agreement and we'll show you exactly what it pulls out, audits, and puts on the timeline.